Trojan baseball continues season-high 9-game home stand at Flynn Field

Baseball 4/10/2026 3:10:00 PM Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

Trojan baseball continues season-high home stand at Flynn Field this weekend and Tuesday

Dakota State (S.D.) hosts Dickinson State (N.D.) in four-game series Saturday and Sunday; 9-inning game versus No. 3 Bellevue (Neb.) Tuesday

April 10, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (14-19-1 overall record, 6-5-1 Frontier Conference record) continues their season-high nine-game home stand at Flynn Field (S. Egan Ave. in downtown Madison, S.D.) with five Frontier Conference contests. The Trojans host another four-game series, welcoming Dickinson State (N.D.) (16-18 overall record, 3-8 Frontier Conference). The first doubleheader (7-inning game, followed by a 9-inning game) is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by another doubleheader Sunday at 12 p.m.

Dakota State welcomes the Frontier Conference's leader Bellevue (Neb.) (31-3 overall record, 11-0 Frontier Conference) in a make-up 9-inning league game on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

QUICK HITS
*The Frontier Conference baseball season is mid-way through their schedule. They will begin their second half portion of the conference schedule this weekend. DSU has 13 conference contests remaining on their schedule before the six-team double elimination format in Dickinson, N.D., on April 30-May 3.

*DSU continues their home stand at Flynn Field, which began on April 6 in the four-game series with Valley City State (N.D.). The Trojans are currently on their nine-game homestand in the Frontier Conference action.

*Dakota State's nine-inning non-conference home game with rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) has been postponed to allow the Frontier Conference make-up game with No. 3 Bellevue to be played on the same day on April 14.

*The Trojans are scheduled to play five straight games with Frontier Conference's leader Bellevue (Neb.), a nine-inning game on Tuesday and a four-game series at Bellevue next Friday and Saturday.

2025-26 STATS COMPARISON


Batting Average	.302	.294	.342
Runs	223	248	310
On-Base %	.408	.401	.440
Slugging %	.458	.467	.594
Home Runs	26	39	64
Hits	295	308	366
Doubles	58	58	61
Triples	8	3	8
Stolen Bases	81	61	61
Walks	139	154	136
Fielding %	.943	.958	.971
ERA	5.28	8.48	3.98

SCOUTING THE BLUE HAWKS
Michael Dahl enters his seventh season as the head coach at Dickinson State (N.D.). During his tenure, the Blue Hawks have compiled a 91-143 record.

Dickinson State went 1-3 at the Frontier Conference Jamboree, opening with setbacks against (4) Bellevue (Neb.), Mayville State (N.D.), and Dakota State (S.D.) before ending the weekend with a 6-5 win over Valley City State (N.D.).

The Blue Hawks then split a series against Mayville State, winning both contests on Saturday before losing both on Sunday. Dickinson State's last action was on April 6th, losing all three games in rare triple-header against (3) Bellevue (Neb.).

The Blue Hawk offense is led by Ty Farwell, who is batting .386 while leading the team in RBI with 31. On the mound, Dickinson State is led by Mason Lunzman. The left hander has recorded a 3.75 ERA through 57 2/3 innings of work this season. He has a 6-2 record and has a batting average against of .249.

Last season, the Trojans recorded a 1-3 record against Dickinson State.

Dakota State leads the all-time series against Dickinson State 29-25 and has won 7 of the last 10 matchups.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
Duane Monlux enters his 16th season leading the Bellevue (Neb.) baseball program. The Bruins have averaged a 44-16 record during his tenure. Monlux ranks 10th among active NAIA baseball coaches in career wins.

Bellevue has won nineteen consecutive games as of April 6th. Their last setback came against (RV) Webber International (Fla.) on March 6th. The Bruins have won 30 of their last 31 contests.

The Bruin offense is led by Carter Claerhout, who is batting .446 while slugging 1.336. He leads the team in home runs with 13 and extra-base hits with 25. Bellevue's pitching staff has a 3.98 team ERA and a .264 batting average against.

Last season, DSU recorded a 1-3 record against Bellevue, the lone win being a 1-0 victory behind a complete game effort by Nicholai Arbach, who allowed just two hits and recorded nine strikeouts.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State played their first home games of the season at Flynn Field on April 6-7 versus Valley City State (N.D.). The Frontier Conference four-game series were originally scheduled to be played in Valley City, N.D., but unplayable field conditions at Charlie Brown Stadium had prompted the relocation to Madison, S.D.

