April 17, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (April 17, 2024)—The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (31-10 overall record, 14-2 NSAA record) plays their final North Star Athletic Association four-game road series of the season.  The Trojans visit nationally-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) (30-11 overall record, 15-1 NSAA conference record, No. 16 in the latest NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 national poll) in the battle of top two teams in the league.

The NSAA four-game series begins on Friday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and plays another doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m.  The series takes place at John Stella at Brown Park (5708 South 15th Street) in Omaha, Neb.

Dakota State returns home Tuesday to conclude their home schedule, kicking off their five-game home stand.  The Trojans host rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (15-25 overall record) for a nine-inning non-conference contest make-up game from April 16.  First pitch is set for 5 p.m. at Flynn Field in Madison.

Dakota State went 3-1 record on the road last weekend in the North Star Athletic Association four-game series at Valley City State (N.D.).  The Trojans won the first game by the score of 11-1 and fell in the second game by the score of 3-1 on April 12.  DSU swept VCSU on April 13 by the identical scores of 2-0, with the four-game series finale going to 10 innings.

Bellevue swept the NSAA's four-game series with Mayville State (N.D.), holding on to a 3-2 victory in the first game on April 12 followed by a 13-2 victory.  BU defeated MSU 24-3 and 20-7 in eight innings on April 13.  Dakota Wesleyan went 1-3 record in their conference contest with Jamestown (N.D.) on April 13-14.

Next Up:  Dakota State plays their final North Star Athletic Association four-game home series.  The Trojans host Waldorf (Iowa) at Flynn Field on April 26-27 as part of Senior Weekend.  Seniors will be honored on April 27.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) will be making their second straight trip to Bellevue (Neb.) in the North Star Athletic Association four-game series contest.  The Trojans went 1-3 record in last year's meeting with the Bruins in the battle of top teams in the North Star, with DSU winning the first game of the series by the score of 9-6 in 15 innings affair.
+ The Bruins won the previous four meetings, including the most recent meeting in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament when they met in the remaining undefeated teams on the third day of the conference tournament.  BU held on to a 7-1 victory to hand DSU their first setback in the postseason tournament.
+ Dakota State collected a victory over Bellevue in the past two seasons, both times as the nationally ranked team Bruins.  DSU earned the victory over No. 7 ranked Bruins in 2022 at Flynn Field, and No. 5 ranked team in 2023 in Omaha.
+ DSU won the first meeting with rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 12-6 on March 19 in Mitchell, S.D., thanks to their fast start with five runs in the top first inning.
+ The Trojans registered three straight victories in the series meeting with the Tigers, including the previous two home meetings held at Flynn Field (16-2 in seven innings on April 18, 2023, and 14-4 in eight innings on March 29, 2022).
+ Dakota State is 8-0 record at home this season and 19-6 record on the road.  Bellevue is 15-0 record at home this season, with the last home setback to the Trojans on April 28, 2023. Dakota Wesleyan is 3-8 record on the road in 2024.
+ DSU racked up over 10 runs 17 times this season, including the most recent 11 runs at Valley City State (N.D.) on April 12.

Noteworthy...
GREEN SETS STOLEN BASES SCHOOL RECORD:  Jeremy Green established a new all-time in stolen bases during Dakota State's four-game series at Valley City State (N.D.).  After hitting a 3-RBI bases clearing double in the top fourth in the series opener on April 14, he tied the all-time stolen bases after swiping to third base.  Green then set the all-time stolen bases in the second game in the top third inning, passing the previous record set by Rays Roman with 45 stolen bases from 2012-13.

DSU LEADERS IN THE NSAA CONFERENCE:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Wednesday, Ryan McDaniel leads the North Star Athletic Association in batting average with .444.  He also ranks fifth in the conference with 41 RBIs.  Jeremy Green leads the conference with 29 stolen bases, which is also a single season record in school history.  Hunter Vikemyr leads NSAA with 2.16 ERA, while Will Clair leads the North Star with eight pitching wins, and JD Kirchner atop the conference with five saves.
 
TROJANS IN THE NORTH STAR RANKS:   Dakota State (S.D.) is second in the North Star conference games ranks in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.427), slugging percentage (.521), hits (173 hits), and RBIs (133 RBIs).  The Trojans leads the league with 67 walks during conference season.  DSU leads the North Star with 2.65 earned run average in league contests and strikeouts with 150 strikeouts.

DSU BASEBALL DEVELOPMENTAL TEAM SCHEDULE UPDATE:  The Dakota State developmental baseball team is 7-4 overall record this season, despite being swept by NCAA Division II Augustana (S.D.) on April 15.  The Trojans host Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in a nine-inning game on Friday evening, and travel to Aberdeen, S.D., on Monday to take on NCAA Division II Northern State (S.D.).

