Baseball 3/12/2026 3:18:00 PM Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

DSU baseball continues action on road at Bethel (Tenn.) Friday and Saturday

Dakota State (S.D.) travels to McKenzie, Tenn., for a four-game series with Wildcasts

March 12, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (5-12 overall record) continues their action on the road Friday and Saturday. The Trojans play a four-game series with host-team Bethel (Tenn.) (4-12 overall record) of the Mid-South Conference. The doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. Friday, followed by another doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. at Kahlden Complex (325 Cherry Ave.) in McKenzie, Tenn.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State continues their action on the road, traveling to McKenzie, Tenn., for a four-game series with Bethel (Tenn.). This will be the first four-game series in the all-time series with the Wildcats.

*Dakota State snapped their six-game losing skid on the road after their 12-3 game three victory over Mount Mercy (Iowa)in a tripleheader on March 8.

*The Frontier Conference baseball officially kicks off next weekend. All six conference members will be at the Sanford Sports Complex baseball fields in Sioux Falls, S.D. The teams will play a round robin schedule, with two games on each day on next Saturday and next Sunday, with the exception of the traveling teams facing each other.

*After this weekend's games, Dakota State have four remaining non-conference games on their 2026 schedule. The Trojans host Midland (Neb.) on Tuesday, and will play home-and-away games with rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.). DSU closes out their non-conference schedule at Northwestern (Iowa) on April 21.

*The Frontier Conference baseball season features a total of 25 games, incluidng the four-game slate in the Frontier Jamboree next weekend in Sioux Falls. The traveling partners will face each other for a nine-inning game during the mid-week, as well as a four-game series on the weekend.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Coach Rusty Thompson (437-363-3) enters his 19th season as head coach of Bethel baseball in 2025-26.

Thompson graduated from Hardin County High School before playing for four years at Bethel College for Coach Glenn Hayes. While at Bethel, he earned team MVP honors twice, was named All-State as a second baseman and received All-Conference honors in his senior season. Coach Thompson holds the school record for saves in a season (11). He also is in the top 10 in records for hits in a season (72), single season batting average (412) and a career batting average of .350.

The Wildcats are batting .264 as a team with 11 home runs and 36 extra base hits. Their pitching staff is pitching to a 7.99 team ERA and a .296 batting average against.

Bethel is led at the plate by Juan Diego Ramos and Adriel Vega, who are batting .375 and .286 respectively and have contributed 33 percent of the team's RBI this season. On the mound, the Wildcats are led by Walker Ward. Through 22 innings of work, he is pitching to a 3.27 ERA.

This is the first all-time meeting between Dakota State and Bethel.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State (S.D.) headed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a four-game series with Mount Mercy (Iowa). Both teams played one game on the first day of the series on March 7 and could not play the second game on the same day due to cold weather. They went on to play a rare tripleheader on March 8.

Dakota State grabbed the first lead of the game in the top first inning of the first inning, capped by Cameron DeMaria's 2-run home run for a 3-0 lead. Mount Mercy would overtake th lead at 6-4 after five innings before the Trojans rallied in the top seventh frame with three runs scored. Aidan Barfuss blasted a 2-run home run to give DSU a 7-5 lead.

The Mustangs would answer with two runs in the bottom seventh inning to knot the game at 7-7 and extended the game in extra inning. Mount Mercy scored the winning run in the bottom eighth to secure an 8-7 victory over Dakota State.

Camaron Haller led the Trojans with three hits and two RBIs. DeMaria added two hits and two RBIs. Barfuss had a home run, two RBIs, and two walks. Hunter Den Boer and Connor Raney each tallied a hit. Hayden Leighty started the game for DSU and worked for 4 1/3 innings. Kellan Johns pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings, while Austin Armstrong took the set back after tossing 1 1/3 innings in relief.

Mount Mercy won the first two games of the tripleheader on March 8. The Trojans took the first lead at 2-0 in the top second inning, while the Mustangs exploded for seven runs in the bottom second. DSU trimmed their deficit to 7-4 in the top third inning after Cameron Kittridge's 2-RBI double. The Mustangs secured an 8-4 victory in the first game.

