SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (19-16, 14-16 NSIC), which has won seven of their last eight games, will finish off the regular season with road trips to face Minnesota State Mankato (May 5) and Concordia St. Paul (May 7-8). 

The Cougars will first travel to Mankato, Minn., to take on the Mavericks (28-6, 24-5 NSIC) in an NSIC doubleheader, with games at 12 pm and 2 pm on Wed., May 5. USF will then travel to St. Paul, Minn., to face the Golden Bears of Concordia St. Paul (12-21, 8-19 NSIC), with games at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm on Fri., May 7 and 12 pm on Sat., May 8.

The road games will conclude the Cougar's regular season, and from there USF, who is tied for 8th in the league with Northern St., will try to qualify for the first round of the NSIC Championships, which will be held May 13-14. 

Follow Along - USF vs MSU & USF vs CSP

To follow along during the MSU games, click here to watch live and click here to follow along via live stats.

To follow along during the CSP games, click here to watch live and click here to follow along via live stats. 

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

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 and a 24-5 conference record. The Mavericks are hitting .310 as a team, with 44 home runs, 216 RBI, a 2.75 earned run average, and 82 earned runs in 249 innings. MSU is led by Joey Werner, with a .446 batting average, a .521 on-base percentage, 30 runs scored on 50 hits, seven doubles, nine home runs, and 44 RBI. Teddy Petersen is hitting .383, with 29 runs on 46 hits, eight doubles, five home runs, and 10 stolen bases on 13 attempts. On the mound, Collin Denk leads the Mavericks, with a 1.47 earned run average and a 7-0 record. Jon Ludwig holds a team-high 81 strikeouts on the season so far, and Brendan Knoll has a 1.57 earned run average with 30 strikeouts. 

Breaking down Concordia St. Paul

The Golden Bears of CSP are sitting in 14th place in the league, with a 12-21 overall record and an 8-19 league record. As a team, the Bears are hitting .255, with 156 runs on 257 hits, 24 home runs, 140 RBI, and a .335 on-base percentage. From the batter's box, CSP is led by Nick Thimsen, who is hitting .333 with 23 runs on 31 hits and is tied for a team-best six home runs. Jarod Wandersee is hitting .320 so far on the season, with 20 runs on 33 hits, 5 doubles, six home runs (tied for team-high), and 25 RBI. On the mound, the Bears are led by Griffin Lapp, with a 4.23 earned run average, a team-high 38.1 innings pitched, and a team-high 31 strikeouts. Luke DeGrammont is throwing a 6.03 earned run average in 34.1 innings pitched and 27 strikeouts. 

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. 

Stat Breakdown - USF by the numbers recently
In the past 15 games, USF is 11-4 and has a .295 batting average and .420 earned run average with 56 earned runs allowed in 120 innings while registering 76 strikeouts against 12 walks. USF has had five complete games in the 15 games. 

Series Notes - MSU 

In the last meeting, USF took a 11-8 loss to the Mavericks on March 9, 2020. The overall series edge belongs to MSU, 16-0. Overall, USF is 0-8 at home and 0-6 away, with a 0-14 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. 

Series Notes - CSP

In the overall series, the Bears hold a 18-9 advantage over the Cougars. In the last six meetings, USF has split with CSP, going 3-3. The last time the Cougars hosted CSP, they split the series, 2-1, winning the first two games and losing the last one (May 3-4, 2019). 

Breaking Down Cougars – USF at a Glance

USF is hitting .275 as a team, which ranks eighth in the NSIC. USF has hit 24 home runs and has 61 stolen bases for third in the NSIC. USF has a .412 slugging mark and a .384 OBP while sitting with 183 RBI and 423 total bases. On the mound, USF ranks ninth in the NSIC, with a 5.84 earned run average and 218 strikeouts. 

In the past 15 games, USF has hit .295 with 12 home runs, 83 RBI, 95 runs and 130 hits in that span. USF, which has had 440 at bats in those 15 games, owns a .434 slugging mark and .400 team OBP during that stretch, while they have 18 steals on 32 attempts. Leading the way has been Tyler Cate and Connor King, who have each played started and ended all 15 games. Cate has 16 runs on 22 hits in the last 15 games, hitting .393 with a .518 slugging percentage. King has 18 runs on 18 hits for .367 in 49 at bats.

