SIOUX FALLS – After closing the season with 11 wins in 16 games, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (21-19) has earned a berth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Postseason Tournament for the first time since 2016. In its second-ever tourney appearance, the Cougars, seeded No. 8, will face top-seed and No. 15 ranked Minnesota State (32-7) in a best 2-of-3 game series starting on Thursday at 1:30 pm in Mankato, Minn. 

In the opening round series, the Cougars and Mavericks are also scheduled to play at noon on Friday, May 14 with the final game of the series (if necessary) to follow Friday afternoon. MSU won the regular season baseball title in the NSIC with a 28-6 mark and USF finished 16-19 for eighth in the standings.

Follow Along - USF vs MSU
To follow along during the MSU games, click here to watch live and click here to follow along via live stats. For information about the championships, go to the NSIC Baseball Championship web page by clicking here.

Fans may also follow all games by following the USF Athletics Twitter account for live tweets - @USF_Athletics.

NSIC Baseball Championship - First Round Series match-ups:
(8) Sioux Falls at (1) Minnesota State
(5) Minnesota Crookston at (4) Minot State
(7) Winona State at (2) Augustana
(6) UMary at (3) St. Cloud State  

In the postseason tourney, the top eight teams in the final regular season standings will participate in the tournament, which will have a two-week format. The tournament will begin on May 13-14 with a best of three game series hosted by the top four seeds (one 9-inning game Thursday and Friday with a second 9-inning game if necessary on Friday). The remaining four teams move forward to a four-team double elimination tournament in Sioux Falls hosted by Augustana University May 19-21, 2021. The winner of the NSIC Baseball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The NCAA Central Region is made up of 39 teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (15), the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) (12) and the Great American Conference (GAC) (12). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final three spots awarded on an at-large basis. In all, six teams will advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament. 

USF Baseball has won 11-of-16 to earn spot in postseason tourney
Regardless of what happens this postseason, USF, directed by Head Coach Grant Hieb and assistants Rob Hirrschoff and Gunner Peterson, has had its best season at the DII level and guaranteed themselves a .500 record with their 21^st win (21-19), which is a first in the DII era. USF's 16 league wins (16-19 overall), ties the 2017 team (19-31 overall, 16-24 NSIC) for the most in the DII era. The 21 wins by USF this year is tied with 2016 (21-30-1) for the most victories in a season at the DII level. In 2016, USF lost to Minnesota Duluth, 10-1 in the opening round and 6-4 to Minnesota State in the elimination round.

Cougars outhitting opponents, .297-to-.261 over last 16 games
Over the past 16 games, USF has recorded 11 wins. In that stretch, USF has outhit opponents, .297-to .261 and outscored them 96-to-76 with a 144-to-129 edge in hits. USF has 21 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 85 RBI while registering a .427 slugging and .390 OBP. USF, which as 26 steals in that stretch, has 207 total bases. USF has been led by redshirt freshman Tyler Cate who has a .390 mark in that stretch with 15 runs and 10 RBI and a .471 OBP. Leadoff hitter Connor King has hit. 375 with 18 runs and nine RBI plus a .521 OBP. Trey Hubers is hitting .362 with 17 hits and 12 runs. Ryan Bernardy has hit four of his DII program mark 11 home runs in a season during that stretch.

On the hill, USF has a 4.18 earned run average led by Andrew Maslowski who is 3-0 with a 1.59 earned run average and a 10-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Also for USF, Keenahn Coyleand Matt Graham are both 2-1. USF has a 73-to-33 strikeout to walk ratio and registered five complete games. Alex Krout has five saves, which has set a school record in the NCAA DII era.  

Overall, USF is hitting .278 as a team, which ranks sixth in the NSIC. USF also ranks third in the NSIC in stolen bases with 73 in 102 attempts. Leading the offense is Cate's .360 average and .448 OBP. Cate ranks 11th in the NSIC in hitting. Trey Hubers is hitting .306 with a .417 OBP while Connor King has 14 stolen bases, 40 runs, and two HRs with a .447 OBP. Ryan Bernardy has hit 11 home runs with 37 RBI and a .591 slugging while shortstop Grant Lung has four home runs and 37 RBI and 10 steals. On the hill, USF has a 5.82 earned run average, which is eighth in the leadu. Alex Krout leads the bullpen and is tied with Andrew Maslowski for a team-high five wins. He has a 3.86 earned run average with a school record five saves and a 33-to-7 strikeout to walk ratio. His five saves have helped USF rank tied for fourth in the NSIC in saves. Maslowski is 5-3 with a 4.25 earned run average and 30-to-8 strikeout to walk ratio. Keenahn Coyle is 3-2 and Matthew Graham 3-3.

