April 23, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team (17-26-1 overall record, 8-12-1 Frontier Conference record) wraps up their Frontier Conference baseball regular season schedule at home this weekend.  The Trojans welcome Mayville State (N.D.) (20-20, 7-13 Frontier Conference record) in the four-game regular season finale at Flynn Field in downtown Madison, S.D.  Friday's Paws (dogs) at the Park doubleheader will start at 1 p.m., followed by Saturday's Senior Day doubleheader at 12 p.m.   Each doubleheader starts with a 7-inning game, followed by a 9-inning game.

Dakota State will be honoring nine seniors after the conclusion of the four-game series on Saturday late afternoon. 

QUICK HITS
*All six Frontier Conference schools end their regular season schedule with four-game series this weekend.  Five teams are batting for the postseason seeding when the conference tournament begins next Thursday in Dickinson, N.D. 
*Dakota State plays their final home games of the 2026 season Friday and Saturday.  They returned home for the first time since April 15 as they faced No. 3 ranked Bellevue (Neb.).
*The Trojans are 4-4-1 record at home this season, looking to clinch a home record winning season for the first time since the 2024 season (9-0 record at Flynn Field that season).
*Mayville State is coming this weekend on a nine-game losing skid, falling to Valley City State (N.D.) in a five-game series held at Charlie Brown Stadium in Valley City, N.D.
*Paws at the Park will be held on Friday, followed by Senior Day on Saturday.  DSU will honor nine seniors after Game 4 Saturday.
 

Batting Average	.305	.306
Runs	296	309
On-Base %	.396	.403
Slugging %	.488	.480
Home Runs	46	53
Hits	377	424
Doubles	76	75
Triples	6	3
Stolen Bases	64	71
Walks	144	180
Fielding %	.950	.953
ERA	7.49	8.52

SCOUTING THE COMETS
Billy Tomblin enters his third season as head baseball coach for Mayville State (N.D.). He was previously an assistant coach for the Comets for nine years. He also played two seasons at Mayville State under legendary head coach Scott Berry.

Mayville State has lost nine contests in a row coming into this weekend's matchup. Their last wins came in a triple-header sweep of Bismarck State (N.D.), winning the day by scores of 24-16, 22-9, and 18-16 on April 7.

The Comet offense is a balanced attack, with six hitters with 28 or more RBIs. Mayville State's pitching staff has a 7.49 team earned run average and a .301 batting average against.

Last season, DSU recorded a 4-1 record against Mayville State. The Comets kicked off the five-game season series with a 2-0 win at the Frontier Jamboree at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls last March.

DAKOTA STATE BASEBALL SENIORS
The Dakota State University Trojan baseball team will be honoring their nine seniors after the conclusion of the Frontier Conference four-game series on Saturday late afternoon at Flynn Field.

The nine seniors are Cameron DeMaria, Cole Drumheller, Collin Grimmel, Camaron Haller, Tyler Hoffman, George Hogan, Aidan Marsh, Dylen Milton, and Connor Raney.

FRONTIER CONFERENCE POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
The inaugural Frontier Conference Baseball postseason tournament takes place at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark in Dickinson, N.D.  The double elimination format is set to start on Thursday, April 30, and runs through Sunday, May 3 with the championship game.  May 4 is designated as the rain date.

The winner of the postseason tournament will receive the league automatic bid to the NAIA Baseball National Tournament Opening Round on May 11-14 at campus sites announced by the national office later.

Bellevue (Neb.) has secured the No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament and will receive the first round bye with the No. 2 seed.  Stay tuned to the fcsports.org for the bracket and pairings information when it becomes official after this weekend's regular-season finale.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State continued their rare Frontier Conference five-game series with No. 3 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) at the newly Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex.  After taking the first game of the five-game series at Flynn Field in a high scoring affair, the Bruins held off the Trojans in the four-game series in Bellevue, Neb. 

Dakota State kicked off the four-game series with a 2-0 lead after one-and-half innings before Bellevue knotted the game 2-2 after two innings.  Bellevue added seven more runs to balloon their lead to 9-2 after six innings.  The Trojans scored twice in the final inning and fell short by the score of 9-4.

Aiden Barfuss and Aidan Perry each had two singles and an RBI for the Trojans.  Camaron Haller added a single and two RBIs.  Connor Raney, Cameron DeMaria, George Hogan, Cameron Kittridge, and Hunter Den Boer each recorded a hit.  Hayden Leighty pitched four innings on the pitching mound, while Treyten Kolar tossed one scoreless inning in relief.  Ian Beer also worked in relief.

