February 27, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 27, 2024)—The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (8-4 overall record) stays on the road Friday and Saturday as they look to expand their winning streak.  The Trojans visit Sterling (Kan.) (8-4 overall record) of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference in a four-game non-conference series at SC Baseball Complex (348 W Cleveland) in Sterling, Kan.

The four-game series begin with a doubleheader on Friday and continue Saturday with another doubleheader.  Both doubleheaders are set to start at 12 p.m. on each day.  All four games will be a seven-inning contest.

The Trojans dropped the first three games in the Wildcat Classic, hosted by Baker (Kan.) at PBR Homefield Baseball Complex last weekend.  DSU fell to Morningside (Iowa) 10-2 and (RV) Doane (Neb.) 3-1 on Feb. 24.  Dakota State lost to Jamestown (N.D.) 7-3 on Feb. 25, before halting their four-game losing skid with an 8-2 victory over William Penn (Iowa) to close the tournament with a 1-3 record. 

Sterling won the KCAC 3-game series opener against Bethany (Kan.) 14-1 in seven innings on Feb. 23, followed by a pair of setbacks to the Swedes on Feb. 24 by the scores of 10-5 and 13-10.  The Warriors are scheduled to face Central Christian (Kan.) on Feb. 27 in a nine-inning non-conference game in Sterling.

Dakota State and Sterling will be playing their first meeting in series history.

Next Up:  Dakota State plays another four-game series on the road next weekend, traveling to Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) on March 8-9.  Both teams will be playing a doubleheader, starting at 12 p.m. on both days.  The series will be played at Nichols Field in Hannibal, Mo.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) looks to stay undefeated on the road this season.  The Trojans are 4-0 record on the road after sweeping Avila (Mo.) in the season opener on Feb. 9-10.
+ DSU is facing their second opponent from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, Sterling (Kan.), this weekend.  The Trojans swept a four-game series against KCAC opponent Avila (Mo.).
+ Dakota State wrapped up their preseason tournament tune-up with a 4-4 neutral site record.  The Trojans went 3-1 record in the Joplin (Mo.) Tournament on Feb. 16-17 and 1-3 record in the Wildcat Classic tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
+ The North Star Athletic Association baseball conference opener is set for March 15-16 at Flynn Field in Madison, S.D.  The Trojans host Mayville State (N.D.) in a four-game series.
+ The last time DSU had won at least four straight road contests was last year.  The Trojans won nine straight road contests, starting at Randall (Okla.) on March 14 with a doubleheader sweep, followed by a four-game series sweep at Viterbo (Wis.) on April 7-8 and three straight victories at Dickinson State (N.D.) on April 16-17.
+ The Trojans face their second college baseball team from the state of Kansas this weekend (defeated Kansas Christian twice in the Joplin, Mo., tournament on Feb. 15-16).
+ This will be the second straight year that Dakota State begins the month of March with contests being held in the state of Kansas (last year Trojans visited Baker, Kan., to start the month of March).
 
Noteworthy...
DSU WRAPS UP PRESEASON TOURNAMENTS:  Dakota State (S.D.) wrapped up their preseason tournaments tune-up last weekend in the Wildcat Classic in Kansas City, Mo.  The Trojans finished with a 4-4 record in tournament games.  DSU posted a batting average of .322 and a slugging percentage of .517 during the preseason tournaments.  The Trojans held its opponents' batting average to .256.

AROUND THE NORTH STAR BASEBALL:   Two North Star Athletic Association baseball teams hold a winning record after the month of February, including Dakota State at 8-4 overall record.  Waldorf (Iowa) holds an overall record of 7-4.  No. 7 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) is 6-7 overall record, while Valley City State (N.D.) is at 4-6 overall record.  Mayville State (N.D.) is 2-9 overall record, followed by Dickinson State (N.D.) at 1-10 overall record and Viterbo (Wis.) at 1-14 overall record.
 
TROJANS' OFFENSE RANKS IN THE NSAA CONFERENCE:  Dakota State leads the North Star Athletic Association in offense categories, with the batting average of .322 and the slugging percentage of .541.  The Trojans are second in the league in total hits with 115 hits, as well as runs batted in (RBIs) with 82 RBIs.  DSU leads the North Star conference with 28 doubles and 16 home runs.  Dakota State records an on-base percentage of .403 this season, which is second best in the conference.

DSU BASEBALL DEVELOPMENTAL TEAM OPENS SEASON WITH SWEEP:  The Dakota State University Trojan baseball developmental team kicked off their 2024 season with a doubleheader sweep at rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Feb. 26.  The Trojans won by the scores of 10-6 and 13-0.  DSU will face NCAA Division II Augustana (S.D.) in their next contest on March 18 and at Peru State (Neb.) on March 20.

