SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (9-29, 7-18 NSIC), will hit the road to face Upper Iowa (9-21, 6-19 NSIC) for a three-game series on Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20 in Fayette, Iowa. The Cougars and Peacocks will play a doubleheader at 12/2 pm on Friday and a single game at noon on Saturday. USF will also play at DI South Dakota State in a nonconference game at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23 in Brookings.

For updates on USF Baseball stay posted to usfcougars.com or follow USF on twitter at @USF_Athletics. All five games will be available on live stats and video. The Upper Iowa games can be followed at the following links -- live stats. The SDSU-USF game can be followed at  live stats.

Weather impacting spring sports
Weather has certainly impacted the baseball teams in the NSIC, including USF, which has moved around to play home games and serve as a site reversal. In their first league home series, USF hosted U-Mary in Quincy, Ill., some 501 miles from Sioux Falls on March 17-18. USF has also played five league home games vs Northern State and St. Cloud State from March 21-24 at Ronken Field on the Augustana campus. On March 27, USF hosted travel partner SMSU at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. Then this past week USF served as host as a result of site reversals with Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth at the Birdcage from April 7-9.

USF – Upper Iowa tied at 5-5 in series
USF, which will look to end a five-game slide in the NSIC, and UIU are tied at 5-5 in the all-time series. The last matchup was a 5-3 victor for USF on April 13, 2018. Dylan Gavin had four hits, including a home run,and two runs and Brent Jarvis had two hits. After Brandon Roesler started and had six strikeouts while allowing just one earned run, Spencer Dokken earned the win and Jackson Olson the save.

USF trails SDSU, 2-0
This nonconference matchup will be the third between USF and SDSU. The Jackrabbits own a 2-0 lead with their most recent victory an 8-5 win on April 24, 2012. USF also dropped a 7-1 decision to SDSU at Harmodon Park on April 6, 2011.


USF falls to Augustana in city rivalry matchup
Despite a pair of solid outings on the mound, USF dropped a pair of NSIC games to No. 20 Augustana on April 16 at the Birdcage. In the first game of a doubleheader, USF lost 2-1 despite solid work on the mound. Sophomore starter Matt Graham, who worked three innings and allowed two runs on three hits in throwing 55 pitches, dropped to 2-3 on the season. Three USF relief pitchers did not allow a run and just one hit over the final four innings. Freshman Sean Nussbaum also had an inning of shutout relief while sophomore Jackson Olson worked two innings of shutout relief and had a strikeout and a walk in throwing 24 pitches to eight batters. Led by Tanner Brown's strong performance on the mound and three hits and three RBI by JT Mix, the Vikings defeated the Cougars, 7-1, in game two of the NSIC doubleheader. Brown allowed three hits and a run with 11 strikeouts in throwing 99 pitches to 23 USF batters. Josh Olson (1 1/3 innings, strikeout), Jed Schmidt (2/3 innings, walk) and Michael Brandt (inning, no hits, strikeout) finished up for the Vikings. USF had a strong performance from sophomore Payton Livingston, who worked six innings with five strikeouts while throwing 88 pitches to 27 batters. He permitted seven hits and three earned runs. Also on the mound for USF was sophomore Keenahn Coyle, who gave up two hits and a run with a strikeout in one inning of work. He also recorded his team leading 10^th pickoff of the season (USF has 13 as a team). Mitchell Lyall gave up a hit and one earned run in 1 1/3 innings in throwing 24 pitches. Olson finished for USF as he worked in his second straight game and recorded a strikeout in retiring both hitters he faced. USF had three hits as Grant Lung and Trey Hubers had singles and junior Ryan Bernardy hit his fifth home run of the season in the seventh inning off Brown.

