SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (18-28, 15-21 NSIC, 10th), which ranks second in the NSIC in hitting, will wrap up the regular season against Wayne State (25-21, 20-14 NSIC, 4th) on Friday and Saturday, May 5-6 at the Birdcage. USF will host doubleheaders at 5 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday on Senior Day.  

This will be is a critical weekend for the Cougars, which needs to win and get help to advance to its second straight NSIC Tournament appearance. USF sits tied with Winona State for 10th place in the league standings with both schools at 15-21 (.417). However, both squads are just percentage points out of eighth place. Ahead of USF and Winona State in the standings is Northern State, which is 15-19 (.441) for ninth while Minnesota Crookston is 16-18 (.471) in eighth place. Concordia St. Paul is 15-16 (.484) and is seventh in the standings. Even sixth place Minnesota-Duluth at 16-17 (.485) is in a "must win" situation. With four wins, USF would finish 19-21 with a .475 percentage which could move them into eighth.

USF Senior Day set for Saturday
On Saturday after game two with Wayne State, USF will recognize 10 seniors for their dedication to the program. The group played a key role as USF qualified for its first NSIC Tournament a year ago when the Cougars finished 21-29-1, including 14-18-1. With two wins the Cougars will reach 20 wins in a season for the second straight season. USF has accumulated 53 league wins and 72 overall in the past four seasons.

The seniors being honored and bios include:

Noah Durkin of Littleton, Colo., is the son of Mike and Brenna Durkin. A sports management major who is working on a master's degree in healthcare management, Durkin has hit .304 in 186 career games, including 183 starts. An outfielder, he has 202 hits with 33 doubles, four home runs, 31 steals, 257 total bases and 75 RBI. On defense, he has 352 put outs with 20 assists. In 2017, he is hitting .261 in 2017 with 12 steals and 23 walks, eighth in the league.

Trevor Crow of Sioux Falls, S.D., is the son of Toby and Liz Crow. A criminal justice major who is minoring in psychology, Crow has a career .283 average in 164 games with 147 hits, 20 doubles, seven triples, six home runs, 18 stolen bases, and 74 RBI. An outfielder, he is hitting .308 in 2017.

Zachary Miller, of Goodyear, Ariz., is the son of Michael Miller and grandson of Sandra Miller. A criminal justice major, Miller has made 24 appearances and 20 starts with a 4-13 record and 6.38 ERA with 76 strikeouts, five complete games and one save in two season. Miller is 2-6 in 2017 with four complete games, and 28 strikeouts as well as a team-best three pickoffs.

Austin Nordike of Lee's Summit, Mo., is the son of Mark and Kirsten Nordike. An applied mathematics major, as made one appearance this year working one inning against Pittsburg State earlier this year. In his career, he has thrown 7 1/3 innings with a 0-0 record and one save. He has registered six strikeouts.

Ryan Patrick of McKinleyville, Calif., is the son of Garry and Brenda Patrick. A business administration major (human resources), Patrick has made 17 career appearances, including three starts. In 28 1/3 innings, he has a 3-4 record with an 8.58 ERA with eight strikeouts.  Patrick is 1-1 with a 12.38 ERA in 2017 with four appearances and two starts, including a victory over Dakota Wesleyan when he threw five shutout innings.

Austin Richey of Winner, S.D., is the son of Randy and Nicole Richey. A sports management and business administration major, Richey has played in 94 games, registering a .311 batting average with 76 hits, 11 doubles, four home runs and 58 RBI. In 2017, Richey has been one of the team's hottest bats, hitting .369 in 24 starts with 21 RBI and team-best .485 OBP.

Cole Sweeney of Chasta, Minn., is the son of Ryan and Lisa Sweeney. He is majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. In 94 career games, he has made 51 starts with a .292 batting average. He has accumulated 54 hits, seven doubles with a home run and 16 RBI. He has a career on-base percentage of .396 while registering 17 steals in 23 attempts. In 2017, he has hit .286 with 20 starts, a home run, eight RBI, .392 OBP and three stolen bases.

Zak Wallner of Amherst, Wis., is the son of Rick and Dana Wallner. A business administration major, he is minoring in marketing. In 2017, Wallner has stepped up as one of the best arms on the staff, accumulating five complete games, which ranks third in the league. He has a 4-1 record and 3.99 ERA with 10 starts and 14 appearances. In 67 2/3 innings in 2017, Wallner, who has pitched five innings or more eight times, has 40 strikeouts and 28 walks. In fact, he has hurled seven innings or more four times, including in each of his last three starts, all wins. In a 5-3 win over Concordia St. Pal, he worked a career long nine innings, throwing 132 pitches with three strikeouts and just one walk. In his career, he is 5-3 with a 5.89 ERA in 88 2/3 innings with 59 strikeouts.

