April 3, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (April 3, 2025)—The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (14-15 overall record, 1-3 NSAA record) concludes their season long 12-game home stand at Flynn Field (300 8th Street SW) this weekend in the North Star Athletic Association action.  The NSAA four-game series, which was originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, had been pushed to Saturday and Sunday.

DSU hosts Valley City State (N.D.) (15-18 overall record, 0-4 NSAA conference record) in the second NSAA four-game series of the season.  The doubleheader, which consists of a seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning contest, starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Dakota State opened their final ever North Star Athletic Association baseball season by going 1-3 record in the four-game series versus (RV) Jamestown (N.D.) at Flynn Field.  The Trojans won the series opener 10-4 on March 27 before earning a split after the Jimmies won the second game 12-5.  UJ earned the doubleheader sweep over DSU 7-2 and 7-4 on March 28 to win the NSAA's four game series.

Valley City State was originally scheduled to host (RV) Bellevue (Neb.) in the North Star's conference season opener.  The series was moved to Bellevue, Neb., where the Vikings dropped all four contests with the Bruins.  Bellevue earned a doubleheader sweeps 6-5 and 10-0 on March 27, followed by another doubleheader sweep with 11-2 and 14-10 victories on March 28.

Next Up:  Dakota State heads north for their first North Star Athletic Association road contests, visiting Dickinson State (N.D.) on April 11-12 (next Friday and Saturday).  DSU returns home on April 15 versus rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), kicking off their five-game home stand finale at Flynn Field.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ The last time Dakota State (S.D.) hosted Valley City State (N.D.) at Flynn Field was on April 23-24, 2023, where the Trojans earned the North Star Athletic Association four-game series sweep.
+ The Trojans took the NSAA four-game series in last year's meeting held at Charlie Brown Stadium in Valley City, N.D., on April 12-13, 2024.  DSU and VCSU split their doubleheader on the first day, while Dakota State swept Valley City State by a pair of 2-0 scores on the second day.
+ DSU had won eight times in the last nine meetings with VCSU since April 23, 2023.
+ Valley City State is coached by Alec DeMaria, former assistant coach for Dakota State in 2022 and 2023.
+ The Trojans are 2-6 record at home, 11-4 record on the road, and 1-5 record on neutral sites this season.  Valley City State have not played at home this season and played 33 straight games away from Valley City.  The Vikings hold a 3-5 record on the road and 12-13 record on neutral sites.
+ Dakota State is 8-4 record in the last 12 home meetings with Valley City State since March 27, 2021.
+ The Trojans are in in the middle of their NSAA's eight-game home stand at Flynn Field since March 27-28 (last week.
+ DSU will play their first North Star conference road contests next weekend in Dickinson, N.D., facing Dickinson State (N.D.) in the four-game series.  They will play at the same site of this year's North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament on May 1-4.
 
Noteworthy...
NORTH STAR UPDATES:  Bellevue (Neb.) currently holds a one-game lead in the North Star Athletic Association baseball standings.  Jamestown (N.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.) are tied for second with 3-1 record, followed by Dakota State (S.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) tied for fourth with 1-3 record.  Valley City State (N.D.) is sixth, despite being winless in the first four conference games.  This weekend's schedule includes VCSU at DSU, DiSU at BU, and UJ versus MSU at Sanford Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
TROJANS IN THE NSAA CONFERENCE RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State ranks second in the North Star Athletic Association with .306 batting average and .406 on-base percentage.  The Trojans leads the league with .513 slugging percentage.  Prior to this weekend's game, DSU had hit 43 home runs, which is second most home runs in the North Star conference.  The Trojans are also second in the conference with 94 total extra-base hits this season.
 
DSU'S REMAINING HOME GAMES AT FLYNN FIELD:   Dakota State have nine home games remaining at Flynn Field this season, including their four-game series with Valley City State (N.D.) Saturday and Sunday.  The Trojans return home on April 15 (Tuesday), hosting rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in a nine-inning game.  DSU holds their senior weekend versus Bellevue (Neb.) on April 18-19 in their home finale.

DSU BASEBALL DEVELOPMENTAL TEAM UPDATES:  The Dakota State developmental baseball team ballooned their winning streak to six games after defeating Northern State (S.D.) 15-4 on March 26 at Flynn Field and earning the doubleheader split at Mount Marty (S.D.) on March 31.  DSU won the first game 6-3 and lost the second game 12-5.  DSU is at Briar Cliff (Iowa) Monday and Minnesota West on Wednesday.