Bellevue held off Dakota State's late comeback in the second game.  After three scoreless innings, the Trojans grabbed a 1-0 lead after Haller's solo home run.  The Bruins answered with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead.  DSU then scored two runs in the top sixth inning to regain their lead at 3-2 before BU tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom seventh.  DSU briefly took a 4-3 lead in the top eighth, while BU plated five runs in the bottom eighth for an 8-4 lead.  The Trojans' comeback fell short after scoring three runs as Bellevue held on for an 8-7 win.

Kittridge had a home run, three singles, three runs scored, and an RBI for DSU.  Aidan Marsh added a home run, single, and three RBIs.  Barfuss had three singles and two RBIs.  Raney recorded three hits.  Austin Armstrong started the game and tossed six innings, allowing two runs (one unearned) on five hits.  Braylon Bear took the setback after tossing 1 1/3 inning.  Jack Sorenson and Conner Eich each worked for one out in relief.   

Dakota State opened with a 1-0 lead in the third game of the four-game series, but was outscored 7-0 by the Bruins for the rest of the game (7-1 BU victory).  Hogan had a double, single, and an RBI.  Den Boer added a double and single.  Haller, DeMaria, Marsh, and Barfuss each had a single.  Ryland Carroll started the game on the pitching mound for DSU, tossing five innings.  Cole Drumheller worked for one scoreless inning in relief.

Bellevue closed the four-game series with a 6-2 victory over Dakota State, highlighted by a four-run seventh inning to stretch their 2-1 lead to 6-1.  DSU scored a run in the top ninth inning and could not complete the comeback.  Haller and Barfuss each had two hits for the Trojans.  DeMaria had a home run and two RBIs.  Perry and Brayden Byrum each had a hit.  Kellan Johns took the setback, despite tossing seven innings and recording four strikeouts for DSU.  Brody Thompson tossed a shutout eighth inning in relief with three strikeouts.

DSU closed their non-conference schedule as they snapped their five-game losing skid with a 6-3 road victory at Northwestern (Iowa) on April 21.  Te Trojans held a 4-2 lead after three innings and extended to 6-2 after five innings.  The Red Raiders scored once in the bottom seventh, but DSU secured the victory.  DSU outhit NWIA 10-5 in the game.

Hogan led the Trojans with two doubles and a single.  DeMaria had two hits.  Barfuss recorded two hits and two RBIs.  Carroll had a double and an RBI.  Jaxon DeHaan produced an RBI.  Haller and Raney each had a hit and an RBI.  Sorenson started the game on the pitching mound for DSU, working for three innings.  Braylon Bear earned the win after tossing four innings in relief. allowing an unearned run on three hits.  Thompson collected his third save of the season after shutting down NWIA in the final two innings.  Sorenson, Bear, and Thompson each had two strikeouts.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKINGS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Cameron DeMaria ranks fifth in the Frontier Conference with .394 batting average.  DeMaria is also second in the league with 55 runs batted in (RBIs), one RBI shy behind the conference leader by Carter Claerhout of Bellevue (Neb.).  

Connor Raney leads the conference with 26 stolen bases, surpassing Brooks Marquardt for most single season stolen bases (25 stolen bases in 2003).  Jeremy Green holds the all-time single season stolen bases with 33 in 2024.  Kellan Johns ranks second in the league with 3.25 earned run average for the Trojans.  Brody Thompson and Austin Armstrong are tied for fifth most saves in the league.  

Dakota State is tied for third best batting average in the Frontier Conference with Mayville State (N.D.), posting a .306 batting average prior to this weekend's four-game series at Flynn Field.  The Trojans are also third in the conference with 283 runs batted in, tied for third with 180 walks with Dickinson State (N.D.).  DSU is tied for second most home runs as a team with Bismarck State (N.D.) in the league, recording 53 home runs this season.
 

2026 DSU BASEBALL TEAM LEADERS

· Hits:  George Hogan, Cameron DeMaria—56 hits

· Batting Average:  Cameron DeMaria—.387 batting average (56-of-142 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Cameron Kittridge—.670 slugging percentage (25 singles, 8 doubles, 8 home runs)

· Runs Batted In (RBI):  Cameron DeMaria—55 RBIs

· Doubles:  Aidan Perry—12 doubles

· Triples:  Connor Raney—2 triples

· Home Runs:  Cameron DeMaria—10 home runs

· Total Bases:  Cameron DeMaria—94 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Connor Raney—53 runs

· Walks:  Connor Raney—32 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Cameron DeMaria—19 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Connor Raney—26 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Cameron DeMaria—.529 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Austin Armstrong—46 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Kellan Johns—3.25 earned run average (16 earned runs in 44 1/3 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Ryland Carroll—44 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   Ryland Carroll—2 complete games

· Wins:  Ryland Carroll, Kellan Johns—3 wins

· Saves:  Austin Armstrong, Brody Thompson—3 saves