USF sets four season records - top 10 in several others
This season, USF has school records for a season in three categories including Ryan Bernardy's 11 home runs. He is also first all-time in the DII era in sacrifice flies in a season with seven. With 36 walks, Connor King is first in the USF season list at the DII level with 36 this year. He had 35 in 2019 which ranks second. Alex Krout has set a season mark in saves with five. Also for USF, Andrew Maslowski and Alex Krout ranked tied for third with five wins.Tyler Cate ranks seventh in batting average for a season at .360. With a .448 on-base percentage he is third and Connor King at .447 is fourth in USF's DII era. Also Bernardy, who is fifth in the DII era with a .591 slugging mark, and Grant Lung rank sixth in RBI with 37. King, Cate and Bernardy are tied for sixth with two triples while King is seventh in runs scored with 40. In addition, Kate and King have 14 steals which is tied for fourth in the DII era. Matt Graham is tied for sixth with three complete games.

Breaking down Minnesota St. Mankato
The Cougars are facing a MSU team that currently sits at number one in the NSIC standings, with a 28-6 overall record. The Mavericks are hitting .301 as a team, with 46 home runs, 232 RBI, a 2.57 earned run average, and 88 earned runs in 268 innings. MSU is led by Joey Werner, with a .425 batting average, a .503 on-base percentage, 34 runs scored on 54 hits, seven doubles, nine home runs, and 46 RBI. Teddy Petersen is hitting .375, with 33 runs on 51 hits, nine doubles, six home runs, and 11 stolen bases on 14 attempts. On the mound, Brendan Knoll leads the Mavericks, with a 1.25 earned run average, while Jon Ludwig has a team-high 91 strikeouts. Collin Denk is throwing a 1.33 earned run average, with 63 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched. 

Quick Season Review of USF
To start the season, USF, which is directed by fifth-year Head Coach Grant Hieb, had a road sweep at Truman State, which allowed the Cougars to open 4-0 for the first time since 2010 when the Cougars had an 8-0 start while a member of the NAIA. This was the first time in the NCAA DII era that USF is off to such a strong start. In the opening weekend, the Cougars earned a 6-5 win in the opener and then took a 6-2 decision followed by a 2-1 win and put together its best offensive display of the season in a 16-4 win. USF then opened the NSIC against Minot State on March 20-21, falling 12-2, 13-3 and 11-3 in game held at Corbett Field, in Minot, N.D. After going to Minot State in a site reversal series (originally scheduled in Sioux Falls), USF lost three games to U-Mary in Bismarck, N.D., by a combined eight runs of 6-4, 8-6 and 8-4 when the Cougars had leads in each game. On April 6, they dropped a 7-3 decision to Northern State in Aberdeen and had a second game canceled after four innings with the game tied at 7-7. The Cougars went 1-2 against SCSU, winning the first game 4-2 on April 12 as Keenahn Coyle was stellar on the hill, and then losing both games on April 13 (1-9, 3-5). USF This past weekend, the Cougars went 2-1 against the Wayne State Wildcats, losing the first game 7-6 on April 17, but then winning the next two games (15-5, 4-3) on April 17-18. In the 15-5 win, USF was led by Grant Lung with three hits and five RBI  as he has pushed his average over .300 to .301. Tyler Blackburn had a career-day with four hits and four RBI and he hit his first career home run. Also homering for the first time was Trey Hubers.

In the past 15 games, USF has gone 11-4 to move to 19-16 overall and 14-16 in the NSIC. USF went 2-1 against Winona St. this past weekend, falling in game three, 6-4. In the opener, Keenahn Coyle (3-1) earned his third win with his second straight complete game to lead the Cougars to a 6-4 win.  Coyle, who has won three of his last four starts, allowed six hits and a single earned run with nine strikeouts and no walks in throwing 86 pitches to earn the victory. In game two, Tyler Cate hit a three-run home run and Connor King had a two-run triple to back a solid start by Andrew Maslowski (4-3) in USF's 6-4 win. In the third game, USF, which was troubled by some defensive lapses, including five errors, fell behind 6-0 after three innings and 8-0 after 5 ½ innings. Then, USF mounted a comeback, led by Bernardy. After Connor King scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bernardy hit his first of two home runs on the day with a long fly to right field to plate Grant Lung and Tyler Cate as USF drew within, 8-4. In the eighth inning, Bernardy hit another home run to right field to cut USF's deficit to 8-5. In the ninth inning, USF scored when Lung came home on a wild pitch. USF loaded the bases down 9-6 but couldn't get the hit to draw closer. The Cougars opened with a sweep of Upper Iowa on April 24 with a 4-3 victory in game one in which Connor King had a walk-off hit to back the solid pitching of Keenahn Coyle, who earned his second win with a complete game (three runs, eight hits, five strikeouts, seven innings).  In game two, Payton Livingston earned his third save with three innings of shutout relief and Alex Bertram picked up his first win of his career. USF had a career-best four hits from Tyler Cate and three hits from Tyler Blackburn. Noah Buss had three hits and three RBI with his second home run of the season. Ryan Bernardy also took the ball out of the park with his eighth home run of the season. USF trailed 9-5 after 2 1/3 innings but rallied and scored five in the fourth frame in earning the win. In game one on April 25, Matthew Graham had a complete game three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Upper Iowa. USF also won a nonconference game against UIU, 2-1, as USF utilized six pitchers and Charles Roskowiak had his first career win. Alex Krout picked up his fourth save and Ryan Meyer had the game-winning go-ahead RBI in the sixth inning.  After dropping two games to No. 15 MSU at Mankato last week by 7-3 and 2-0, the Cougars finished the regular season with a series win by taking 2-of-3 from Concordia St. Paul. In the final two wins, 10-1 and 13-8, USF had a 23-to-9 scoring edge over CSP. In the season finale, Grant Lung had a career-best five hits, four runs scored and added five RBI as USF rallied from down 8-3 to post a 13-8 win. 

