SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (12-18, 9-11 NSIC, T-8th) will continue an eight-game road swing with doubleheaders against Minot State, starting at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 13 and noon on Friday, April 14 in Minot, N.D. The NSIC series between USF and Minot State (16-12, 11-9 NSIC, 5th) has moved up a day with the threat of rain on Saturday. The series is important for both teams as USF sits eighth in the league (9-11), just two games behind fifth place MISU (11-9).

USF continues to split season series
Led by first year head coach Grant Hieb, USF now stands 12-18 overall and 9-11 for eighth in the NSIC. The Cougars will look to snap a three-game losing streak when they face Minot State.

On Tuesday, the Cougars dropped a pair of close games to league leader Minnesota State, 2-1, and 4-0. In game one, the Mavericks scored an unearned run in the sixth inning and held off USF behind its ace Dylan Roach to win, 2-1. In game two, Mitchell Bauer scattered 10 USF hits, including three singles by Matthew Minnick to record a 4-0 victory.

On the day, USF finished with just one run on 12 hits. However, the Cougars' pitching staff allowed just three total earned runs as Zak Wallner, Dan Johnson and Stuart Maes provided strong efforts on the mound. MSU scored single runs in the second and sixth inning as they registered just four hits and one earned run off Wallner, who fell to 1-1 on the season. In his 69 pitches, Wallner walked a hitter and recorded a strikeout. USF's only run was a stinging home run by Josh Rehwaldt, who connected for his third of the season and seventh of his career. Johnson (2-2) dropped his second decision of the season despite allowing just four hits and one earned run (three total runs) in 5 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts and three walks in throwing 89 pitches. Maes finished for USF, allowing two hits and a run in 2 1/3 innings of work.

Last weekend, the Cougars defeated Winona State twice in four games, including, 3-2 as senior right-hander Zachary Miller threw a complete-game five-hitter in seven innings. On April 8, 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 .302 as a team, which ranks fourth in the league. The Cougars have 290 hits and 176 runs and 73 extra base hits. The Cougars have pilfered 57 bases, which ranks second in the league and have done it in 72 attempts for .791 success rate.  

Minot State sits in fifth in the league
Minot State is fifth in the league in the standings with an 11-9 league mark. They stand eighth in the league in pitching with a 5.07 ERA with 193 strikeouts and 108 walks.  The Beavers rank sixth in the league at .301 just behind USF. They have clubbed 19 home runs with 138 RBI. The offense is led by Jordan Schultz, whose .402 batting average is fourth in the NSIC. Schultz, who has a .641 slugging percentage and .509 OBP, has three triples. Michael Borst, who is hitting .346, has four homers (10th, NSIC) and ranks second in the league with 36 RBI. Six players are hitting over .300 for the Beavers.

Cougars hitting .319 with runners in scoring position
USF is .hitting .311 (109-of-350) with runners in scoring position and have converted at a .611 rate (58-of-95) with runners on third and less than two outs. In advancing runners, the Cougars have been successful in 280-of-547 occasions for .512.  USF, which has 48 two-out RBI, is batting .314 (155-of-494) with runners on and 13-of-52 for .250 with bases loaded. USF is hitting .290 (51-of-176) against left handers and .304 (239-of-785) against right handed pitchers. The Cougars are hitting .254 (72-of-284) with two outs .303 (118-of-390) with bases empty.
 
USF is 9-1 when leading after six innings
USF has been outscored, 214-to-177 this year with its most productive inning in the fifth (30-28). USF has a 26-20 run differential in the first inning but has been hurt in the sixth where opponents have a 35-10 margin. When USF leads after six innings, they are 9-1 but 1-16 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 3-11 when the opponent scores first. The Cougars are 11-2 when they outhit their opponent. When USF scores 10 runs or more they are 4-3.  USF is 6-2 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 ranks in NSIC top 10 in five hitting categories – Over the last 11 games of the season, Rehwaldt has hit .474 with 18 hits in 38 at bats with three home runs and 13 RBI and an .842 slugging mark with a .583 OBP. As a result, Rehwaldt, who homered off Minnesota State ace Dylan Roach on Tuesday, is hitting a team high .381 batting average, which ranks eighth in the NSIC and .458 OBP which is eighth in the NSIC. In addition, he has a .575 slugging mark, 10th in the NSIC, with 29 RBI, which is tied for fifth in the NSIC. He also ranks third in the league with 43 hits and eighth with nine doubles. He has 15 multi-hit games, six multi-RBI games and team-best 10-game hitting streak. He has reached bases in 13 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 .355. Peterson, who has a .441 slugging pct., and .406 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.

Rob Johnson's team-high 14 steals leads NSIC - In 28 games, Johnson is now hitting .319, with a league high 14 steals in 15 attempts. He has 29 hits and 20 runs. Overall, Johnson has a .495 slugging mark and .393 OBP.   

Brent Jarvis continues to pound ball at .315 – Jarvis is hitting .315 with a .491 slugging pct., and .435 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 .269, with .325 mark over last 11 games -- Matthew Minnick, who had a team-high 14-game on-base streak snapped in opener vs. Winona State on April 7, has jumped his batting average to .267. Over the last 11 games, Minnick has hit .325 with a homer, four RBI, 13 hits. He had three hits in the second game against Minnesota State on Tuesday. Minnick has pushed his slugging percentage to .450 with a .426 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 eight multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.   

Crow continues to wield hot bat -- Senor Outfielder Trevor Crow is hitting .337, with a .495 slugging mark and .388 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 84 straight games at catcher - junior catcher Connor Merriam, who is hitting .286, has five home runs this season which ranks eighth in the league. He hit two long balls in a 15-13 loss to SCSU on March 19. Merriam has a .500 slugging percentage. He has 15 RBIs and a .348 OBP while owning a .980 fielding percentage. Merriam, who caught all 54 games a year ago, has started all 30 games this season, a run of 84 straight games.  
  
Mound Assessment: USF's pitching beginning to stabilize
USF ranks 15th in the NSIC with an overall 7.42 ERA, which is down .35 after the solid performance against MSU. The Cougars have 143 strikeouts and 189 walks in 229.1 innings
 
Ryan Patrick picks up win -- 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.
 
Dan Johnson continues to throw well – Johnson (2-2), a sophomore starter, owns a 3.77 ERA with nine appearances, including five starts. In his most recent start (4-0 loss) vs. #21 Minnesota State, Johnson allowed just one earned run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. 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. 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.
 
Zak Wallner has had good run of mound success -- Wallner, a senior, has been solid as a starter with a 1-1 record and 4.15 ERA. In his most recent start, a 2-1 loss to #21 Minnesota State on Tuesday, worked six innings and allowed just four hits while recording a strikeout and a walk. He has made six starts with nine appearances, recording 24 strikeouts to 15 walks.
 
Senior Zachary 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.  Stuart Maes, who worked 2 1/3 innings in a 4-0 loss to #21 Minnesota State (one run, two hits), has a 2-3 record with a 6.83 ERA with 14 strikeouts.