SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (14-22, 11-15 NSIC), which threw consecutive shutouts for first time in 10 years on Wednesday, will look to extend a two-game winning streak as the Cougars host Upper Iowa (14-20, 10-16 NSIC) in a four-game series on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23 at the Birdcage. Game time for Saturday's doubleheader is set for 1:30 p.m. with Sunday's first pitch at noon.

USF is 10th in the NSIC at 11-15, just a game out of eight. Four teams in the NSIC have 12 league wins with Concordia St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth at 12-11 and tied for sixth. Winona State is 12-14 and eighth while Minnesota Crookston is 12-16 and ninth. The top eight teams qualify for the NSIC postseason tournament.

USF hitting .306 as a team, third in the NSIC
Led by first year head coach Grant Hieb, USF now stands 14-22 overall and 11-15. On Wednesday, the Cougars recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 10 years in a road sweep (5-0, 14-0) of the University of Mary (9-28, 5-23 NSIC) in NSIC play at Municipal Park. Senior Zak Wallner tossed his first career shutout, allowing just six hits in the opener, a 5-0 decision. In the second game, sophomore Dan Johnson recorded the third shutout of his career with a two-hit blanking of the Marauders in a seven-inning game ended by run rule. The two victories by USF snapped a seven-game losing skein.

Wallner (2-1) and Johnson (3-2) recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since USF defeated Doane, 4-0, 7-0 in 2007. In total the two pitchers combined to allow just eight hits across 14 innings with 11 strikeouts and six walks. U-Mary combined to hit .178 against USF. Wallner dropped his ERA to 4.38 with his second win in three decisions. Johnson lowered his ERA to 2.87 with his third win of the season.

USF's offense was led by Josh Rehwaldt who had four hits in eight at bats with his fourth home run of the season and four RBI. Austin Richey added four hits in six at bats with two RBI. Both Richey and Rehwaldt scored three times. Rob Johnson, who leads the league in steals, added three more to his total and has 17 in 18 attempts this season. He collected three hits in six at bats. In total, USF had 10 stolen bases in 10 attempts while hitting .367 with 22 hits, 19 runs and five extra base hits. In addition, Connor Merriam started his 100th straight game at catcher in the opener before sitting out game two.

Through 36 games, USF, which has won four games in walk off fashion this spring and eight over the past two years, ranks third in the NSIC in hitting at .306 as a team. The Cougars have 354 hits, 222 runs scored and 87 extra base hits. The Cougars have pilfered 69 bases, which ranks second in the league and have done it in 85 attempts for .814 success rate.  With 24 home runs, the Cougars are tied for fourth in the league. With a .432 slugging percentage USF is tied for fourth in the NSIC. They have a .389 OBP which is third in the league.

Upper Iowa Notes
Upper Iowa, which is 14-20 overall and 10-16 in league play, has lost five straight but the last three have been close. SF lost at Wayne State, 7-5 and 7-6 after falling to Minnesota-Crookston, 8-6. UIU's last win was a 3-2 decision over Minnesota-Crookston on April 14. The Peacocks rank ninth in the NSIC in hitting at .284 with 14 home runs and a .398n slugging percentage. UIU is third in the NSIC in pitching with a 6.35 ERA. Opponents have hit .313 against Peacock pitching and total 18 home runs. Anthony Calton leads the offense with a .364 batting average and has a home run and 17 RBI. Jacob Greco is hitting .361 with three home runs and a team-high 22 RBI. Luis Ravelo has a team-best five home runs and is hitting .291. Brett Fanning is the Peacocks' top pitcher, making seven starts and owning a 4-2 record with a 2.45 ERA. Zackary Cain is 3-3 in eight starts with a 3.95 ERA.

Cougars hitting .325 with runners in scoring position
USF is .hitting .325 (136-of-419) with runners in scoring position and have converted at a .516 rate (75-of-118) with runners on third and less than two outs. In advancing runners, the Cougars have been successful in 334-of-667 occasions for .512.  USF, which has 63 two-out RBI, is batting .323 (195-of-604) with runners on and 19-of-61 for .311 with bases loaded. USF is hitting .288 (673-of-233) against left handers and .308 (287-of-922) against right handed pitchers. The Cougars are hitting .261 (97-of-372) with two outs and .309 (143-of-463) with bases empty.
 
