Baseball 3/26/2026 8:25:00 PM Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

Trojan baseball continues action on road; visits Bismarck State (N.D.) this weekend and DWU Tuesday

Dakota State plays four-game Frontier Conference series at Bismarck State (N.D.); travels to Mitchell Tuesday for nine-inning game

March 26, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (10-15 overall record, 3-1 Frontier Conference record) continues their action on the road as they continue their Frontier Conference action. The Trojans play a four-game series at Bismarck State (N.D.), held at Haaland Field (2506 S 12th Street) in Bismarck, N.D., on Saturday and Sunday. The doubleheader on each day starts at 12 p.m.

Dakota State plays a nine-inning non-conference game Tuesday afternoon at rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (12-12 overall record). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Drake Field (West 15th Ave.) in Mitchell, S.D.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State (S.D.) continues their Frontier Conference action with four game series at Bismarck State (N.D.). The Trojans won the first meeting with the Mystics last Saturday in the Frontier Conference Jamboree's opener in Sioux Falls, S.D.

*This weekend will be the first four-game series with the same opponent in the Frontier Conference action. Each conference member will play a total of five four-game series on the weekend, along with one 9-inning contest during the midweek with their traveling partner.

*The last time Dakota State played baseball in the city of Bismarck, N.D., was twenty (20) years ago, where they took a 3-1 series record against NCAA Division II Mary (N.D.) on April 8-9, 2006.

*No. 4 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) went undefeated 4-0 record last weekend in the Frontier Conference Jamboree at Sanford Sports Complex, followed by Dakota State with 3-1 record and Mayville State (N.D.) with 2-2 record. Bismarck State, Dickinson State (N.D.), and Valley City State (N.D.) each went 1-3 record.

*DSU will play home-and-away with rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Tuesday in Mitchell and April 14 at Flynn Field.

2025-26 STATS COMPARISON


Batting Average	.297	.292	.246
Runs	168	163	102
On-Base %	.396	.383	.341
Slugging %	.459	.453	.371
Home Runs	22	25	9
Hits	212	218	166
Doubles	42	39	36
Triples	4	3	11
Stolen Bases	39	37	14
Walks	94	89	78
Fielding %	.951	.967	.948
ERA	7.36	8.54	6.06

SCOUTING THE MYSTICS
Jaden Scott enters his fifth season as the head coach at Bismarck State (N.D.). During his tenure, the Mystics have compiled a 95-43 record.

Bismarck State went 1-3 last weekend at the Frontier Conference Jamboree, losing to Dakota State (S.D.) 13-7 and Valley City State (N.D.) 11-1 on March 21 before defeating Mayville State (N.D.) 3-0 and closing the weekend with a loss to (4) Bellevue (Neb.) 3-2 on March 22.

The Mystics are led by a trio of hitters that have an OPS over 1.000, Kaden Wilcox, Brayden Bunnell, and Pacey Phillips. They have combined to contribute 35 percent of the total team RBI this season for Bismarck State.

On the mound, the Mystics are led by Cole Shirley. The two-way player from Minneapolis, Minnesota has a 2.50 ERA through 18 innings pitched. He has a 2-0 record and has a batting average against of .221. He is also batting .310 and has the second-most RBI on the team.

Dakota State won the first meeting with Bismarck State on March 21 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Trojans outscored the Mystics 11-1 after trailing 6-2 to start the game.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Charlie Dubanoski is in fourth season as the head coach for Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.). The Tigers are 12-12 overall record and 3-5 record in the Great Plains Athletic Conference after their split on the road at Morningside (Iowa) on March 24.

DWU continues their GPAC conference play at Doane (Neb.) in a doubleheader Friday afternoon and returns home Sunday for another GPAC conference doubleheader versus Waldorf (Iowa).

Dakota Wesleyan is batting .246 as a team before entering Friday's games at Doane. The Tigers also post a slugging percentage of .371 and an on-base percentage of .341. DWU holds a team earned run average of 6.06.

Caleb Meyers leads the team's batting average of .338, the only player on the team that batted better than .300 this season. Dexter Payne leads DWU with 2.00 earned run average.

