SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (12-16, 9-9 NSIC) will begin an eight-game road swing over the next 10 days, beginning at NSIC leader Minnesota State (24-5, 19-1 NSIC) on Tuesday, April 11. The afternoon doubleheader with USF-MSU begins at 1:30 p.m. in Mankato.

USF has recorded 4th walk offs this season and eight over two years
Led by first year head coach Grant Hieb, USF now stands 12-16 overall and 9-9 for seventh in the NSIC. The Cougars, which has split all five series played in the NSIC this spring, defeated Winona State twice in four games, including, 3-2 on Friday as senior right-hander Zachary Miller threw a complete-game five-hitter in seven innings. On Saturday, USF won in dramatic fashion, 7-6, with a walk-off suicide squeeze by Gunner Petersen that plated Cole Sweeney in the bottom of the seventh inning. The 7-6 win by USF was its fourth walk-off win of the season and the eighth over the past two years.

 Through 28 games, USF is hitting .308 as a team with a .446 slugging and .396 OBP. The Cougars have 278 hits and 176 runs and 72 extra base hits. The Cougars have pilfered 53 bases, which ranks second in the league and have done it in 68 attempts for .779 success rate.  

USF ranks 15th in the NSIC with an overall 7.77 ERA, which is down over two runs from two weeks ago.

On Minnesota State
Minnesota State enters play Tuesday at 24-5 and ranked #21 in the country. The Mavericks have dominated play in the NSIC with a 19-1 mark, including taking 3-of-4 from Minot State. The Mavericks are hitting .310, second in the NSIC, as a team with a league-best 35 home runs. They also have the NSIC's top pitching staff with a 2.37 ERA, more than a run better than second place Augustana (3.50). Josh Wenzel is hitting .346 with eight home runs (3rd, NSIC) and 27 RBI (8th, NSIC) and Eric Peterson, .385 with six home runs and 21 RBI to lead the offense. The pitching staff features Dalton Roach who has a 5-0 record and league-leading 1.62 ERA and 60 strikeouts (2nd, NSIC).

Cougars hitting .319 with runners in scoring position
USF is .hitting .319 (107-of-335) with runners in scoring position and have converted at a .624 rate (58-of-93) with runners on third and less than two outs. In advancing runners, the Cougars have been successful in 274-of-525 occasions for .522.  USF, which has 48 two-out RBI, is batting .339 (167-of-492) with runners on and 13-of-50 for .260 with bases loaded. USF is hitting .290 (51-of-176) against left handers and .313 (227-of-726) against right handed pitchers.
 
USF has a 9-1 record when leading after six innings
USF has been outscored, 208-to-176 this year, but held its own down the stretch of games. USF is tied 53-to-53 in eighth, ninth and extra innings. USF's most productive inning has been the third (28-22) and fifth innings (30-27). When USF leads after six innings, they are 9-1 but 1-14 when trailing after six innings. The one win after trailing through six innings was the eight run explosion when they rallied from down 6-5 for a 13-6 win on the road at Bemidji State on April 2. When USF scores first, they are 9-7 but 3-9 when the opponent scores first. The Cougars are 11-1 when they outhit their opponent. When USF scores 10 runs or more they are 4-3.  USF is 6-1 in one-run games but 1-7 in games decided by two runs. The Cougars are 10-13 vs. right handers and 2-3 against left-handed starters.

Breaking down Coo hitting crew
Josh Rehwaldt leads team with 28 RBI – In the past five games, Josh Rehwaldt has hit .500 with nine hits in 18 at bats and five runs, four doubles, two stolen bases, a HR and six RBI. In that span, Rehwaldt's slugging mark was .888 with a .550 OBP and 1.000 fielding mark. Against DWU, he was 1-of -2 with a HR and two RBI.  He had two hits in each of the four games with WSU. Rehwaldt had four doubles against WSU and four RBI.  On the season, he has a team high .377 batting average, which ranks 10th in the NSIC and .455 OBP which is ninth in the NSIC. He has 14 multi-hit games, six multi-RBI games and an eight-game hitting streak. He has reached bases in 11 straight games.
 
