SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (21-19, 13-12 NSIC) returns home this weekend to host the Wayne State Wildcats (16-17, 10-9 NSIC) with a doubleheader on Saturday (April 23) at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm and a 1 pm game on Senior Day on Sunday (April 24) at the First National Bank Field in Brandon, SD.

The Cougars will honor their 10 seniors on Sunday before the game (12:40 pm), including Trey Hubers, Tyler Blackburn, Kyle Gulbrandson, Jared Binsfeld, Matt Graham, Grant Lung, Alex Bertram,  Alex Krout, Jacob Emerson, and Andrew Maslowski. At 13-12, USF is sixth in the NSIC while Wayne State is just ahead of them at 10-9 for fifth in the league.

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. Stats and video are available via the links here -- live stats and watch.  

Quick Preview 
After opening 4-0 with a sweep of doubleheaders against Southwest Baptist, the Cougars, directed by sixth-year Head Coach Grant Hieb (92 career wins – 69 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. USF had a series win over Bemidji State (2-1) and a doubleheader loss to U-Mary before hosting and defeating Concordia St. Paul three times to move to sixth in the NSIC with a 12-11 record and 20-18 overall.  USF allowed just four earned runs in wins of 7-2, 2-0, and 7-2 over the weekend at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. In the 1-0 win Logan Parker-Sjoberg made his first career start and threw five shutout innings. Alex Krout earned his seventh save and then also picked up his eighth save – tops in the NSIC – in the 7-2 game two win. The 1-0 win by USF was the first of that nature since a 1-0 win at CSP on May 1, 2016 in St. Paul, Minn., when the Cougars had a walk-off win to back the four-hit shutout of Dan Johnson, who worked nine innings.  On Tuesday, April 19, the Cougars split a doubleheader with Upper Iowa with both games extended to extra innings. After dropping game one, 4-3, in eight innings, USF earned a 7-6 victory in 10 innings in game two as Grayson Skinner picked up his first career win and Tyler Blackburn had three hits and an RBI.  

Look at the Opponent – Wayne State
WSU, which has lost two straight games, are currently sitting at 16-17 overall and 10-9 in the league. The Wildcats are led by eighth-year head coach Alex Koch. WSU is 5-6 at home, 9-8 on the road, and 2-3 at a neutral site. In the batter's box, Colin Lynam leads WSU with a .355 batting average, including 33 runs on 43 hits, a .562 slugging percentage, and a .429 on-base percentage. Alex Logelin has a team-high six home runs, while Chris Cornish and Andrew Hanson are tied at the top with 28 RBI's. On the hill, WSU has a 6.80 earned run average and is led by Andrew Staebell, who is 4-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched. Brody Sintek has pitched a team-high 37.1 innings with a 7.96 ERA and 27 strikeouts. 

Series Record
The Cougars trail Wayne State in the overall series, 18-8. However, USF is on a two-game winning streak. In the most recent matchups on April 17-18, 2021, the Cougars took home two victories, including a 15-5 win (April 17, 2021) and a 4-3 win (April 18, 2021). Before that, the Wildcats had won four straight over the Cougars. 

Breaking Down USF Baseball - By the Numbers
USF is now hitting .290 on the season and sit sixth in the NSIC. USF has 243 runs, 358 hits, 46 doubles, 24 home runs and 72 stolen bases as they have a 21-19 overall mark and 13-12 conference record. USF is 8-3 at home. Noah Christenson leads USF with a .363 average, which ranks ninth in the NSIC, and has a team-high 53 hits, 35 runs, and 31 RBI. Brady Klehr is hitting .339 with 41 hits, eight doubles and five home runs, along with 26 RBI and a .529 slugging mark. He has a team-best .333 average in league play. Ben Serie is batting .308 with a team-high seven home runs along with a team-high 72 total bases and has 26 RBI as well as a team-best .541 slugging mark.

On the mound, USF lowered its earned run average from 5.84 to 5.75 after the solid mound work against UIU. USF has two shutouts, nine saves, and three complete games with 287 strikeouts in 305.1 innings. As a team USF has recorded 19 double plays.

USF's starting staff is led by Caleb Ditmarson, who is 4-2 overall with a team-high 47 strikeouts. In league 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 15 appearances and has a league-best 11 saves. He has 22 strikeouts in 22.0 innings with a 2.86 earned run average and a 2.30 earned run average in league play, where he has 16 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. Also in the NSIC, Alex Bertram has nine appearances with a 1.80 earned run average and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings. 

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.