BOLIVAR, MO. – The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (4-0) had another offensive surge on Monday (Feb. 21) in sweeping a doubleheader from Southwest Baptist (0-4), 13-3, and 14-2.

In moving to 4-0, the Cougars hit .367 today with 27 runs on 29 hits and slugging .544 with a .447 OBP. USF was led by Tyler Cate who had six hits in 11 at-bats and hit .545 with a .636 slugging and .545 OBP. He also scored four runs, stole two bases, and had two RBI. Brady Klehr was 4-of-8 with his first career HR, eight total bases, and hit .500 with a 1.000 slugging mark and .556 OBP. USF also had three hits, including his first career home run from Hunter Scruggs while Noah Christenson had four hits, five runs, and a stolen base with his third multi-hit game (three hits, game 2) of the season. On the mound, USF had a strong outing with a 2.81 combined earned run average and 20 strikeouts against just three walks in 16 innings.

Also of note, USF had 13 strikeouts and just one walk in the opener and added seven strikeouts and three walks in game two in what USF Head Coach Grant Hieb called a pair of standout pitching efforts by the starters and bullpen crew.

"It was good to see our offense jump on them early. Caleb Ditmarson got off to a slow start but was able to bounce back and give us four scoreless innings. Our bullpen with Zach Shastay and Mason Leonard closed it out," said Hieb, whose team is scheduled to play at Metro State in Denver on Feb. 25-26, although the weather could force a change in the dates in Colorado. "In game two, Andrew Maslowski was able to hold their offense down before we got the bats going. It was a great team win as our bullpen threw well and the offense was clicking. Overall, I was happy with the way we played in this opening series. We had a few defensive and base running mistakes that we need to clean up but I love the way the guys are playing. I look forward to our next series against a very good opponent in MSU-Denver," he said.

Quick Stat Peek – Season – USF is hitting .377 as a team with 49 runs scored in four games with 60 hits. The Cougars had 16 extra-base hits, including six home runs and 38 RBI. The total equates to a .566 slugging mark and .446 OBP. In addition, USF was 13-of-14 on stolen bases and had a .960 fielding mark.

Leading the way in the first series was Noah Christenson, who in his first four starts at USF at third base accumulated 12 hits in 21 at-bats for a .571 average. He had 11 runs scored and 14 total bases as he slugged .667 with a .545 on bases percentage. He also had three stolen bases and three games of three hits or more.  USF also had a big performance from Brady Klehr who hit .556 with five hits in nine at-bats with a home run and a 1.111 slugging mark and .600 OBP.  Tyler Blackburn hit .444 with a home run and .545 OBP while Grant Lung and Tyler Cate both hit over .400 - .412 and .409, respectively. Also for USF, Ben Serie hit .389 with a team-high seven RBI. He slugged at .944 with a .421 OBP. In total, USF had nine hits bat .313 or better, and six over .400. USF pitchers had 41 strikeouts in 32 innings.

G1 – USF 13 SW Baptist 3 (7 inn.)
Led by Caleb Ditmarson's sterling pitching outing plus three hits by Brady Klehr, USF picked up a third straight win in a 13-3 decision over Southwest Baptist in game one.

In his first career start, Klehr had three hits with three RBI and two runs scored. He also hit his first career home run. Noah Buss also homered for the fifth time in his career while adding two runs scored and two RBI. Leadoff hitter Tyler Cate had two hits, a run scored and an RBI. USF had hits by eight different players in the win.

Ditmarson (1-0) earned his first win of the season with a strong outing. In five innings, DItmarson worked five innings and had a career-high eight strikeouts while allowing five hits and three runs without issuing a free pass. Zachary Shastay and Mason Leonard each worked scoreless innings with two and three strikeouts respectively. USF had 13 strikeouts for the game and double-digits for the third straight game.

Scoring Summary – USF jumped on top quickly with a three-spot in the first inning. Cate singled, advanced to second on a passed ball, and stole third before scoring on a double-steal with Lung, who had walked. When Scruggs singled, Lung, who had walked, came home. Scruggs scored after a single by Jared Binsfeld and an SW Baptist error. SBU answered with a two-run double by Brock Wilken in the bottom of the first inning. Wilken scored on a throwing error by USF. After SBU tied it up in the home half of the 1st inning, Serie had a leadoff triple and scored on a bunt single by Cate, who had his second hit of the day, as the Cougars took a 4-3 lead. In the third inning, Buss hit his first home of the season and fifth of his career with a two-run shot for a 6-3 lead. In the fourth inning, Brady Klehr singled and scored on an error on a ball hit by Christenson, who scored on a sacrifice fly by Trey Hubers. Grant Lung also scored on a passed by as USF took a 9-3 lead.  Later, USF took a 10-3 lead after Buss was hit by a pitch and scored on Klehr's RBI single through the right side. In the seventh inning, the Cougars added three more when Serie walked and scored on a two-run home run by Klehr. Christenson also scored on an SW Baptist error.
 
Game 2 – USF 14 Southwest Baptist 2 (9 inn.)
Andrew Maslowski delivered a strong start on the mound and USF racked up 18 hits to take a 14-2 win in game two and the sweep the series with Southwest Baptist.

Maslowski picked up the win after working five innings and striking out five with two walks. He allowed two runs and six hits in his first start of the season. Jacob Emerson worked three innings before Logan Parker Sjoberg finished up.

Cate led USF's offense with four hits in six at-bats and scored three runs with an RBI. For the third time in four games, Christenson had a multi-hit game with three base knocks and three runs scored. Scruggs had two hits, including his first career home run, and scored three times with two RBI. Hubers and Serie also had two hits for USF.

Scoring Summary -- In the top of the second inning, Blackburn reached on an error and eventually scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1. Scruggs hit his first career home run with a two-run shot in the third inning to break up the tie. Christenson, who had reached on an infield hit, scored ahead of him. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Brennan Espy hit a solo home run for SW Baptist to draw within 3-2.  In the sixth inning, USF broke the game open with a five-run burst. USF had RBI singles from Cate and Hubers, which extended the lead to 7-2. In the inning, Christenson had his 11^th hit of the season and his second of the game. With the bases loaded, Blackburn drew a walk for an RBI and an 8-2 advantage. After Cate doubled, Blackburn scored on an error as USF took a 9-2 lead in the seventh inning. USF added another run in the eighth inning when Serie doubled to score Hubers, who had walked. In the ninth inning, USF added four runs on five hits. Cate and Christenson had hits to open the inning with Cate later scoring on a passed ball. Grant Lung's RBI single through the right side plated Christenson. After Scruggs had a base hit, Lung scored on a passed ball. A sacrifice fly by Isaac Bonner brought home, Scruggs.