Numbers to Ponder - Seven starters hitting over .300
USF has been outscored, 254-to-222 this year with its most productive inning in the fifth (36-32). The Cougars have seven starters hitting .300 or better, including leading hitter Josh Rehwaldt at .370. 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 11-1 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 11-9 but 2-11 when the opponent scores first. The Cougars are 13-3 when they outhit their opponent. When USF scores 10 runs or more they are 5-4.  USF is 6-4 in one-run games but 1-7 in games decided by two runs. The Cougars are 11-17 vs. right handers, 3-5 against left-handed starters, 1-5 in night games and 13-17 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 .402 over past 30G – After a slow start, Rehwaldt has wielded a hot bat over the past 30 games, hitting .402 with 30 of his 36 RBI, all four of his home runs and 45 of his 51 hits. In that span, Rehwaldt, a sophomore first baseman who owns a 16-game hitting streak and has reached base in 19 straight games, has had a .587 slugging mark with a .467 OBP. Overall, Rehwaldt is hitting a team high .370 for ninth in the NSIC. He ranks fourth in the league with 36 RBI, second in hits with 51 and eighth in doubles with 11. He has a .565 slugging percentage, which leads USF and his .433 OBP ranks third on USF. Rehwaldt, who has a team-high 78 total bases and eight stolen bases in 10 attempts. He has 17 multi-hit games, and eight multi-RBI games.  In 86 career games, he has 77 RBI, 133 hits, 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts, 38 multi-hit games and 18 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, his hitting .348, which is second on the team. Peterson, who has a .426 slugging pct., and .390 OBP, has 18 RBI. He executed a walk-off 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 160 career games, Peterson has 77 runs, 132 hits, 70 RBI, 154 stolen bases and 35 multi-hit games. 

Rob Johnson's team-high 17 steals leads NSIC - In 33 games junior centerfielder Rob Johnson is now hitting .339, raising his average nine points in the past two games. He ranks fourth on the team in hitting and first on the team and in the league with 17 steals in just 18 attempts. He has 37 hits and 25 runs. Overall, Johnson has a .532 slugging mark and .414 OBP.  He has three home runs this season and seven in his career. Johnson has two triples and seven in his career. He has 39 multi-hit games in 842 starts with nine multi-RBI games, and 27 steals in 34 attempts in his career at USF.

Jarvis continues to pound ball at .320 – Brent Jarvis is hitting .320 with a .484 slugging pct., and .442 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 127 starts (130 overall games), Jarvis has nine home runs, 72 RBI, 134 hits, 30 steals in 36 attempts, 37 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games.

Minnick hitting .280, with .333 stretch over last 30 games -- Matthew Minnick has jumped his batting average to .2802. Over the last 30 games, Minnick has hit .333 with a homer, 15 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 .328 and OBP to .359. 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 18 RBI this year with 96 in his career. He has nine multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.  In 126 career starts, Minnick has 151 hits, 99 runs, 41 multi-hit games, and 23 multi-RBI games. With his four hits against Minot State, he has eight games with four of more hits and 14 games with at least three hits. 

Crow has made 148 career starts -- Outfielder Trevor Crow is hitting .312, with a .450 slugging mark and .364 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 148 starts and 158 total games, he has collected 152 hits, six home runs, 73 RBI and 80 scored runs.

Merriam started 100 straight games at catcher - junior catcher Connor Merriam, who is hitting .275, started his 100th game in game one win over U-Mary (5-0) before sitting out game two. He has hit a team-high five home runs this season. He hit two long balls in a 15-13 loss to SCSU on March 19. Merriam has a .477 slugging percentage. He has 17 RBIs and a .349 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 35 straight games this season, for a run of 100 straight games. He has started 121 of 124 games in his career with 11 home runs and 62 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.
Richey has moved batting average up to .340 – After going 4-of-6 with three runs scored and two RBI, senior Austin Richey has jumped his batting average to .340 on the season with a .489 slugging percentage and .492 and OBP. He has home run and 12 RBI in 21 games this season.
  
Mound Assessment
USF ranks 15th in the NSIC with an overall 7.36 ERA, while registering 162 strikeouts and 174 walks in 271.1 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 hurls 2nd shutout – Sophomore Dan Johnson (3-2) owns a team-best 2.87 ERA with 11 appearances, including six starts. In his most recent start, Johnson recorded his second career shutout by going seven innings and allowing just two hits in 14-0 win over U-Mary. Over his past 14 2/3 innings, he has allowed just one earned run and seven hits while registering 11 strikeouts against six walks. At SMSU on March 29, Johnson and Mitchell Lyell 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.  In 37 2/3 innings, Johnson has allowed just one home run and 12 earned runs with 24 strikeouts and 22 walks. In his last four starts, 19 2/3 innings.

Wallner has had good run of mound success -- Senior Zak Wallner has been solid as a starter with a 2-1 record and 4.38 ERA. In his most recent start, he tossed his first career shutout, allowing just six hits across seven innings of a 5-0 win over U-Mary.  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. Wallner also had a standout effort 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 51 1/3 innings, allowing 53 hits and 25 earned runs. He has made seven starts with 10 appearances, recording 35 strikeouts to 22 walks. He has pitched at least five innings six 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.