USF beats Northern State, 7-3, for first NSIC win
USF opened the NSIC season with three straight losses to U-Mary in Quincy, Ill. The Cougars lost 4-1, 5-2, and 4-3 as they put together a series of strong pitching performances but struggled at the plate.  USF had a 4.32 earned run average and recorded 23 strikeouts with just nine walks. Against NSU at Ronken Field, USF was 1-1 as they lost a heart-breaker, 7-6, in 11 innings before recording the first NSIC win of the season with a 7-3 decision in game two of a mid-week doubleheader against Northern State on March 21. Against No. 4 St. Cloud State Huskies at Ronken Field, USF dropped three games – 12-7, 15-0, and 12-1. In the first game USF had home runs from Ryan Bernardy and Josh Rehwaldt off All-American pitcher Dominic Austing of SCSU. The Cougars split with SMSU, losing 13-4 before recording a 5-3 win as seven pitchers combined to set a school record with 15 combined strikeouts and did not issue a walk. USF fell at Minot State, 4-0, 14-3 and 6-2 on March 30-31.

Cougars sweep Minnesota-Crookston on the road
USF rebounded from that three-game sweep by sweeping Minnesota Crookston on the road by 10-1 and 3-2 scores on April 3. Against UMC, USF pitchers had a 1.12 earned run average as they allowed just eight hits and two earned runs. The Cougars had a strong strikeout to walk rate as they had 19 strikeouts to just four walks. USF's bullpen allowed just one hit and had eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. In the first game, Matt Graham (2-2) picked up the win with his best performance at USF (six innings, five hits, five strikeouts, one run) and in game two Payton Livingston allowed just two hits and one earned run with six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Then, the bullpen took over and shut the door on UMC.

On offense, USF hit .254 as a team with 17 hits and 13 runs in 67 at bats. Sam Michels had a career-best three hits and three RBI in game one and Alex Robinson hit .571 with four hits in seven at bats while scoring two runs with an RBI. Ryan Bernardy had three hits in seven at bats with three RBI. He had a pair of doubles. Josh Rehwaldt had three hits, including his third triple of the season, and an RBI. The Cougars also stole eight bases in nine attempts and had just three errors.

USF scores season high 20 runs in 20-2 win and also win 6-5 over BSU
USF won its series with Bemidji State by winning 20-2 and 6-5 after falling 5-4 in the opener. Led by the offensive exploits of Josh Rehwaldt and Alex Robinson, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team scored a season-high 20 runs in a game two victory to earn a split against BSU at the Birdcage. After BSU rallied to win game one 5-4 with a walk off home run from Wyatt White, the Cougars rebounded with their highest season output with a 20-2 win in game two as Rehwaldt had four hits, including two long home runs, and five RBI, while Alex Robinson had three hits for the third straight game.  In the game two victory, USF had six runs in the second inning and a season-best 10 runs in the fourth inning to win the run-rule shortened game. USF had 20 runs in a game for the first time since a 21-13 decision over Wayne State on April 29, 2018 in Wayne, Neb. USF, which recorded a season-best 16 hits, scored 20 runs at the Birdcage for the first time since a 20-2 win over Upper Iowa on April 23, 2017.  In that game two years ago, USF also had 10 runs in an inning (first inning). On the day, Robinson had six hits in nine at bats with six RBI and a run scored. Rehwaldt had four hits in eight at bats with five RBI. He had five RBI in a game for the second time this year and recorded four hits in a game for the first time. With two home runs in game two, Rehwaldt had his first multi-home run game of the season.

Lung hits two, three home runs to lead USF to split of DH with UMD
USF and Minnesota Duluth split a doubleheader as the Bulldogs won 12-3 before Grant Lung's two three-run home runs propelled USF to a 7-4 game two win on April 9 at the Birdcage. After falling 12-3 in the opener, Lung stepped up. He hit a pair of three-run homer runs and stole two bases. For the first time at USF, he had two home runs in a game and set his career-best with six RBIs in the game two victory. As a team, USF hit .270 in the doubleheader with 17 hits in 63 at bats. Connor King also had three hits and two runs scored while Brennan Gabriel, Ryan Bernardy and Josh Rehwaldt also collected a pair of hits for USF which slugged .413 as a team.