Gunner Petersen of Brookings, S.D., is the son of Scott Peterson and Gina Kuck. A psychology major, Petersen hit his first career grand slam and just his second HR of his career in a win over Bemidji State. In 2017, the shortstop is hitting .345, which is third on the team. Peterson, who has a .412 slugging pct., and .382 OBP, has 22 RBI. A player with amazing bat control, he has four bunt singles this year and has maneuvered a pair of squeeze opportunities. In 170 career games, including 169 starts, Peterson has a .278 batting average, 88 runs, 143 hits, 74 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 37 multi-hit games.  Four times he has registered three hits, and hit a pair of home runs.

Chris Thompson of Papillion, Neb., is the son of Bill and Kim Thompson. A business administration major, Thompson has a 6-3 record in 31 appearances with three starts. He has pitched 38 innings in his career, recording 28 strikeouts. Thompson, who primarily has worked out of the bullpen, has two career saves. In 2017, he has a 3-2 record with an 8.57 ERA with two game starts and 13 appearances. He picked up a win in a 4-3 decision over Augustana in 2017, working seven innings and allowing just three runs.

On Wayne State
WSC has won 10-of-13 and stand 25-21 on the season, including 20-14 in league play. The Wildcats, which has a 13-11 road record, rank seventh in the NSIC in hitting at .298 and eighth in pitching with a 4.98 ERA. WSC has hit 26 home runs and has 109 extra base hits. They have scored 268 runs for fifth in the league.  Aiden Breedlove leads WSC on the mound with a 5-3 record and a 2.65 ERA.  Keenan Breen is 7-1 with a 2.75 ERA in 17 appearances but no starts. David Janes is fourth in the league in hitting at .382 and has 21 RBI and 50 hits. Jackson Petersen is hitting .329 in 29 starts with two home runs. Aaron Krier has nine home runs and Cody Jenkins, six for the Wildcats.
WSC-USF split two games in 2016.

A year ago, USF and WSC split a pair of games in Wayne, Neb. USF took a 5-1 victory in the opener as Dylan Gavin allowed just a run in five innings of work. Josh Rehwaldt had two hits and two RBI. In the second game, WSC defeated the Cougars, 12-5, using a seven run fifth to building a 9-0 lead before USF's rally fell short. Connor Merriam and Anthony Lopez each had two hits and an RBI to lead the Cougars.

 USF hitting .306 as a team, second in the NSIC
Led by first year head coach Grant Hieb, USF now stands 18-28 overall and 15-21 in the NSIC. This past week, USF lost 4-of-6 on the road, splitting with Augustana and dropping 3-of-4 to Concordia St. Paul.  In the final three games against the Golden Bears, USF was involved in three extra-inning games, winning a 5-3 decision as Zak Wallner tossed his fifth complete game of the season.

 Among this year's highlights was recording back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 10 years in a road sweep (5-0, 14-0) against the University of Mary. 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. 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.

Against Upper Iowa, USF had its best day on offense all-season while matching it with two strong pitching performances. The Cougars, which had a season-best 10-run inning in the game one victory, hit a sizzling .471 as a team with 32 hits in 68 at bats and 31 runs, which is a season best in consecutive games
 Through 46 games this season, USF, which has four walk off wins and eight over a two-year period, is hitting .313 as a team, which ranks second in the league. The Cougars have 400 hits (3rd, NSIC), 263 runs (4th, NSIC) and 99 extra base hits. The Cougars have pilfered 75 bases, which ranks second in the league. They have a .396 OBP which is second in the league.  Over the past six games, USF has scored a combined 60 runs, or 10 per game.
 
Cougars hitting .325 with runners in scoring position
USF is .hitting .325 (172-of-529) with runners in scoring position and have converted at a .627 rate (96-of-153) with runners on third and less than two outs. In advancing runners, the Cougars have been successful in 444-of-859 occasions for .517.  USF has 87 two-out RBI, are batting .326 (251-of-770) with runners on and 27-of-77 for .351 with bases loaded. USF is hitting .296 (87-of-294) against left handers and .309 (368-of-1,192) against right handed pitchers. With two out, the Cougars are hitting .272 (131-of-482) with two outs and .285 (204-of-716) with bases empty.
 
Numbers to Ponder - Five USF batters hitting over .300
USF has been outscored, 308-to-286 this year with its most productive inning in the fifth (57-43). USF also owns a 49-34 advantage in runs scored over opponents in the first inning. Opponents own a 50-27 margin in the sixth inning for the biggest differential against USF pitching. The Cougars have five players hitting .300 or better, including Josh Rehwaldt, who has a team-best .376 while Austin Richey is at .369. When USF leads after six innings, they are 14-3 but 1-23 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 14-13 but 3-12 when the opponent scores first. The Cougars are 17-4 when they outhit their opponent. When USF scores 10 runs or more they are 7-4.  USF is 7-6 in one-run games but 2-8 in games decided by two runs. The Cougars are 13-22 vs. right handers, 5-6 against left-handed starters, 2-5 in night games and 16-23 in day games. In extra innings, the Cougars a 2-3 and have three shutouts while being shutout themselves, three times. When USF has hit one home run, they are 7-5 but interestingly enough, 2-4 when they have two or more home runs.

