Baseball | 4/16/2017 1:08:00 PM

SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (12-22, 9-15 NSIC) will conclude an eight-game road swing with a mid-week doubleheader  against University of Mary (9-26, 5-21 NSIC), starting at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19 at Bismarck Municipal Stadium in Bismarck, N.D.  The Cougars will look to end a seven-game losing streak which has dropped them to 9-15 in the league. After the series at U-Mary, USF is home this weekend (April 22-23) against Upper Iowa (14-16, 10-14 NSIC).

USF hitting .303 as a team, fourth in the NSIC
Led by first year head coach Grant Hieb, USF now stands 12-22 overall and 9-15. The Cougars dropped a four-game series against Minot State on the road last weekend as the Cougars fell to 5-16 on the road. Among the losses were a pair of one-run decisions, 5-4 and 7-6. Earlier in the week USF lost 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. The Cougars' pitching staff allowed just three total earned runs as Zak Wallner, Dan Johnson and Stuart Maes provided strong efforts on the mound.  

Through 34 games, USF, which has won four games in walk off fashion this spring and eight over the past two years, ranks fourth in the NSIC in hitting at .303 as a team. The Cougars have 332 hits, 191 runs scored and 82 extra base hits. The Cougars have pilfered 69 bases, which ranks second in the league and have done it in 75 attempts for .787 success rate.  With 23 home runs, the Cougars are tied for third in the league. With a .431 slugging percentage USF is tied for fourth in the NSIC. They have a .385 OBP which is tied for fourth in the league.

On U-Mary - Marauders rank 11th in league in pitching
Mary is 14th in the league with a 5-21 league mark and stand 9-26 overall.  The Marauders are hitting .242, which is 15th in the NSIC. The Marauders have 47 extra base hits, including eight home runs (tied for 14th in NSIC). U-Mary has a 5.69 ERA for 11th in the league. Andrew Beyer leads the offense at .350 with 24 runs scored and 15 RBI. Seth Meide has a team-high three home runs and 18 RBI. In seven starts, Nicholas Stobbe has a 3-3 record and 4.50 ERA. Jake Johnson has made seven starts with a 2-5 record and 6.08 ERA. Out of the bullpen, Mary is led by Kenny Slominski, who has a 4.70 ERA in 15 appearances but has not been involved in a decision.

Cougars hitting .321 with runners in scoring position
USF is .hitting .321 (126-of-392) with runners in scoring position and have converted at a .631 rate (70-of-111) with runners on third and less than two outs. In advancing runners, the Cougars have been successful in 320-of-625 occasions for .512.  USF, which has 55 two-out RBI, is batting .314 (155-of-494) with runners on and 13-of-52 for .250 with bases loaded. USF is hitting .284 (63-of-222) against left handers and .308 (269-of-873) against right handed pitchers. The Cougars are hitting .269 (86-of-320) with two outs and .311 (136-of-437) with bases empty.
 
Numbers to Ponder - Six starters hitting over .300
USF has been outscored, 254-to-203 this year with its most productive inning in the fifth (35-32). The Cougars have six starters hitting .300 or better, including leading hitter Josh Rehwaldt at .362. USF has a 29-32 run differential in the first inning but has been hurt in the sixth where opponents have a 45-22 margin. When USF leads after six innings, they are 9-1 but 1-20 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 9-9 but 2-11 when the opponent scores first. The Cougars are 11-3 when they outhit their opponent. When USF scores 10 runs or more they are 4-4.  USF is 6-4 in one-run games but 1-7 in games decided by two runs. The Cougars are 10-17 vs. right handers, 2-5 against left-handed starters, 1-5 in night games and 11-17 in day games. When USF scores in the first inning, they are 6-5.

Breaking down Coo hitting crew –
Josh Rehwaldt ranks in NSIC top 10 in four categories, hitting .394 over past 28G – Over a slow start, Rehwaldt has wielded a hot bat over the past 28 games, hitting .394 with 26 of his 32 RBI, all three of his home runs and 41 of his 47 hits. In that span, Rehwaldt, a sophomore first baseman who owns a 14-game hitting streak and has reached base in 17 straight games, has had a .587 slugging mark with a .467 OBP. Overall, Rehwaldt, who homered off Minnesota State ace Dylan Roach for his third home run of the season and seventh of his career, is hitting a team high .362 batting average. He ranks sixth in the league with 32 RBI, third in hits with 47 and seventh in doubles with 11. He has a .546 slugging percentage, which leads USF and his .432 OBP ranks third on USF. Rehwaldt, who has a team-high 71 total bases and seven stolen bases in nine attempts. He has 15 multi-hit games, and six multi-RBI games.  In 84 career games, he has 73 RBI, 129 hits, 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts, and 36 multi-hit games and 16 multi-RBI games. Plus, he has 12 games with three or more hits and eight games with three of more RBI.
 
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 .430 slugging pct., and .400 OBP, has 17 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. In 158 career games, Peterson has 75 runs, 130 hits, 69 RBI, 14 stolen bases and 35 multi-hit games. 