In the game two decision, the Cougars had solid pitching from starter Payton Livingston and relievers Christian Lazar, Brandon Roesler and Mitchell Lyall to pick up their seventh league win of the season in a 7-4 decision. Livingston had his second straight strong start for USF by going 4 1/3 innings and allowing six hits and two runs as he threw 71 pitches. With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Christian Lazar worked out of a jam to retire two straight hitters without allowing a run. Lazar (3-1), earned his third win of the season by throwing 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He gave up just three hits and recorded six strikeouts of the 11 batters he faced and with just 38 pitches. Lazar, who lowered his season earned run average to 3.12, now has 29 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings with just four walks. Brandon Roesler worked one inning of scoreless relief as he threw just 12 pitches and retired three of the four batters he faced. In the ninth inning, USF turned the game over to Mitchell Lyall, who faced six batters and allowed two unearned runs as a result of three USF errors. Lyall, who allowed just one hit to UMD, maintained his perfect 0.00 earned run average in his 11^th appearance this year.

Breaking it down – USF by the numbers
The Cougars, directed by third-year head coach Grant Hieb, have opened with a 9-29 mark and 7-18 in league play. The Cougars, which were picked to finish 11^th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, had a 15-21 record in league play a year ago. So far, USF has hit .222 as a team, which ranks 14^th in the league.  

As a team, USF has 163 runs in 33 games or 4.28 runs per game. As a team, USF has 75 (105 attempts) stolen bases which ranks third in the NSIC. The Cougars have a .317 on-base percentage (tied for 13^th in NSIC) and .326 team slugging mark (12^th in NSIC).

Overall this season, USF has a 6.07 earned run average in 38 league games, which ranks 10^th in the NSIC. They have 257 strikeouts against 103 walks in 292.0 innings. A year ago, USF had 231 strikeouts and 172 walks in 359.2 innings. As a result they have 26 more strikeouts in 67 2/3 fewer innings this year. USF ranks seventh in the NSIC in strikeouts.

Notes on Opponents – Upper Iowa and SDSU
Upper Iowa has opened the season at 9-21 overall with a 6-19 league mark. They stand 1-7 in home games as they lost three straight to Minnesota State in their last home series. On April 16, they split with Concordia St. Paul with an 11-0 win and 3-2 loss. Upper Iowa is sixth in the NSIC with a .284 batting average and have 15 home runs and 149 hits with a .399 slugging mark and .367 OBP. They have 24 steals and struck out 222 times. On the mount, UIU has a 6.66 earned run average with 187 strikeouts in 231 innings. Zackary Cain leads UIU in hitting at .383 with two home runs and 14 RBI and owns a .429 on-base percentage. A.J Friedrich is hitting .370 with three home runs and 24 RBI while Tony Salato is batting .354 with a .432 on-base percentage.

Directed by third year head coach Rob Bishop, SDSU is 16-15 overall and 9-6 in Summit League play. As a team, the Jackrabbits are hitting .262 with 24 home runs and 166 RBI. They are led offensively by Gus Steiger with a .309 average and he has four home runs and 27 RBI with 11 stolen bases. Josh Falk has six home runs and 22 RBI with a 257 average. On the mound, SCSU has a 4.74 earned run average and own 240 strikeouts while walking 121. Most recently SDSU lost to Minnesota, 5-1 in Minneapolis but won two of three against North Dakota State in Omaha, Neb., 10-9 and 5-2 with a 6-2 loss.

Rehwaldt, Lung and Bernardy leading offense
Senior infielder Josh Rehwaldt, who was named to the 2019 NCBWA All-Region Team during the preseason, leads USF with a .326 batting average. He is tied for 10th in the NSIC with six home runs and 24 RBI with 67 total bases, .573 slugging mark (13^th in NSIC) and .446 OBP (18^th in NSIC). Rehwaldt also has a team-high 14 steals, which ranks fourth in the NSIC, in 19 attempts this season.