Breaking down Coo hitting crew
Josh Rehwaldt ranks in NSIC top 10 in seven categories --  Over the past six games, Josh Rehwaldt has nine hits in 24 at bats with four runs scored and four RBI. As a result he now ranks in the league's top 10 in eight categories, including hits, second with 67; at bats, second with 178; total bases, fourth with 103; batting, seventh, .376; RBI, fourth; doubles, third with 15; 10th in slugging percentage at .579;  and ninth in runs scored with 40. Rehwaldt, who is hitting .403 in 36 league games, has 23 multi-hit games, and 11 multi-RBI games.  In 96 career games, he has 88 RBI, 139 hits, 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts, 44 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI games. Plus, he has 14 games with three or more hits and nine games with three of more RBI.
Rob Johnson's team-high 24 steals leads NSIC and ranks #22 nationally - In 43 games junior centerfielder Rob Johnson is now hitting .326, with a league high 24 steals in 25 attempts. He was 6-of-6 in steals this past week which moved him into 22nd nationally.  He has 45 hits and 33 runs. Overall, Johnson has a .486 slugging mark and .411 OBP.  He has three home runs this season and seven in his career. Johnson has two triples and seven in his career. He has 40 multi-hit games in 88 starts with 10 multi-RBI games, and 34 steals in 41 attempts in his career at USF.

Jarvis continues to pound ball – Brent Jarvis is hitting .313 with a .473 slugging pct., and .440 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 133 starts (136 overall games), Jarvis has nine home runs, 74 RBI, 140 hits, 33 steals in 42 attempts, 38 multi-hit games and 16 multi-RBI games.

Minnick has 107 career RBI -- Matthew Minnick, who has two walk off hits this year, hit his first home run of the season to tie the game in USF's 7-6 walk off win over Winona State and his career first grand slam in 4-3 win over Augustana. He has 29 RBI this year with 107 in his career. He has 13 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games.  In 136 career starts, Minnick has 171 hits, 104 runs, 45 multi-hit games, and 26 multi-RBI games. With four hits in a game against Minot State, he has eight games with four of more hits and 16 games with at least three hits. 

Merriam owns a streak of starting 100 straight games at catcher - Junior catcher Connor Merriam, who is hitting .2789, started his 100th game in game one win over U-Mary (5-0) before sitting out game two. He then started 10 straight games as he has scored 110 of the past 111 games played by the Cougars, a remarkable run. He has hit five home runs and 23 RBI this season. He hit two long balls in a 15-13 loss to SCSU on March 19. Merriam has a .438 slugging percentage and .340 OBP. Merriam started and caught the final 11 games as a freshman in 2015, all 54 games a year ago, and 35 straight games to open the 2017 season, for a run of 100 straight games. He has started 45 of 46 games by USF this year and 131 of 133 games in his career with 11 home runs and 68 RBI.  He has registered eight steals and owns a .985 fielding percentage with 89 total assists.
 
Mound Assessment - Cougars continuing to make inroads on the hill
USF, which has a 3.95 ERA in the last 12 games, has moved up to 14th in the NSIC with an overall 6.73 ERA. In league games alone, the Cougars have a 15-21 mark and a 6.06 ERA with 152 strikeouts and 166 walks. USF pitchers have nine pickoffs, including three by Zachary Miller. Catcher Connor Merriam has thrown out 10 runs this year. This year, USF has thrown 11 complete games, including three shutouts. The Cougars have recorded three saves, worked 353.0 innings when they have 196 strikeouts and permitted 264 earned runs.
 
Johnson hurls 2nd shutout of season – Sophomore Dan Johnson (3-3) owns a team-best 3.53 ERA with 12 appearances, including seven starts. Recently, Johnson recorded his third career shutout by going seven innings and allowing just two hits in 14-0 win over U-Mary. 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 43 1/3 innings, Johnson has allowed just one home run and 17 earned runs with 26 strikeouts and 29 walks. In his career, he is 5-9 with a 5.17 ERA with 48 strikeouts and 51 walks. He has three complete games, including one this year.

Maes strong out of pen -- Stuart Maes, a junior right-hander, continues to show a strong arm out of the bullpen. Against Augustana, he recorded his first save, working three innings and allowing just one hit while registering three strikeouts. Maes, who is 2-5 on the season, also worked 5 2/3 innings of a 7-6 loss to Concordia St. Paul in 12 innings, when he allowed just three earned runs and seven hits with three strikeouts. He has throw 43.0 innings, registering a 5.86 ERA with 25 strikeouts. Eight times, he has worked three or more innings for USF.

Coyle showing promise in freshman campaign -- While Keenahn Coyle is 0-3 this season, the freshman from Sioux Falls, has shown flashes of outstanding pitching. In seven starts, he has a 7.12 ERA with 19 strikeouts. Three times, he has worked six or more innings and in his most recent game, a 3-2 extra inning loss (11 innings), he worked eight innings, allowing just two runs in eight innings. In 11 appearances, he has allowed 34 earned runs. Eight times he has thrown three or more innings in either a starting or relief role.