SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls (17-18, 9-11 NSIC) will host Concordia St. Paul (15-15, 9-9 NSIC) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball on Friday (April 15) and Saturday (April 16) at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. The three-game series between USF and CSP opens with a nine-inning game on Friday at 1 pm. Then, the two squads will play a doubleheader at noon/2 pm on Saturday.

Follow Along
Follow USF Baseball on Twitter at @USF_Baseball, Facebook @ this link or on Instagram at usf_baseball. Updates will also be available at USF_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram at usfcoo_athletics. Live stats and video are available via the links here - Live Stats and Live Video 

Quick Preview
After opening 4-0 with a sweep of doubleheaders against Southwest Baptist, the Cougars, directed by sixth-year Head Coach Grant Hieb (88 career wins – 65 NSIC wins) dropped three-of-four games against Metro State-Denver. USF went 3-4 in Florida over spring break, and 2-1 against Minnesota Crookston as NSIC play opened. They split a doubleheader with Minot State before winning 2-of-3 against Southwest Minn. State on March 26-27. With a series win over Bemidji State (2-1) and a doubleheader loss to U-Mary, USF is now 17-18 overall and 9-11 in the NSIC and ninth place. USF has hosted or served as a site reversal host in all 20 league games it has played this year.

Look at the Opponent - Concordia St. Paul
CSP, which has dropped six straight games, including a doubleheader to Minot State on Wednesday, is 15-15 overall and 9-9 in league play. The Golden Bears are led by third-year head coach Neil Lerner. CSP is 2-6 in road games. As a team, the Golden Bears are hitting .264 in 30 games with 239 hits and 182 runs with a .388 slugging and .375 OBP. They have stolen 40 bases while given up 45. Jarod Wandersee leads the team in hitting at .375 with 30 hits, 19 RBI and .490 OBP. Jaden Werner is at .324 with a .447 OBP and five home runs - a team-high. Jack Young is batting .308 with a .407 OBP. On the mound, CSP has a 6.57 earned run average and have 187 strikeouts in 231.1 innings. CSP pitchers have allowed 24 home runs and walked 136.

Series Record
The Cougars trail CSP, 19-11 in the overall series. However, USF has won two straight with a 13-8 decision on May 8, 2021 and a 10-1 victory on May 7 in St. Paul, Minn.  CSP, which had a nine-game winning streak from May 3, 2014 to April 30, 2016, took a 10-4 decision on May 5, 2021.  USF has a 6-9 home mark and stand 5-10 in road games with CSP. The Golden Bears and Cougars stand 5-5 in the last 10 games with CSP winning the first game of the series, 5-2, on April 28, 2013.   

Breaking Down USF Baseball - By the Numbers
After 35 games, USF is ranking sixth in the NSIC with a .290 average with 312 hits (2^nd, NSIC) and 218 runs (4^th, NSIC). The Cougars, which own a .391 slugging percentage and .377 OBP, have recorded  421 total bases. USF has 62 stolen bases, which ranks tied for third in the NSIC. The Cougars have a .958 fielding percentage.
Noah Christenson is third in the league in hitting at .389 with a team-high 49 hits, including seven doubles and two home runs. Christenson, who leads USF with 30 RBI, owns a .492 slugging percentage and a team-high .438 OBP with 10 steals. He is hitting .356 in league games, 2^nd on USF.

After going 8-of-18 for a .444 over the last five games, left-fielder Brady Klehr ranks 15^th in the NSIC with a .356 average but is hitting .359 in league play, which leads USF.   He has a .519 slugging mark and .391 OBP with three home runs and 23 RBI. Tyler Cate is hitting .328 which places him 31^st in the NSIC. He has 41 hits, seven doubles, .384 slugging and .418 OBP with 10 steals.  Ben Serie is hitting .308 (.328 in the league, with 36 hits, including six doubles, a triple and a team-high six home runs to go with 24 RBI and a .530 slugging mark, which is the bst on USF. He also has a .391 OBP, six steals and a .976 fielding mark at first base. Senior Trey Hubers is hitting. 295 with 36 hits, 25 RBI, .352 slugging and .358 OBP along with six steals. USF's lead in steals is shortstop Grant Lung with 13 in 15 attempts. He has 33 hits, five doubles and 14 RBI.    

On the mound, USF has a 6.26 earned run average, which ranks 9^th in the NSIC. With 242 strikeouts, USF is sixth in the NSIC as they have thrown 263 innings for the second highest total in the NSIC.   USF's starting staff is led by Caleb Ditmarson, who is 4-2 overall with a team-high 47 strikeouts. In lead play, he has a 3.33 earned run average and a 2-1 mark with 29 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. In the pen, USF has Alex Krout, a senior who has made eight appearances and has a league-best six saves. He has 10 strikeouts in 11.1 innings with a 2.38 earned run average in league play. Also in the NSIC, Alex Bertram has 10 appearances with a 1.23 earned run average and 10 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. Overall, Ditmarson has a 3.70 earned run average while Krout is at 3.06.

Cougars will play home games at First National Bank Field in Brandon, SD
Due to upcoming field upgrades at Sioux Falls Stadium, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team will play its home schedule in 2022 at the First National Bank Stadium in Brandon, S.D.