Gunner Peterson ranks second in hitting for USF – Petersen, who hit his first career grand slam and just his second HR of his career in a win over Bemidji State, has risen his average to .364. Peterson, who has a .455 slugging pct., and .417 OBP, has 16 RBI. He executed a walk-off suicide squeeze in a 7-6 win over Winona State. In that game, the senior shortstop had two bunt singles as he continues to utilize his bat control in creating opportunities for USF.

Johnson's team-high 13 steals ranks second in NSIC - In 26 games junior centerfielder Rob Johnson is now hitting .329, raising his average 14 points over the weekend. He has 28 hits and 11 RBI. He has 13 steals in 14 attempts with the steals ranking second in the NSIC. Overall, Johnson has a .518 slugging mark and .406 OBP.   
 Jarvis continues to pound ball at .324 – Brent Jarvis is hitting .327 with a .510 slugging pct., and .439 OBP. He has 10 multi-hit games - third on USF - and is the only USF player with six hits in a game as he was 6-of-6 against Nebraska-Kearney. He is tied with Peterson for second with five multi-RBI games at five.

Minnick has jumped average to .258, up 193 points over past three weeks -- Matthew Minnick, who had a team-high 14-game on-base streak snapped in opener vs. Winona State on Friday, has jumped his batting average to .258, a jump of 193 points since an early season slump. Minnick has a .320 slugging mark and .342 OBP. The junior outfielder, who has two walk off hits this year, hit his first home run of the season –16th in his career – to tie the game in USF's 7-6 walk off win over Winona State. He now has 15 RBI this year with 93 in his career. He has seven multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.   

Crow continues to wield hot bat -- Senor Outfielder Trevor Crow is hitting .348, with a .511 slugging mark and .400 OBP. He has 32 hits, 23 runs (tied with Rehwaldt for team-high) with three home runs and 14 RBI. Crow has nine multi-hit games, including a team-best six three-hit games.

Merriam started 82 straight games at catcher - Junior catcher Connor Merriam, who is hitting .283, has five home runs this season which ranks eighth in the league. He hit two in a 15-13 loss to SCSU on March 19. Merriam has a .511 slugging percentage. He has 15 RBIs and a .349 OBP while owning a .968 fielding percentage. Merriam, who caught all 54 games a year ago, has started all 28 games this season, a run of 82 straight games.  
  
Mound Assessment
Through 28 games, USF has a 7.77 ERA in 215 1/3 innings with 124 strikeouts but 139 walks. The Cougars have thrown one shutout, three complete games and recorded a pair of saves.
 
Patrick picks up win -- On Tuesday, Ryan Patrick has his best performance of the season, hurling five innings of shutout baseball against Dakota Wesleyan as he moved to 1-1 on the season.
 
Johnson part of 1st shutout since last May – Sophomore Dan Johnson (2-1) owns a 4.30 ERA with eight appearances, including four starts. At SMSU on March 29, Johnson and Mitchell Lyall combined on a seven-inning four-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory. Johnson allowed just five hits across five innings while registering five strikeouts. As for Johnson, he was the last USF's starting pitcher to toss a shutout, a 1-0 nine-inning four-hitter against Concordia St. Paul on May 1, 2016.
 
Wallner has had good run of mound success -- Senior Zak Wallner has been solid as a starter with a 1-0 record and 4.64 ERA. He has made five starts with eight appearances, recording 23 strikeouts to 14 walks.
 
Miller moves to 2-3 with complete game victory -- Zachary Miller, who has a 2-3 record and 8.33 ERA, has had a series of strong starts, making seven appearances with six starts. He also has a save for USF. Miller has two seven inning complete games.
                                                          
Relief core breakdown --Chris Thompson (2-2, 9.00 ERA) has made 10 appearances while Mitchell Lyall (0-1, 5.79 ERA) has made the team's most appearances with 12. Cody Blackwell (1-0, 6.30 ERA, 8 appearances) has been solid in relief.