Kittridge finished the game with two doubles, single, and drove in three runs for DSU. Aidan Perry, Haller, DeMaria, and George Hogan each recorded a hit. Ryland Carroll took the defeat on the pitching mound after tossing the first two innings. Braylon Bear worked the final four innings in relief.

Dakota State was unable to overcome MMC's six-run second inning explosion, falling 9-3 in the second game of the tripleheader. The Trojans scored three runs in the top third to cut their deficit to 6-3, highlighted by DeMaria's two-run home run. The Mustangs added three runs in the bottom fifth to secure the victory.

DeMaria finished the game with a home run, two RBIs, and a walk for DSU. Perry added two singles, RBI, and a walk. Raney and Barfuss each recorded a hit. Alex Ferrin took the defeat on the pitching mound, while Treyten Kolar, Caleb Hoppe, and Cole Drumheller each worked in relief.

After trailing 2-0 in the first inning in the third game of the tripleheader, Dakota State scored at least one run in each inning from the second through sixth innings to fuel to a 12-3 victory. The Trojans outhit the Mustangs 15-4 in the game.

DeMaria collected three hits and drove in four runs for DSU. Perry added three hits, three runs, and two walks. Aidan Marsh had two hits (including a home run), four RBIs, and two walks. Max Woll recorded his first win of the season, working for five innings. He recorded six strikeouts. Collin Grimmell and Brody Thompson each tossed one shutout inning in relief.

DeMARIA EARNS SECOND ERCK HOTELS/FRONTIER CONFERENCE BASEBALL WEEKLY AWARD
Senior first baseman Cameron DeMaria of Dakota State (S.D.) was selected to the fifth edition of the 2025-26 Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Baseball Player-of-the-Week, announced by the conference office Monday. It was the second time this season that DeMaria was named to baseball's Player-of-the-Week award.

DeMaria smashed a home run in three of the four games for the Trojans in their series at Mount Mercy (Iowa). He recorded at least a hit in all four games and drove in a total of eight runs.

He batted .538 for the week by going 7-for-13 at the plate and produced 1.231 slugging percentage. He also posted an on-base percentage of .625 for the week.

Defensively, DeMaria was perfect in 19 total chances with 18 put-outs and one assist for a 1.000 fielding percentage.

According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Monday, DeMaria leads the Frontier Conference with .436 batting average this season. He also ranks second in the league with 26 runs batted in (RBIs).

TROJANS IN THE RECORD BOOK
A pair of Dakota State players are highlighted in the Trojan Baseball school record book.

Aidan Perry is eighth all-time in runs scored with 106 runs since 2022-23. He played 123 career games with the Trojans, prior to this weekend's games. He also recorded 137 career hits, 66 walks, and 75 RBIs during his career. Perry's 66 walks tied for fourth all-time in walks drawn with Brian White from 2007-10. Ryan McDaniel holds the all-time school record with 94 walks drawn from 2020-24.

Cameron DeMaria smashed 21 career home runs since 2023-24 season at DSU. He is fourth all-time in home runs at Dakota State, trailing three home runs for third all time by Walker Hultgren with 24 home runs from 2021-24.

2026 DSU BASEBALL TEAM LEADERS

· Hits: Cameron DeMaria—24 hits

· Batting Average: Cameron DeMaria—.436 batting average (24-of-55 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage: Cameron DeMaria—.709 slugging percentage (17 singles, 3 doubles, 4 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBI): Cameron DeMaria—26 RBIs

· Doubles: Aidan Perry—5 doubles

· Triples: Connor Raney—2 triples

· Home Runs: Cameron DeMaria—4 home runs

· Total Bases: Cameron DeMaria—39 total bases

· Runs Scored: Aidan Perry—18 runs

· Walks: Connor Raney—12 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch: Cameron DeMaria—4 hit-by-pitches