Dakota State won the last six meetings with Dakota Wesleyan, including a season series sweep last season in Mitchell (score of 10-6) and Madison (score of 10-4).

LAST TIME OUT
All six conference members began their inaugural Frontier Conference baseball season last weekend at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D., playing a round-robin format except facing the traveling partner. Dakota State faced four North Dakota teams in the tournament.

The Trojans opened the conference season versus Bismarck State (N.D.). The Mystics jumped to a 6-2 lead after three innings, but the Trojans outscored BSC 11-1 for the rest of the game to earn the first Frontier Conference win of the season by the score of 13-7. DSU put the game away after pouring in six runs in the bottom sixth frame.

Cameron Kittridge led the Trojans with a home run, single, and drove in a game-high four runs. Chris Vinson added two hits and three RBIs. Aidan Marsh collected two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. Cameron DeMaria had a home run and an RBI. Aiden Barfuss and George Hogan each had two hits and two runs scored. Aidan Perry had a hit and an RBI. Max Woll secured the victory after tossing five innings. Treyten Kolar tossed a scoreless sixth inning, while Collin Grimmel earned his first save of the season after working three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Dakota State remained undefeated on the same day, rolling past Valley City State (N.D.) 16-6 in seven innings. The Trojans highlighted the game with an eight-run outburst in the bottom second and never trailed in the game.

DSU recorded eight extra-base hits int he game, with six doubles from six different players. Barfuss added a triple, while DeMaria hit a home run. DeMaria finished the game with three hits and five RBIs. Hogan added three RBIs. Austin Armstrong earned the win after pitching five innings, while Ian Beer pitched two scoreless innings.

The Trojans continued their action on the second day of the conference tournament, cruising past Dickinson State (N.D.) 11-2 in the first game. DSU scored at least once in the first four innings to earn a 7-0 lead. After the Blue Hawks scored a run in the bottom fifth, the Trojans plated four more runs in the top sixth inning to secure the victory.

Hogan paced DSU's offense attack with three hits and two RBIs. Barfuss added two hits and two RBIs. Perry had a single and two RBIs. Connor Raney, Camaron Haller, Kittridge, and Vinson each added a hit. Hayden Leighty pitched a complete game victory for Dakota State.

The Trojans were shut out by Mayville State (N.D.) in the final game of the Frontier Conference Jamboree, featuring a pitcher's duel between both teams. Perry reached on base by MSU's defensive error in the fourth inning, but could not convert their scoring opportunity.

Ryland Carroll took the setback on the pitching mound, despite tossing a complete game. He yielded the Comets to five hits and registered five strikeouts.

DAKOTA STATE IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKINGS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State ranks second in the Frontier Conference with .298 batting average (37-of-124) and a slugging percenteage of .492 during four conference contests. The Trojans are slo third in the league with .403 on-base percentage. DSU is also second in the Frontier Conference with 4.97 earned runs average.

Aiden Barfuss ties for third best average in the Frontier Conference with .462 batting average during the league season. George Hogan also ranks eighth with .375 battinag average. Cameron DeMaria ranks fourth overall in the league with .395 batting average. He also ties the overall runs batted in (RBIs) in the conference with 35 RBIs. He is tied for fourth with six home runs.

Connor Raney leads the Frontier Conference with 12 stolen bases for the Trojans. Quintin Tietz also tied for fourth most stolen bases in the league with eight stolen bases.

Austin Armstrong ranks third in the league with three saves for Dakota State.

2026 DSU BASEBALL TEAM LEADERS

· Hits: Cameron DeMaria—32 hits

· Batting Average: Cameron DeMaria—.395 batting average (32-of-81 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage: Cameron DeMaria—.679 slugging percentage (21 singles, 5 doubles, 6 home runs)

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

· Doubles: Aidan Perry—6 doubles

· Triples: Connor Raney—2 triples

· Home Runs: Cameron DeMaria—6 home runs

· Total Bases: Cameron DeMaria—55 total bases

· Runs Scored: Connor Raney—28 runs

· Walks: Connor Raney—16 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch: Cameron DeMaria—8 hit-by-pitches