February 27, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (4-6 overall record) returns to action for the first time since Feb. 18.  The Trojans head to Sterling (Kan.) (5-11 overall record) of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference for a three-game series at Sterling Baseball Complex (348 W Cleveland Ave) in Sterling.

Both teams play a doubleheader on Friday at 11 a.m. and close the month of February with a nine-inning contest on Saturday at 12 p.m.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State (S.D.) continues their action away from home as they play a three-game series at Sterling (Kan.).  The Trojans return to action for the first time since Feb. 18 after they split with Midland (Neb.) in Lincoln, Neb.

*Dakota State is facing their sixth different NAIA conference team this weekend.  Sterling (Kan.) is a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.  DSU had faced teams from the Red Rivers Athletic Association, Heart of America Athletic Conference, America Midwest Conference, Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, and the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

*The Trojans open the month of March as they continue their action on the road, visiting Mount Mercy (Iowa) and Bethel (Tenn.) before starting the Frontier Conference schedule.  Both opponents will be a four-game series, which will be the first time this season that DSU will face an opponent in a four-game series.

*Dakota State erupted for 13 runs in the first inning in the last meeting with Sterling (Kan.) on March 1, 2025, rolling to a 21-11 high scoring affair.  

*The Trojans averaged 9.1 runs per game in the all-time series (8 games) with Sterling since March 1, 2024.  Both teams played a series on the final days of February and beginning of March.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Dylan Connolly enters his 10th season leading the Sterling baseball program. During Connolly's time at the helm, he has helped develop 30 all-conference players and 84 scholar athletes.

The Warriors are batting .298 as a team with 14 home runs and 49 extra base hits. Their pitching staff is pitching to a 9.25 team ERA and a .335 batting average against.

Sterling is led at the plate by Emmanuel Huerta Cardenas and Jackson Harding, who are batting .339 and .328 and have combined for 15 of the 49 extra base hits.

The Warriors' pitching staff is led by Aaron Elsasser and Peyton Fletcher, who have a 2.53 and 4.76 ERA respectively. 

Dakota State leads the all-time series 6-2 against Sterling. Last season, the Trojans took the series 3-1, and have scored 10 or more runs in four of the eight all-time meetings.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State's (S.D.) four-game home opener with Midland (Neb.) at Flynn Field with Midland (Neb.) had to be on hold due to cold weather conditions.  Both teams played a mid-week doubleheader at Sandhills Athletic Complex in Lincoln, Neb., on Feb. 18.  The remaining two games will be rescheduled on a later date at Flynn Field.

Midland used a fast start and a five-run second inning to take control early and never trailed for a 9-2 game one victory over Dakota State.  The Warriors plated three runs in the bottom first and added five runs in the bottom second inning to open their lead to 8-0.

Dakota State answered in the third inning with a run when Aidan Perry singled and later scored on an RBI single by Cameron DeMaria.  The Trojans added another run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Perry.

Camaron Haller was 3-for-4 at the plate for DSU.  Chris Vinson added 2-for-3.  Perry collected an RBI and scored a run.  DeMaria hd an RBI single.  Treyten Kolar took the setback after working for two innings.  Ian Beer pitched four innings and yielded Midland to one run on four hits in relief.

The Trojans answered in the second game with timely hitting and two home runs to secure an 8-4 victory.  However, Midland took a 1-0 lead in the bottom inning before DSU tied the game in the second when Aidan Marsh launched a solo home run.  After the Warriors regained a 2-1 edge in the third, Dakota State erupted in the fifth inning.

DSU scored four runs in the top fifth inning to gain a 5-2 lead.  The Warriors answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.  The Trojans ballooned their lead to 8-4 in the top seventh inning, highlighted by Haller's 2-RBI double and capped with George Hogan with an RBI single.

Haller was 1-for-2 at the plate with 3 RBIs, two walks, and hit two-run double for DSU.  DeMaria added a home run and 3 RBIs.  Perry was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double.  Marsh had a solo home run.  Ryland Carroll (W, 2-1) earned the win after tossing four innings and registered six strikeouts.  Austin Armstrong (S, 3) earned his third save of the season after shutting down the Warriors in the final three innings and produced three strikeouts.

DSU'S ARMSTRONG EARNS ERCK HOTELS/FRONTIER CONFERENCE BASEBALL PITCHER-OF-THE-WEEK
Austin Armstrong of Dakota State (S.D.) baseball team was selected by the Frontier Conference Monday as the Pitcher-of-the-Week, the third edition of the weekly baseball conference awards were announced.

Armstrong recorded his third save of the season as the Trojans split a doubleheader with Midland (Neb.) on Feb. 18 in Lincoln, Neb.

He tossed three shutout innings in relief and produced three strikeouts (9.0 K per nine innings) in DSU's 8-4 game two victory to earn a split.

Armstrong is currently second in the Frontier Conference with three saves this season for the Trojans.

FRONTIER CONFERENCE TO OPEN SEASON IN JAMBOREE 
The Frontier Conference kicks off their 25-game conference schedule in the Frontier Jamboree at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D., on March 21-22.  The six members will play a total of four games with seven innings each, where the traveling teams does not play each other in the jamboree (Bellevue-Dakota State, Mayville State-Valley City State, and Bismarck State-Dickinson State).

Dakota State will play four North Dakota teams in the jamboree, opening their conference season versus Bismarck State (N.D.) on March 10, followed by a contest with Valley City State (N.D.) on the same day at 4 p.m.  The Trojans close the jamboree on March 22 versus Dickinson State (N.D.) at 10 a.m. and Mayville State at 4 p.m.  

After the jamboree, each team will start their four-game series on March 27-28, as well as one mid-week nine-inning contest with the traveling partner.

2026 DSU BASEBALL TEAM LEADERS

· Hits:  Cameron DeMaria—14 hits

· Batting Average:  Cameron DeMaria—.424 batting average (14-of-33 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Camaron Haller—.583 slugging percentage (9 singles, 2 doubles, 2 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBI):  Cameron DeMaria—15 RBIs

· Doubles:  Aidan Perry—3 doubles

· Triples:  Connor Raney—1 triple

· Home Runs:  Camaron Haller—2 home runs

· Total Bases:  Camaron Haller—21 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Aidan Perry—11 runs

· Walks:  Aidan Perry—7 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Aidan Perry, Cameron DeMaria, Hunter Den Boer, Aidan Marsh, George Hogan—1 hit-by-pitch

· Stolen Bases: Connor Raney—5 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Cameron DeMaria—.513 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Ryland Carroll—13 2/3 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Ryland Carroll—3.95 earned run average (6 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Ryland Carroll—19 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   Ryland Carroll—1 complete game

· Wins:  Ryland Carroll—2 wins

· Saves:  Austin Armstrong—3 saves