February 13, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 13, 2024)—The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (4-0 overall record) continues their action with a four-game slate in the Joplin (Mo.) Tournament on Friday and Saturday.  It will be the third straight year that the Trojans will be playing in the Joplin baseball tournament.

DSU opens the tournament on Friday morning at 11 a.m. versus Kansas Christian (0-4 overall record), followed by the second game versus William Woods (Mo.) (5-1 overall record) at 1:30 p.m.  Both games will be held at Wendall Redden Stadium (3301 W 1st Street) in Joplin, Mo.

The Trojans face Kansas Christian for the second time Saturday morning at 10 a.m.  DSU closes out the tournament versus Concordia (Neb.) (1-2 overall record, receiving votes in the NAIA Baseball Preseason Coaches' Top 25 national poll) at 12:30 p.m.  Saturday's games will be held at Joplin High School (2104 S. Indiana Ave.). 

DSU made their 2024 season debut with a four-game series sweep over Avila (Mo.) on Feb. 9-10.  The Trojans won by the score of 6-4 in eight innings and 6-2 on Feb. 9, followed by 3-2 and 21-5 victories on Feb. 10.  Kansas Christian was swept by Blue Mountain (Miss.) in their season opener on Feb. 7-8.  William Woods split their doubleheader with Hastings (Neb.) on Feb. 10 and swept Peru State (Neb.) in a pair of shutout contests on Feb. 11.  Concordia began their season with two setbacks to Oklahoma City and No. 7 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) on Feb. 9 before earning their first win versus Oklahoma City on Feb. 10.

Next Up:  Dakota State heads back to Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 24-25 for another preseason tournament, competing four games in the Midwest Collison hosted by Baker (Kan.).

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) posted its first 4-0 start since 2007 after their season-opening four-game series sweep at Avila (Mo.).  The 2007 squad kicked off the season with a school-record 22 consecutive wins. 
+ The last time DSU and Kansas Christian meet was on March 20, 2021, where KCC ended the Trojans' six-game winning streak in the series meeting after a 13-12 victory.  Dakota State owns a 6-1 all-time record with Kansas Christian.
+ The Trojans will play their first-ever meeting with William Woods (Mo.) on Friday.  The Owls are a member of the American Midwest Conference. 
+ The last meeting between Dakota State and Concordia (Neb.) was held on March 11, 2016, won by the Bulldogs.  The Trojans are seeking for their first win over CUNE since March 23, 2014, where DSU earned a doubleheader sweep.
+ Dakota State scored a season-high 21 runs in the four-game series finale at Avila (Mo.), the most runs scored since March 12, 2022, when the Trojans defeated NCAA Division III Capital (Ohio) in Dallas, Texas (23 runs scored). 
+ DSU faces two different NAIA conferences in the Joplin (Mo.) tournament, the American Midwest Conference (William Woods, Mo.) and the Great Plains Athletic Conference (Concordia, Neb.).
+ The Trojans will face another member of the American Midwest Conference on March 7-8 in a four-game series at Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.).  DSU will be facing four other opponents from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, including three different opponents in the Midwest Collison next weekend in Kansas City, Mo.

Noteworthy...
HARDIE HIT COACHING MILESTONE:  Dakota State baseball head coach Derrion Hardie reached his 300th career collegiate overall victories after their season-opening doubleheader sweep at Avila (Mo.) on Feb. 9.  He is also a win shy of reaching his 100th career victory as Trojan baseball head coach, where he was the head coach since the 2019-20 season.  He holds a record of 99-70 record at DSU prior to this weekend.

BUSY FEBRUARY SCHEDULE:   After sweeping Avila (Mo.) in their first road four-game series of the season on Feb. 9-10, Dakota State prepares for a busy schedule for the next two weekends as they prepare for a pair of preseason tournaments.  The Trojans play in the Joplin (Mo.) for the third straight year with a four-game slate Friday and Saturday, followed by another preseason tournament of Midwest Collision.  DSU faces Morningside (Iowa), (RV) Doane (Neb.), Jamestown (N.D.), and William Penn (Iowa).
 
TROJANS IN THE NORTH STAR RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Tuesday, three Dakota State hitters rank in the top five batting average.  Ned Ceklic leads the Trojans with a batting average of .500, which ties the conference best batting average.  Walker Hultgren and Aidan Perry are tied for fourth best average in the league with a batting average of .429.  Jeremy Green is tied for second most runs batted in with nine, while Hunter Vikemry ties the league for most home runs with two home runs.

DSU BASEBALL DEVELOPMENTAL TEAM SCHEDULE UPDATE:  The Dakota State University Trojan baseball developmental team is scheduled to make their 2024 season debut on March 18 with a doubleheader at NCAA Division II Augustana (S.D.).  The Trojans are slated to play a total of 26 contests on their 2024 development baseball schedule, with the home opener scheduled for March 27 versus Minnesota West CC.

