Grand Forks, N.D. - The Fighting Sioux baseball team will entertain Chicago State in a four-game Great West series starting Friday at Kraft Field with a 3 p.m. start time. The Sioux and Cougars met for the first time last season in the Windy City where UND took three-of-four. The squads also met up in Edinburg, Texas at the GWC Tournament where the Sioux were victorious as well in what was their season finale.
PROMOTIONS
Friday: Valley Dairy will be on hand for Friday's game to join the Sioux crew and give up free samples of iced tea and chocolate milk along with other Cass Clay products.
Saturday: The Big Event will be at Kraft Field to grill up some delightful food. Free peanuts will also be available.
*Kids are encouraged to attend all of the games and they will be able to run the bases following the conclusion of each contest.
MEDIA (All four games)
Live Stats: www.FightingSioux.com
Live Audio: www.FightingSioux.com
Live Video: www.FightingSioux.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Game One - Friday, April 29, 12 p.m. ET
North Dakota - RHP
Sam Anderson (0-4, 8.74 ERA)
Chicago State - TBA
Game Two - Friday, April 29, 3 p.m. ET (second game of DH)
Chicago State - TBA
Game Three - Saturday, April 30, 1 p.m. ET
Chicago State - TBA
Game Four - Sunday, May 1, 1 p.m. ET
Chicago State - TBA
IN THE DUGOUT
• The Fighting Sioux defeated Minnesota, Crookston, 12-4, in their long-awaited home opener on Wednesday night after their first six attempts to play on the newly renovated Kraft Field were either canceled or postponed.
• Freshman
Ryan Gerber and sophomore
Kris Kwak each had a trio of extra-base hits in the victory to pace a season-high, 15-hit attack by the UND offense.
• Gerber scored a career-high four runs and also drove in that amount with a pair of two-run doubles in the contest.
• With those four RBI, Gerber is now tied with seniors
Andy Sadler and
Josh Ray for second on the team in that category with 13.
• Kwak doubled in his first three trips to plate, then after drawing a walk hit a bloop single to equal his career-high with four hits. Kwak leads the team with 10 doubles and moved his average up to .265 with his 4-for-4 effort against the Golden Eagles.
• Freshman
Zach Ransom pitched well for the Sioux, picking up his first collegiate win after striking out career-high nine and allowing four earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. Ransom tossed five scoreless innings before yielding those four runs in the sixth inning.
• Senior
Brandon Baumgartner tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in what was his record-breaking 51st career appearance for the Fighting Sioux. The lefthander broke the school record that was held at 50 by
J.J. Scheving.
• Senior
Jake Magner went 2-for-4 in his home debut and belted the 34th home run of his career in the eighth inning to cap the scoring for UND. His blast also moved into sole possession of second place on the career home run list. He only trails Aaron Larsen, who hit 44 in his career from 1997-2001.
• Magner and Sadler extended their respective hitting streaks to five games against UMC. Magner moved his average over .300 mark for the season to .303, while Sadler went 3-for-4 with two runs to push his team-best clip to .365. Sadler's average also ranks fifth overall among Great West hitters.
• Sadler leads the team with 12 multiple-hit games, while Magner tops the team with six multiple-RBI games. Sadler's three-hit game against UMC was his fifth of the season.
• Ray is second on the team in both of those categories with eight and four, respectively.
• Freshman
Zack Trygstad will enjoy getting back to league play this weekend. The Sioux catcher is hitting a team-best .458 in GWC tilts, which is an average that ranks sixth among league players. Trygstad has hit safely in six of his seven GWC games, including five multiple-hit efforts.
• Ray is also hitting a high clip in league action, holding a .387 average entering the weekend. Both of his home runs have come in GWC play and shares the team RBI lead with Magner at six.
• Ray and Sadler both have 12 hits in league play to pace the team. Sadler's average is at .375 in GWC play and has scored a team-high nine runs in those contests.
• Righthanders
Jake Swift (1-1, 4.72 ERA) and
Cory Baker (0-2, 3.29 ERA) have logged 13-plus innings in two league starts so far. Swift picked up UND's lone win in conference play at NYIT last Friday, while Baker has fanned 12 in his 13.2 innings of work. The five runs he surrendered in his start at NYIT last weekend were all unearned.
• Senior
Derek Biermaier picked up his first career save in Swift's victory over the Bears. The righthander helped the Sioux hold on for a 7-6 victory in the series opener.
• Magner was back in the line-up against Minnesota, Crookston after missing the NYIT series.
• Third baseman
Kyle Bolander returned to the line-up at NYIT in a productive manner, going 7-for-12 at the plate to post a .583 average.
ALL-TIME VS. CHICAGO STATE: Like many of the Great West members, the Sioux met the Cougars for the first time on the diamond a season ago. The teams met in the Windy City where UND took three-of-four from Chicago State, outscoring the Cougars 37-15. The lone victory for CSU was a 2-1 decision in the seven-inning game of Saturday's doubleheader.
The Sioux would conclude their season with a triumph over the Cougars, posting an 8-2 victory in their final pool play game at the GWC Tournament in Edinburg, Texas.
Craig Dolmage went 5-for-10 against CSU last season, while
Josh Ray went 9-for-20 with a home run and six RBI. Sioux slugger
Jake Magner also faired well against the Cougars, going 10-for-24 with a team-best nine RBI.
Righthander
Derek Biermaier avenged his loss in the regular-season meeting by defeating the Cougars in Edinburg. He allowed only four earned runs and struck out seven in 12.2 innings pitched against the squad.
THE SKINNY ON THE COUGARS: The Cougars have won five games already this season, improving on their four-win total from the 2010 season. One of those victories came last weekend when the Cougars knocked off defending league champion Utah Valley, 6-5. The Wolverines took the series, however, winning the other three contests.
The CSU offense starts and ends with the Carpen brothers. Head coach Michael Caston has three to work with on his roster and the trio usually takes up the leadoff spot, the two-hole and the cleanup spot on his lineup card. Michael Carpen is the team's top hitter, holding a .389 average in overall games and increasing that clip to .457 in league play. Jonathan Carpen is the team's top run producer with 25 RBI on the season. He is hitting .322 overall and also increased his average to .400 in league action. The other brother, Albert, is a dual-threat player. He has started six games on the mound (1-5, 10.22 ERA) and is also batting .270 in 31 starts as the team's primary designated hitter. His 13 RBI rank third on the team.
First baseman Weston Lewis is a newcomer to the club and has turned in an impressive .332 clip in his first 33 contests with the Cougars. CSU has hit only seven home runs on the season and shortstop Miguel Camacho has two of those. He is hitting .278 and ranks second on the team with 15 RBI.
Gregory Day has been the team's with a 2-3 record and 4.50 ERA. He has gone the distance twice, including in the 6-5 victory over Utah Valley.