Rehwaldt has taken over as USF's career RBI leader in the program's DII era with 150. He also is the USF DII-program leader in hits with 251.  He has 11 multi-hit games with 76 in his career. Rehwaldt has 38 multi-RBI games in his career and 18 games with at least three RBIs. Rehwaldt has a career average of .367 which ranks best among USF players in the DII era. He ranks first in doubles with 51, and USF all-time leader in home runs with 24 in USF's DII era. Also in the DII era at USF, Rehwaldt leads with 392 total bases, 13 intentional walks and sacrifice flies with nine while ranking fifth in steals with 38. He has a season-high of five RBI against Colorado Mines on March 1, 2019 and against Bemidji State on April 7 when he had a two-home run game. His career-best is six against Bemidji State on April 2, 2017, which is tied for USF's DII era game high. Twice in his career Rehwaldt has five hits in a game but has a high of four this year against Bemidji State on April 7. Rehwaldt is hitting .333 vs lefthanders and .323 against right handed pitcher is hitting .306 with runners in scoring position while owning a .493 success mark in advancing runners.

Shortstop Grant Lung is hitting .264 with 33 hits in 38 games and a team-high 30 RBI. He has six multi-hit games this season and eight multi-RBI games. Lung did not have a career home run until going yard against Bemidji State on April 7 in a 20-2 win. Then he had a career first with two home runs and career-best six RBIs as USF defeated UMD, 7-4, on April 9. He has 20 runs scored, eight steals in 12 attempts, .425 slugging mark and 397 OBP. He had a high of four hits against NSU. This season, he is hitting .349 (15-of-40) with runners in scoring position.
 
Junior first baseman Ryan Bernardy, who is hitting .256, has five home runs – nine in his career - and 17 RBI. Bernardy, who is hitting .429 with a runner on third and less than two outs.  He has 10 steals in 12 attempts.  

Lazar, Lyall and Roskowiak proving effective out of bullpen
Senior left hander Christian Lazar has been the workhorse out of the bullpen for USF with 17 appearances. He is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA. In 22 innings he has 33 strikeouts with just four walks. In his most recent outing against Augustana, he allowed one hit and no runs while retiring three of four batters he faced. Previous to that, again UMD, he allowed three hits and no runs over 2 2/3 innings while registering six strikeouts which is his career best total in a single outing. He has no allowed runs and just five hits with nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in three appearances against Minnesota Crookston, Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth from April 3-7. Over the last 10 1/3 innings, he has not allowed an earned run while giving up eight hits with a walk against 13 strikeouts.

Senior left-handed reliever Mitchell Lyall (2-0) has been dominant out of USF's bullpen. In 12 appearances, Lyall has a team-leading 0.68 earned run average with 12 strikeouts in 12 appearances.  Lyal has a save and held opponents to a .163 batting average.
 
Sophomore starter Alex Loosbrock is 1-5 with a 5.18 earned run average with six starts and 11 appearances. He has allowed 40 hits and 24 runs in 41 2/3 innings with a team-high 44 strikeouts and 21 walks. Opponents are hitting just .247 against Loosbrock. In two of his last four starts the sophomore has been dominant. Against Northern State on March 21, he picked up a win as he allowed just three hits and a run with eight strikeouts in six innings in throwing 104 pitches. Then against Bemidji State on April 7, he was not involved in the decision after giving up six hits and a run with a career-high nine strikeouts across six innings. In that game, he also had a career-high with 113 pitches.

Right-hander Brandon Roesler is 0-5 with a 5.40 ERA but has 34 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings with just seven walks in 11 appearances and seven starts. Four times this season, Roesler has gone at least six innings. In his most recent outing, he allowed seven hits but no earned runs with four strikeouts while throwing 85 pitches to 27 batters.

Sophomore Matt Graham owns a 2-3 record with a 4.56 earned run average in 10 appearances and five starts.  He has 18 strikeouts, six walks and 13 earned runs allowed in 25 2/3 innings. He has had two standout starts. In a 13-0 win over Notre Dame College, he worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed just two hits with two strikeouts. He also threw six innings in a 10-1 win over Minnesota Crookston when he allowed five hits and one run with a career-high five strikeouts.