Trojans sweep Eagles in baseball season opener
Kansas City, Mo. (Feb. 9, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) rallied back for a 3-0 deficit to earn a 6-4 eight inning victory in the first game of the doubleheader at The Z.  DSU won the second game by the score of 6-2 to earn a doubleheader sweep, the first time since the 2016 season that the Trojans opened the season with a doubleheader sweep.
 
After a scoreless two innings in the first game, the Eagles scored three runs to grab a 3-0 lead after four innings.  The Trojans answered with a 3-run home run by Jeremy Green to knot the game at 3-3 in the top fifth.  DSU added three runs in the top eighth inning and held to win. 

Walker Hultgren had two hits in the game.  Dalton Nelson added a home run and drove in two runs for the Trojans.  Sam Tyrpa started the game and tossed five innings with eight strikeouts.  JD Kirchner earned the victory in relief after working for three innings and registered three strikeouts.

DSU scored a pair of three-run inning sin the fourth and sixth innings in the second game to secure a sweep.  Bubba Thompson had two hits and an RBI.  Hunter Vikemyr added a home run and two RBIs.  Green and Ned Ceklic each had a hit and an RBI.  Aidan Perry tallied two hits.

Vikemyr earned the pitching victory after tossing six innings and struck out seven AU's batters.  Curtis Flint worked the seventh inning in relief for the Trojans.

DSU posts best start with 4-0 record since 2007
Kansas City, Mo. (Feb. 10, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) completed a perfect 4-0 record on their season opening weekend.  The Trojans earned a 3-2 pitcher's duel victory in the first game, and poured in a season-high 21 runs in 21-5 victory in the second game. 

The first game saw five scoreless innings until the first score, highlighted by a pair of solo home runs from Hunter Vikemyr and Walker Hultgren in the top sixth.  After Avila answered with two runs in the bottom half of the sixth, the Trojans produced a run in the top seventh and secured the win.

Nicholai Arbach earned the pitching victory after working six innings and struck out nine batters.  JD Kirchner earned his first save of the season after tossing a scoreless seventh inning in relief. 

Dakota State poured in 16 runs in the first three innings, 10 runs in the second frame, in the four-game series finale.  Ten different batters earned at least a hit in the game, highlighted by Jeremy Green three hits and five RBIs.  Ned Ceklic added three hits and two RBIs.    Will Clair earned the victory after working for five innings.  Alexander Ferrin and Aiden Urbom also pitched in relief for the Trojans.  Dakota State outhit Avila 18-9 in the game. 

Trojans' pitching recap at Avila (Mo.)
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 13, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) pitchers held Avila (Mo.) to less than five runs in each game, earning a four-game series on DSU season opening baseball weekend at The Z in Kansas City, Mo.

Four pitchers earned a victory in the series, including JD Kirchner, Hunter Vikemyr, Nicholai Arbach, and Will Clair.  Kirchner made his second appearance in the third game of the four-game series, earning a save in DSU's 3-2 victory over the Eagles. 

Dakota State posted an earned run average of 2.79 during the four-game series at Avila, which leads the North Star Athletic Association in earned run average this season.  The Trojans also produced 36 strikeouts during the series, led by Arbach with nine strikeouts.  Sam Tyrpa also had eight strikeouts in the series opener after working for five innings.

DSU's pitching staff also held Avila to .222 batting average during the four-game series.  The Trojans also lead the league in runs allowed with 13 runs and earned runs allowed with nine runs in 29 total innings.  Vikemyr ties for the best earned run average with 0.00, while Kirchner is fifth with 2.25 ERA.

2024 DSU Baseball team leaders

· Hits:  Walker Hultgren, Aidan Perry—6 hits

· Batting Average:  Ned Ceklic—.500 batting average (4-of-8 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Walker Hultgren—.786 slugging percentage (3 singles, 2 doubles, 1 home run)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Jeremy Green—9 RBIs

· Doubles:  Walker Hultgren, Ned Ceklic, Aidan Perry—2 doubles

· Triples:  Jeremy Green—1 triple

· Home Runs:  Hunter Vikemyr—2 home runs

· Total Bases:  Walker Hultgren, Jeremy Green—11 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Ned Ceklic—6 runs

· Walks:  Ned Ceklic, Bubba Thompson—4 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Ned Ceklic, Cassidy Watt, Jeremy Green, Dawson Portner—1 hit-by-pitch

· Stolen Bases: Bubba Thompson, Dawson Portner—1 stolen base

· On-base percentage:  Ned Ceklic—.643 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Nicholai Arbach, Hunter Vikemyr—6 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Hunter Vikemyr—0.00 earned run average (0 earned runs in 6 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Nicholai Arbach—9 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   N/A

· Wins:  Will Clair, Nicholai Arbach, JD Kirchner, Hunter Vikemyr—1 win

· Saves:  JD Kirchner—1 save

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