Rob Johnson's team-high 14 steals ranks second in NSIC - In 31 games junior centerfielder Rob Johnson is now hitting .330, raising his average 11 points in the past four games. He ranks third on the team in hitting and first on the team and second in the league with 14 steals in just 15 attempts. He has 34 hits and 23 runs. Overall, Johnson has a .534 slugging mark and .400 OBP.  He has three home runs this season and seven in his career. Johnson has two triples and seven in his career. He has 38 multi-hit games in 82 starts with nine multi-RBI games, and 24 steals in 31 attempts in his career at USF.

Brent Jarvis continues to pound ball at .320 – Brent Jarvis is hitting .320 with a .484 slugging pct., and .439 OBP. He has three home runs and 11 multi-hit games - fourth on USF - and is the only USF player with six hits in a game as he was 6-of-6 against Nebraska-Kearney.   In 125 starts (128 overall games), Jarvis has nine home runs, 71 RBI, 132 hits, 28 steals in 34 attempts, 37 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games.

Minnick has jumped average to .292, with .351 stretch over last 28 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 .292. Over the last 28 games, Minnick, who has a five game hitting streak, has hit .351 with a homer, 14 RBI, 30 hits. Against Minot State, he collected seven hits in 16 at bats, including his first four-hit game of the season.  Minnick has pushed his slugging percentage to .342 and OBP to .363. 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 17 RBI this year with 95 in his career. He has nine multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.  In 124 career starts, Minnick has 151 hits, 98 runs, 41 multi-hit games, and 23 multi-RBI games. With his four hits against Minot States, he now has eight games with four of more hits and 14 games with at least three hits. 

Crow has made 146 career starts -- Outfielder Trevor Crow is hitting .324, with a .467 slugging mark and .372 OBP. He has 34 hits, 24 runs with three home runs and 15 RBI. Crow has nine multi-hit games, including a team-best six three-hit games. In his 146 starts and 156 total games, he has collected 152 hits, six home runs, 73 RBI and 80 scored runs.

Merriam started 99 straight games at catcher - junior catcher Connor Merriam, who is hitting .269, has five home runs this season which ranks 10th in the league. He hit two long balls in a 15-13 loss to SCSU on March 19. Merriam has a .463 slugging percentage. He has 16 RBIs and a .344 OBP while owning a .983 fielding percentage. Merriam started and caught the final 11 games as a freshman in 2015, all 54 games a year ago, and all 34 games this season, for a run of 99 straight games. He has started 120 of 122 games in his career with 11 home runs and 61 RBI.   
 
Durkin has 53 multi-hit games in career – With 19 walks this season, senior outfielder Noah Durkin ranks in the league's top 10. He is hitting .254 in 34 games with a .364 OBP. Durkin has 10 RBI and stolen 10 bases in 12 attempts.  In his career, Durkin has played in 175 games with 173 starts and 617 at bats with 192 hits, 71 RBI and four home runs. He has stolen 29 bases in 45 attempts. In addition, he has 53 multi-hit games, including eight this season.
  
Mound Assessment
USF ranks 15th in the NSIC with an overall 7.76 ERA, while registering 151 strikeouts and 168 walks in 257.1 innings
 
Patrick picks up win against DWU -- Ryan Patrick had his best performance of the season, hurling five innings of shutout baseball against Dakota Wesleyan as he moved to 1-1 on the season. Overall, he as a 12.38 ERA with four appearances and two starts and eight innings of work.
 
Johnson part of 1st shutout since last May – Sophomore Dan Johnson (2-2) owns a 3.52 ERA with 10 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.
 
Wallner has had good run of mound success -- Senior Zak Wallner has been solid as a starter with a 1-1 record and 5.08 ERA. In his most recent start, he allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings, although he bounced back after giving up four runs in five hits in the first inning. He had a strong effort in a losing cause to #21 Minnesota State, falling 2-1 as he 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. Wallner's best start was in a 6-1 win over Minnesota Crookston when he went seven innings, allowing four hits and no earned runs with a career high eight strikeouts. Overall he has worked 44 1/3 innings, allowing 47 hits and 25 earned runs with 30 strikeouts and 18 walks. He has pitched at least five innings five times this season.
 
Miller has worked at least  five innings in five straight starts -- Zachary Miller, who has a 2-3 record and 8.20 ERA, has had a series of strong starts, making eight appearances with seven starts. He also has a save for USF. Miller has two seven inning complete games and worked five innings or more in five straight starts. In his most recent start, he allowed five runs on just two hits (two home runs) in six innings of a 5-4 setback to Minot State. He has 21 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings and walked 28.
                                                          
Relief core breakdown --Chris Thompson (2-2, 10.29 ERA) has made 11 appearances while Mitchell Lyall (0-2, 7.47 ERA) has made the team's most appearances with 13. Cody Blackwell1 is 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA and nine appearances.  Stuart Maes, who worked 2 1/3 innings in a 4-0 loss to #21 Minnesota State (one run, two hits), has a 2-4 record with a 6.89 ERA with 17 strikeouts. Freshman Keenahn Coyle is 0-3 with an 8.07 ERA in nine appearances with five starts. He has 18 strikeouts with 24 walks. In his best start, a 7-6 walk off win against Winona State on April 8, he worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and four runs with six strikeouts. In that game, he tossed six innings of one-run ball on just four hits before WSU put a rally together in the seventh inning.