Series Notes - MSU 
In the last meeting, USF took a 7-3 loss to the Mavericks on May 6, 2021. The overall series edge belongs to MSU, 18-0. Overall, USF is 0-8 at home and 0-8 away, with a 0-16 mark in conference mark during the DII era. In the first meeting in the DII era, USF took a 13-0 loss at home. The last time the Cougars hosted the Mavericks, they took a 12-1 loss on May 1, 2019. 

NSIC Postseason Tourney - First Time Since 2016
The Cougars are heading to the first round of the NSIC Championships for the first time since 2016, when USF took two losses and were eliminated from a championship run. The Cougars played Minnesota Duluth on Wed., May 11, 2016 and took a 10-1 loss. From there, they played Minnesota State on Friday, May 13, 2016, where they took a 6-4 loss and were eliminated from the tournament. 

USF Player Notes 
In the closing game against Winona St., Keenahn Coyle (3-2) earned his third win with his second straight complete game to lead the Cougars to a 6-4 win.  Coyle, who has won three of his last fiveour starts, allowed six hits and a single earned run with nine strikeouts and no walks in throwing 86 pitches to earn the victory. He is 3-2 this season with a 4.97 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 21 earned runs and 42 hits. Coyle is 8-16 in his career with 115 strikeouts, 170.2 innings and 47 appearances with 26 starts and three complete games.

Senior first baseman Ryan Bernardy is hitting .267 and has produced 29 runs on 35 hits. He has hit a school-record 11 home runs (tied for 4th in the NSIC) and is tied for a team-best 37 RBI (Grant Lung). He hit his 10th HR of the season in game three against Winona St. He had a season-best five RBI against Bemidji State on March 27. Seven times this season has multi-hit games and 22 in his career (3-3 hit games, 18 2-hit games). For Bernardy, he finished his home career at USF with power on display. He had two home runs and four RBI against Winona St. After hitting one against Concordia St. Paul, Bernardy has 11 home runs - a season-mark surpassing Josh Rehwaldt (10, 2019) for the most home runs in USF's DII era in a season. He now has 22 for his career, which is second all-time in the DII era behind Rehwaldt, who had 28.

Junior shortstop Grant Lung is hitting .277 in 40 starts and has 38 hits in 137 at bats. He has a .409 slugging mark with four home runs, six doubles, and 37 RBI (tied for team-high with Bernardy). He has a .373 OBP and has 10 stolen bases in 13 attempts. Lung, who has hits in 26 games this year and had five hits in the most recent game, twice has five RBIs in a game, twice has three RBIs in a game, and five other times has two RBI in a game as he has totaled nine multi-RBI games this season and 22 in his career (13-2 RBI games, 6 3-RBI games, including a career-high 6-RBI game in 2019). A starter in 141 straight games, he has 27 career steals, 66 runs, 35 career extra base hits, 77 career RBI and 123 hits in 464  at bats for a .265 career average. Lung has 19 multi-hit games in his career.

Freshman second baseman Tyler Cate is leading the Cougars, hitting .360, which ranks 11th in the NSIC and seventh best in school history in the DII era. He has 33 runs on 49 hits. Cate has a team-high 49 hits in 136 at bats, 33 runs, two doubles, two triples, two home runs and 24 RBI, while sitting with a .449 slugging mark and a .448 OBP. He has 14 steals in 19 attempts and is fielding .952 with seven errors, 57 putouts and 81 assists.

Junior catcher Tyler Blackburn is hitting .239 with 21 hits in 88 at bats. He has seven doubles, one home run, and 10 RBI, while sitting at a .352 slugging mark and .306 OBP. Meanwhile, USF outfielder Trey Hubers is hitting .306 with 34 hits, 21 runs and 16 RBI. The Brandon native has a .405 slugging mark and a .417 OBP with nine steals in 12 attempts.

Kyle Gulbrandson is hitting .357 in 10 starts and 17 games. He has 11 hits, a .433 slugging mark, and a .444 OBP. 

On the mound, Andrew Maslowski is 5-3 with a 4.25 earned run average with two complete games and 30 strikeouts. Matt Graham is 3-3 with a 4.88 earned run average, with three complete games in 10 appearances and nine starts. He has a team-high 34 strikeouts and allowed 44 hits in throwing 59 innings, the most on the USF team. 

In six starts in his career at USF, Caleb Ditmarson is 2-3 with a 7.89 earned run average and 24 strikeouts. He has a complete game and has worked at least five innings twice. Alex Krout (5-2) has made 13 appearances and owns a 3.86 earned run average with a team-best five saves which is tied for fifth in the NSIC. In 35 innings, he has allowed 15 earned runs with 33 strikeouts.