Trojans split NSAA baseball doubleheader at VCSU
Valley City, N.D. (April 12, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) scored in double digits run for the fifth straight game in the first game, earning the North Star Athletic Association baseball doubleheader split with Valley City State (N.D.) at Charlie Brown Stadium, the first time playing there since 2014.
 
After two scoreless innings in the first game, the Trojans poured in eight total runs in the third and fourth innings to roll to an 11-1 victory.

Ryan McDaniel, Cory Brownson, and Jeremy Green each collected multi-hits and multi-RBIs in the game.  McDaniel had three hits and drove in four runs.  Green collected two hits and four RBIs.  Brownson added two hits and two RBIs.

Sam Tyrpa (W, 6-2) tossed a complete game victory for the Trojans, recording eight strikeouts.

Valley City State took the first lead of the game in the bottom third frame of the second game.  The Vikings took a 1-0 lead before the Trojans knotted the game at 1-1 in the top fourth.  VCSU plated a run in the bottom fourth and fifth innings, holding on to a 3-1 victory in a nine-inning contest. 

Aidan Perry drilled a triple for Dakota State.  Cameron DeMaria added a hit and a walk.  Green registered three walks.  Brownson and Ned Ceklic each added a walk.  Hunter Vikemyr (L, 7-3) took the defeat after working for 4 1/3 innings.  Curtis Flint tossed 3 2/3 shutout inning sin relief, recording six strikeouts and limiting the Vikings to one hit.

DSU earns pair of 2-0 victories over Vikings
Valley City, N.D. (April 13, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) shut down Valley City State (N.D.) for 17 straight innings on the same day, wrapping up the North Star Athletic Association baseball four-game series with a doubleheader sweep at Charlie Brown Stadium.

Cory Brownson and Cameron DeMaria each hit an RBI single as Dakota State secured a 2-0 victory.  Brownson finished the game with two singles and an RBI.  DeMaria added a hit and an RBI.  Ryan McDaniel, Walker Hultgren, Aidan Perry, and Dawson Portner each added a hit.

Will Clair (W, 8-1) earned the victory after tossing 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts for DSU.  JD Kirchner (S, 5) became the all-time saves leader in school history after shutting down the Vikings for 1 1/3 innings in relief.  He recorded three strikeouts.

It took 10 innings to decide the outcome of the four-game series finale.  The game was scoreless through nine innings before the Trojans plated two runs in the top 10th with RBI singles from Jeremy Green and McDaniel.  McDaniel finished the game with three singles and an RBI, while Green had two singles and an RBI.  Hunter Vikemyr added a double, single, and an RBI.  Nicholai Arbach worked six scoreless innings, while Kirchner (W, 3-1) earned the victory after tossing four shutout innings in relief.

Perry collects NSAA Baseball Player-of-the-Week
Madison, S.D. (April 15, 2024)—JD Kirchner of Dakota State (S.D.) was tabbed by the North Star Athletic Association as their baseball Pitcher-of-the-Week.   

Right-handed pitcher Kirchner from Lennox, S.D., collected a save and a pitching victory on the same day in Trojans' pair of 2-0 shutout victories at Valley City State (N.D.) on April 13.  DSU earned the NSAA four-game series victory with a 3-1 record.

Kirchner earned a save after tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the third game of the four-game series.  He collected his fifth save of the season, holding the Vikings to one hit and recorded three strikeouts.  He surpassed the previous record held by Jeremy Daul with 12 career saves from 2003-24 (Kirchner currently have 13 saves).

Kirchner followed up with a pitching victory in the four-game series finale, which the game went to 10 innings.  He improved to 3-1 record after tossing four shutout innings in relief and held VCSU to one hit.  He finished the day by pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and limited VCSU to two hits.
 

2024 DSU Baseball team leaders

· Hits:  Ryan McDaniel—67 hits

· Batting Average:  Ryan McDaniel—.444 batting average (67-of-151 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Cory Brownson—.670 slugging percentage (29 singles, 10 doubles, 6 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Jeremy Green—49 RBIs

· Doubles:  Ryan McDaniel—16 doubles

· Triples:  Bubba Thompson—2 triples

· Home Runs:  Walker Hultgren—8 home runs

· Total Bases:  Ryan McDaniel—98 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Aidan Perry—41 runs

· Walks:  Ned Ceklic—26 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Dawson Portner—18 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Jeremy Green—29 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Cory Brownson—.515 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Hunter Vikemyr—58 1/3 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Hunter Vikemyr—2.16 earned run average (14 earned runs in 58 1/3 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Sam Tyrpa—74 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   Will Clair—3 complete games

· Wins:  Will Clair—8 wins

· Saves:  JD Kirchner—5 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