GRAND FORKS, N.D.—The Fighting Sioux baseball team awaits tomorrow's opening round of the North Central Conference Championship Tournament, where they will face the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at 11 a.m. in Mankato, Minn.
The NCC championship tournament was first held last season where the Sioux ended in first place after losing to the eventual champion Nebraska-Omaha. The tournament is a double-elimination format where the sixth-seeded Sioux will either face the second seed Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks with a win, or play the loser of Augustana and St. Cloud with a loss.
Due to the double-elimination, the losers of the first round play in the bottom of the tournament bracket for the chance to advance to the championship.
Last Time We Met: The Sioux last faced the Bulldogs in a four-game series over the weekend of April 22-23. In the series, UMD swept the Sioux 4-0 with two games played in Duluth, Minn. followed by two games played in Grand Forks.
The Bulldogs outscored the Sioux in the series 42-24.
Short Schedule: With the end of the 2006 regular season, the Sioux played only 40 total games, which is the least of all of the NCC teams. This was mainly due to poor weather and a few scheduling changes that eliminated games from the schedule.
In comparison, the NCC regular season champion, Minnesota State played in 48 total games. The other conference teams had: Nebraska-Omaha (53), Minnesota-Duluth (47), Augustana (48) and St. Cloud State (42).
The last time that UND played less than 40 games in a season was in 2002. That year the Sioux played in 37 games and finished 18-19 overall and 7-12 in the NCC.
NCC Individual Statistics: A few Sioux players have had solid statistical performances this season. Senior Troy Wasiloski finished fourth overall in individual batting average of .396 and sophomore Chris Gulsvig is tenth with an average of .364.
Wasiloski is also tops in doubles with 15 total. This statistic is even more impressive when it is mentioned that he reached the top of the pile in this category, even though he did it in 13 less games than Lyle Lafountain from UNO who has 14 doubles in 53 games.
Wasiloski is tied for eight in RBI's with 40, thus averaging an RBI per game. Also, he is seventh in total bases with 93, ninth in on base percentage at .452 and third in slugging percentage at .669.
In individual pitching, senior Darin Heston is tenth with an earned run average of 4.91. He is also ninth in innings pitched with 51.1, tied for second in complete games with four and tenth in strikeouts with 49-giving him a per game average of 8.59.
Notables: Wasiloski leads the team in multiple-hit games at 17 and multiple RBI games at 11 … Senior Jason Fairchild and junior Tim Burns each achieved 12-game hitting streaks this season … Rumor has it that fans who were at the 50th Anniversary of Sioux Baseball this past weekend are still waiting for the towering home run hit by Tim Burns on May 5 to land … Centerfielder Mike Lundeen made a Kirby Puckett-like home run saving catch over the left-center field wall against St. Cloud State to save a three-run home run.
Contact: Jonathan Fortner