Trojans fall to two GPAC teams in Wildcat Classic
Kansas City, Mo. (Feb. 24, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) dropped a pair of games against members of the Great Plains Athletic Conference foes on the first day of the Wildcat Classic, hosted by Baker (Kan.) at PBR Homefield Baseball Complex.
 
The Trojans lost to Morningside (Iowa) by the score of 10-2 to open the tournament.  The Mustangs highlighted with a pair of five-run innings in the first and third innings.  DSU snapped their scoring drought with a pair of runs in the top seventh frame, thanks to a pair of RBIs from Dawson Portner and Aidan Perry.

Walker Hultgren, Bubba Thompson, and Perry each recorded a hit for the Trojans.  Nicholai Arbach took the setback on the pitching mound.  Curtis Flint and Aidan Rocha each worked in relief.

Dakota State fell short to another foe from the GPAC conference, (RV) Doane (Neb.) by the score of 3-1.  The Tigers opened the game with a 1-0 lead and added a run in the top third inning to make it 2-0.  Ned Ceklic produced an RBI single in the bottom fifth inning (DSU trailed 2-1). 

Ryan McDaniel had two singles in the game for Dakota State.  Ceklic added two singles and an RBI.  Jeremy Green recorded a single.  Perry had a walk.  Seth Altwine swiped one base.

Sam Tyrpa recorded the defeat after tossing five innings on the pitching mound for DSU.  He recorded eight six outs and gave up three hits.  JD Kirchner pitched two innings in relief with two strikeouts.

Dakota State ends losing skid in tournament finale
Kansas City, Mo. (Feb. 25, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) earned a split on the final day of the Wildcat Classic at PBR Homefield Baseball Complex. 

Jamestown (N.D.), who will return to North Star Athletic Association next season, scored a combined three runs in the third and fourth innings as well as sixth and seventh frames to defeat the Trojans by the score of 7-3.

Ryan McDaniel had a single and an RBI for DSU.  Jeremy Green, Ned Ceklic, Cory Brownson, and Aidan Perry each added a single.  Hunter Vikemyr took the loss on the pitching mound after working for four innings.  Collin Grimmel and Aiden Urbom also pitched in relief.  

The Trojans snapped their four-game losing skid as they closed the tournament with an 8-2 victory over William Penn (Iowa), thanks to five-run production in the top second inning.

Green sparked DSU's offense attack with a home run, double, and drove in three runs.  McDaniel added a home run, double, single and two RBI.s  Walker Hultgren tallied three singles.  Cassidy Watt had two hits and two RBIs.  Dawson Portner recorded a double and an RBI. Will Clair earned the victory after pitching five innings for DSU.  JD Kirchner tossed two shutout innings in relief, yielding WPU to one hit.

Trojans in the North Star conference ranks
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 27, 2024)—According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Tuesday, Ryan McDaniel leads the North Star Athletic Association in batting average of .487 for Dakota State (S.D.).  Ned Ceklic is third in the league with .400 batting average, followed by Walker Hultgren ranks fourth with .390 batting average.

Jeremy Green ties the North Star conference in runs batted in with 16 RBIs for the Trojans with  Kolby Amaral of Waldorf (Iowa). McDaniel is tied for sixth most RBIs in the conference with 10 RBIs.  McDaniel and Hunter Vikemyr tie for most home runs this season in the North Star with three home runs for the Trojans.

Vikemyr ranks fourth in the league with 3.07 earned run average for DSU, followed by Will Clair fifth with 3.38 ERA.  Clair ties the North Star conference with most pitching wins with three, while Vikemyr is tied for fourth most with two wins.  Sam Tyrpa ranks second in the conference with 24 strikeouts, followed by Nicholai Arbach third with 21 strikeouts.  JD Kirchner is second in the NSAA with two saves.

2024 DSU Baseball team leaders

· Hits:  Ryan McDaniel—19 hits

· Batting Average:  Ryan McDaniel—.487 batting average (19-of-39 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Ryan McDaniel—.872 slugging percentage (10 singles, 6 doubles, 3 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Jeremy Green—16 RBIs

· Doubles:  Jeremy Green, Ryan McDaniel—6 doubles

· Triples:  Jeremy Green—1 triple

· Home Runs:  Hunter Vikemyr, Ryan McDaniel—3 home runs

· Total Bases:  Ryan McDaniel—34 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Aidan Perry—10 runs

· Walks:  Ned Ceklic—8 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Dawson Portner—3 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Jeremy Green—4 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Ned Ceklic—.556 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Will Clair—16 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  JD Kirchner—2.00 earned run average (2 earned runs in 9 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Sam Tyrpa—24 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   N/A

· Wins:  Will Clair—3 wins

· Saves:  JD Kirchner—2 saves

Follow DSU Trojan Baseball

· Twitter:  @DSU_Trojans

· Facebook:  DSUTrojans

· Instagram:  trojans.athletics

· DSU Baseball Twitter:  @DSU_Baseball_

· DSU Baseball Facebook:  @Dakota-State-Trojan-Baseball