UMD Baseball back in Action

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

Sitting third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with 12 games remaining on the schedule, the University of Minnesota Duluth will continue its push towards a return to the NSIC/U.S. Bank Tournament after a layoff last season, playing its penultimate home date of 2015 on Thursday before taking to the road.

UMD (23-11, 17-7 NSIC) rides a seven-game winning streak in NSIC play this week as the team hosts Upper Iowa University on Thursday afternoon in an NSIC rematch of a non-conference doubleheader split earlier this season before traveling to the University of Mary for a weekend four-game series. The Bulldogs swept a road doubleheader against the University of Minnesota-Crookston last week and then took each of a four-game set from Bemidji State University at Bulldog Park on Friday and Saturday.

COVERING THE BASES
UMD | OVERALL: 23-11 (17-7 NSIC) | @UMDBaseball
• Junior first baseman Alex Wojciechowski earned NSIC Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career by hitting .636/.692/1.364 with 14 hits, 17 runs batted in, 11 runs scored with four doubles and four longballs on the week, drawing four walks and striking out just twice while swiping three bases in three attempts on the basepaths. He capped off the week with a 7-for-7 doubleheader with two walks, five runs scored and nine runs batted in against Bemidji State on Saturday afternoon, which included five hits, eight RBI, and four runs scored on two doubles and two home runs in game two.
• Junior lefty starter Bo Hellquist tossed a complete game in his lone start of the week as UMD picked up just its second victory of the season for the Bulldog ace. He allowed just one earned run on a home run, while scattering three hits in 7.0 IP, striking out seven Beavers. In five starts at designated hitter, he batted .286/.313/.357, lifting a double and driving in five runs while crossing the plate four times.
• Junior right-handed reliever Matt Mattiacci made a pair of appearances out of the UMD bullpen, striking out five batters in a perfect 2.0 IP. He tossed an “immaculate inning” – three strikeouts on nine pitches – against Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday and followed it by striking out two in an 11-pitch inning against Bemidji State on Saturday.
• If the Bulldogs can finish out the season maintaining at least their hold on third place, it will be the highest UMD has finished in the NSIC standings since finishing first in the league standings and qualifying for the NCAA II Central Region Tournament in 2003. The Bulldogs finished as high as fourth in 2010 and made the NSIC Tournament four straight seasons prior to 2014.

SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS (Thursday, April 23, 12:00 p.m.) – Live Stats | Live Video
Upper Iowa | OVERALL: 17-21 (9-15 NSIC) | @UIUPeacocks
• The Peacocks split a four-game series against Southwest Minnesota State University on the road over the weekend, breaking up a seven-game losing streak with its pair of victories. UIU defeated UMD 14-6 in game one of their doubleheader on March 31, with the Bulldogs taking game two by a 9-8 final in Fayette, Iowa.
• Upper Iowa lifted nine extra-base hits including three homers against UMD earlier this season, including home runs by sophomore second baseman Mitch Moser, freshman centerfielder Jacob Greco, and sophomore shortstop Luis Ravelo. Ravelo had four RBIs and four runs scored against UMD, while Greco was 6-for-6 with six RBI and four runs scored.
• Moser currently leads the Peacocks in hitting with a .382/.446/.566 batting line while Greco leads the team with eight home runs on the season and a .635 slugging percentage with 22 of his 55 hits going for extra bases
• Junior right-hander Shimpei Sato picked up the victory against the Bulldogs, tossing six complete while allowing three earned runs and striking out seven. On the year, he’s 2-1 with 22 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. The Peacocks have a team ERA of 8.01 on the season and none of their pitchers with at least one start have an ERA below 7.13. Freshman lefty Ross Kulick has picked up seven saves in 13 appearances out of the bullepn spanning 13.2 innings.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS (Saturday-Sunday, April 25-26, 12:00 p.m.) – Live Stats
U-Mary | OVERALL: 5-33 (3-21 NSIC) | @umarysports
• The Marauders spilt a series with Minnesota-Crookston over the weekend, picking up just their second and third victories of NSIC competition having lost 12 straight entering the series. UMD and U-Mary split a doubleheader in 2014.
• The struggles the Marauders faced have come mainly on the offensive end as they rank at the bottom of nearly every major statistical category as a team in conference play, putting together a .245/.344/.303 batting line. Sophomore outfielder Drew Feuerbach leads U-Mary with a .350/.385/.495 batting line in 28 starts with six doubles, three triples, and a home run, driving in eight runs and crossing the plate twelve times. Junior catcher Sean Hennen leads the team with 22 RBis on the year while freshman infielder Seth Meide has crossed the plate a team-high 18 times.
• Posting a team 7.10 ERA on the year, the Marauders actually sit in the middle of the NSIC for pitching. Freshman left-hander Austin Ell has a team-low 4.33 ERA in 27 innings including three starts in nine appearances. Freshman righty Jake Johnson has posted an 0-5 record and 6.00 ERA on the year, but has struck out 38 batters in 39.0 innings. The team has allowed 63 unearned runs on the season thanks to 80 errors.