After the Vikings took a 1-0 lead after the first inning in the four-game series, both teams were unable to score until the top sixth inning. The Trojans poured in five runs, capped by Camaron Haller's grand slam to give DSU a 5-1 lead. VCSU answered back in the bottom seventh inning with five runs scored with two outs to secure a 6-5 comeback victory. Haller had four RBIs in the game. Connor Raney had a single and three walks. Aiden Barfuss had a single. Aidan Marsh added an RBI. Hayden Leighty worked for 6 2/3 innings while Brody Thompson pitched in relief.

Dakota State took the second game in a nine-inning contest to earn a doubleheader split on the first day. Aidan Perry smashed a 2-run home run to right field in the top third frame to give DSU a 2-0 lead. The Vikings scored once in the bottom fourth inning to trim their deficit to 2-1 and knotted the game 2-2 in the bottom eighth. DSU took a 3-2 lead in the top ninth frame after VCSU's defensive errors and held on to the victory.

Cameron Kittridge highlighted the Trojans with three hits in the second game. Perry had a home run and two RBIs. Raney had a single and a walk. Austin Armstrong started the game on the pitching mound for DSU, tossing five innings and recording six strikeouts. Kellan Johns (W, 2-0) earned the victory after working for four innings in relief and recorded three strikeouts.

Dakota State held on to a high-scoring affair in the third game of the four-game series on the second day. The Trojans opened with a 2-0 lead after Cameron DeMaria's 2-RBI double in the top firth inning before the Vikings plated four runs in the bottom second to take a 4-2 lead. The Trojans then scored 11 straight runs to grab a 13-4 lead in the top fifth inning. Marsh smashed a grand slam to balloon DSU's lead to 18-7 in the top sixth inning before VCSU rallied back with nine straight runs. The Vikings scored six runs in the bottom sixth inning to trim their deficit to 18-13 and added three runs in the bottom seventh before DSU held on to an 18-16 win.

Kittridge hit two home runs in the game and drove in six runs for Dakota State. DeMaria added a home run, two RBIs, and four walks. Barfuss had two hits and two RBIs. Hunter Den Boer collected four singles and an RBI. Marsh had four RBIs. Ryland Carroll (W, 3-5) earned the win on the pitching mound after working for 4 2/3 innings. Ian Beer, Collin Grimmel, and Brody Thompson pitched in relief before Johns (S, 1) earned his first save of the season after shutting down the Vikings for the final three outs.

Dakota State and Valley CIty State went through another high scoring affair in the four-game series finale. After the Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the bottom first inning, the Trojans exploded for eight runs in the top second inning, highlighted by solo home runs from Kittridge and Barfuss. George Hogan capped the scoring run with a grand slam for an 8-1 lead. DSU added three runs in the top third to make it 11-1 before the Vikings allied with five runs in the bottom third inning (DSU led 11-6). Valley City State cut their deficit to 11-10 after six innings, while Dakota State scored five more runs combined in the seventh and eighth inning to lead 16-10. VCSU stormed back in the bottom ninth and forced extra innings but resulted in a 16-16 tie.

Hogan finished the game with four hits and five RBIs for the Trojans. DeMaria added three hits and three RBIs. Raney, Den Boer, and Chris Vinson each tallied two hits. Kittridge had three hits and two RBIs. Max Woll started the game, tossing 2 2/3 innings. Treyten Kolar, Alex Ferrin, and Johns also worked in relief.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKINGS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Cameron DeMaria leads the Frontier Conference with 47 runs batted in (RBIs) for Dakota State. He also ranks fourth in the league with .393 batting average. Connor Raney leads the Frontier Conference with 21 stolen bases and also leads the league with 14 walks during the conference season. Austin Armstrong is tied for third most saves in the league for DSU.

Cameron Kittridge is tied for sixth in the league with .409 batting average in 12 Frontier Conference games this season, as well as third in slugging percentage of .818. Hunter Den Boer is 12th with .368 batting average during league contests. DeMaria is tied for third in the Frontier with 18 RBIs. Kittridge also tied for fifth with 17 RBIs.

Dakota State is third in the conference with .306 team batting during the league schedule (12 games). The Trojans are second in the conference with 118 total hits and third in total RBIs (104) and slugging percentage (.519). DSU leads the conference in walks with 67.

2026 DSU BASEBALL TEAM LEADERS

· Hits: Cameron DeMaria—41 hits

· Batting Average: Cameron DeMaria—.383 batting average (42-of-107 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage: Cameron DeMaria—.664 slugging percentage (25 singles, 9 doubles, 7 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBI): Cameron DeMaria—47 RBIs

· Doubles: Cameron DeMaria—9 doubles

· Triples: Connor Raney—2 triples

· Home Runs: Cameron DeMaria—7 home runs

· Total Bases: Cameron DeMaria—71 total bases

· Runs Scored: Connor Raney—43 runs

· Walks: Connor Raney—21 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch: Cameron DeMaria—12 hit-by-pitches