Trojans and (RV) Jimmies split NSAA season opener
Madison, S.D. (March 27, 2025)—Dakota State (S.D.) and (RV) Jamestown (N.D.) split their North Star Athletic Association season opening doubleheader at Flynn Field, meeting on DSU's home field for the first time since March 24-25, 2012.  
 
The Trojans blasted four home runs in the four-game series opener, fueling to a 10-4 victory over the Jimmies.  DSU led 4-0 after the second inning and never trailed.  The Trojans added six-run production in the bottom fifth inning to secure the win.

Cameron DeMaria was 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, two singles, RBI, and scored two times for DSU.  Seth Altwine and Cassidy Watt each added a home run and three RBIs.  Aidan Perry had a home run, two RBIs, and two walks.  Nicholai Arbach (W, 4-2) tossed a complete game victory, recording a season-high 10 strikeouts in the game.

Jamestown took the second game in the four-game series by the score of 12-5 over Dakota State.  The Jimmies outhit the Trojans 13-4 in the game.

Perry collected three hits in the game with a home run, double, single, and an RBI for DSU.  Darcy Barry added a home run and three RBIs.  Sam Tyrpa took the setback after tossing 6 1/3 innings, registering four strikeouts in the game.  He extended his all-time school record of 228 strikeouts at Dakota State.

(RV) UJ takes final two games of the series over DSU
Madison, S.D. (March 28, 2025)—(RV) Jamestown (N.D.) used a late scoring run in both games, picking up the final two games to secure the North Star Athletic Association four-game series victory over Dakota State (S.D.) at Flynn Field.

The Jimmies erased their 1-0 deficit from the Trojans, scoring three runs in the top second and scored four runs in the final two innings to secure a 7-2 victory.

Cameron DeMaria had a double and single for DSU.  Cassidy Watt added a home run and an RBI.  Brayden Byrum and Dawson Portner each had a hit.  Hunter Vikemyr took the defeat, despite tossing a complete game for the Trojans.

The Jimmies rallied for a 7-4 victory, scoring four runs in the final four innings to erase a 4-3 deficit after five innings.  Darcy Barry hit a home run in the bottom fifth to give DSU a 4-3 lead.

He finished the game with a home run and an RBI for the Trojans.  Aidan Perry added two hits.  DeMaria tallied a home run and two RBIs.  Vikemyr had a hit and an RBI.  George Hogan recorded a double and single.  Alex Swack started the game on the pitching mound for DSU, working for five-plus innings.  Aiden Urbom (L, 2-1) took the setback in relief.  Braylon Bear and Keaton Young also pitched in relief.

Trojans in the NSAA conference ranks
Madison, S.D. (April 3, 2025)—According to the PrestoStats-NAIA statistical website as of Thursday, Cameron DeMaria of Dakota State (S.D.) ties for second in the North Star Athletic Association with 12 home runs and 20 extra bases hits this season.  He also ranks third in the league with 35 runs batted in (RBIs) and seventh in batting average with .383. 

Darcy Barry ties the North Star conference with 13 solen bases for the Trojans. 

Nicholai Arbach ranks second in the NSAA conference in pitching's earned run average (ERA).  He holds an ERA of 2.74 this season for the Trojans.  Hunter Vikemyr is also fifth in the league with 4.62 ERA, while Sam Tyrpa is seventh with 5.06 ERA.  Both Arbach and Vikemyr are tied for fourth most pitching wins in the NSAA conference.

Three Dakota State hitters had double digits hitting streak this season, led by DeMaria with 12-game hitting streak earlier in the season.  Cassidy Watt and Connor Raney also produced 10-game hitting streak this season.

2025 DSU Baseball Team Leaders

· Hits:  Cameron DeMaria—36 hits

· Batting Average:  Cameron DeMaria—.383 batting average (36-of-94 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Cameron DeMaria—.851 slugging percentage (16 singles, 8 doubles, 12 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Cameron DeMaria—35 RBIs

· Doubles:  Darcy Barry, Cameron DeMaria—8 doubles

· Triples:  Hunter Vikemyr, Seth Altwine—1 triple

· Home Runs:  Cameron DeMaria—12 home runs

· Total Bases:  Cameron DeMaria—80 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Darcy Barry—34 runs

· Walks:  Aidan Perry—22 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Darcy Barry—8 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Darcy Barry—13 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Cameron DeMaria—.492 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Nicholai Arbach—42 2/3 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Nicholai Arbach—2.74 earned run average

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Hunter Vikemyr—37 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   Nicholai Arbach—5 complete games

· Wins:  Hunter Vikemyr, Nicholai Arbach—4 wins

· Saves:  Braylon Bear, Aiden Urbom, Alexander Ferrin—1 save

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