Stat Breakdown 

Over the last seven games, USF is outhitting opponents, .290-to.249 with a 40-to-24 advantage in runs and 58-55 margin in hits. USF has a .425 slugging mark and .392 OBP with eight steals and a .961 fielding mark. Tyler Cate has 10 hits in 25 at bats for a .400 average. He has a team-best seven RBI and a .600 slugging mark. Noah Buss has two home runs and a .333 average while Connor King has six RBI, seven runs and six hits in the stretch. USF's pitchers have been solid with a 2.53 earned run average with 42 strikeouts and just nine walks. Andrew Maslowski has a 2-0 mark and a 1.98 earned run average while Keenahn Coyle is also 2-0 with a 2.70 earned run average with 14 strikeouts and just one walk. Alex Krout has put together a 0.00 earned run average with three of his five saves on the year. He has eight strikeouts and has not allowed an earned run.

USF Player Notes 

In the closing game against Winona St., 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. He is 3-1 this season with a 4.09 ERA, 31 strikeouts, 15 earned runs and 36 hits. Coyle is 8-15 in his career with 114 strikeouts, 165.2 innings and 46 appearances with 25 starts and three complete games.

Senior first baseman Ryan Bernardy is hitting .272 and has produced 26 runs on 36 hits. He has hit 10 home runs (tied for 4th in the NSIC) and has a team-best 34 RBI. 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. last weekend. With those two homers, he tied Josh Rehwaldt (2019) for the most home runs in USF's DII era in a season with 10 and now has 21 for his career, which is second all-time in the DII era behind Rehwaldt, who had 28.

Junior shortstop Grant Lung is hitting .282 in 35 starts and has 33 hits in 117 at bats. He has a .410 slugging mark with three home runs, six doubles, and 32 RBI. He has a .389 OBP and has 10 stolen bases in 13 attempts. Lung, who has hits in 25 games this year and has a four-game hitting streak, once had 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 eight multi-RBI games this season and 21 in his career (13-2 RBI games, 6 3-RBI games, including a career-high 6-RBI game in 2019). A starter in 136 straight games, he has 26 career steals, 62 runs, 34 career extra base hits, 72 career RBI and 118 hits in 446 at bats for a .264 career average. Lung has 18 multi-hit games in his career.

Freshman second baseman Tyler Cate is hitting .353, with 30 runs on 41 hits. Cate, who hit his first career home run in the third game against U-Mary, has had a solid year, with 41 hits in 116 at bats, 30 runs, two doubles, two triples, two home runs and 22 RBI while sitting with a .457 slugging mark and a .448 OBP. He has nine steals in 14 attempts and is fielding .957 with five errors, 45 putouts and 67 assists.

Junior catcher Tyler Blackburn has been on a hot streak over the past six games, hitting .357 with three runs on five hits. On the season, Blackburn is hitting .278 with 20 hits in 72 at bats. He has six doubles, one home run, and 10 RBI, while sitting at a .403 slugging mark and .354 OBP. Meanwhile, third baseman Zane Butts, who is hitting .266 on the season, has seven doubles, one triple, one home run, and 20 RBI. 

USF outfielder Trey Hubers is hitting .278 with 27 hits, 17 runs and 12 RBI. The Brandon native has a .381 slugging mark and a .391 OBP with eight steals in 10 attempts. Another outfielder, Jared Binsfeld, has 15 RBI, a .355 slugging mark and .331 OBP while recording six stolen bases. Kyle Gulbrandson has started the season strong, with a .357 mark in nine starts and 16 games. He has 10 hits, a .429 slugging mark, and a .424 OBP. 

On the mound, Matt Graham is 3-3 with a 4.02 earned run average, with three complete games in nine appearances and eight starts. He has a team-high 33 strikeouts and allowed 36 hits in throwing 56 innings, the most on the USF team. 

In three starts in his career at USF, Caleb Ditmarson is 2-2 with a 8.75 earned run average and 22 strikeouts. He has a complete game and has worked at least five innings twice. Alex Krout (4-2) has made 11 appearances and owns a 5.13 earned run average with a team-best four saves which is tied for fifth in the NSIC. In 26.1 innings, he has allowed 15 earned runs with 26 strikeouts.