Aberdeen, S.D. – In another conference series affected by the Midwest's winter weather, Northern State and Minnesota Duluth are set to meet in a 3-game series in Wayne, Nebraska, on Sunday and Monday. The Wolves and Bulldogs will play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Hank Overin Field starting at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., while the single game on Monday starts 12 p.m. at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex on the campus of Wayne State College.

GAME & FAN INFORMATION

• Links to follow live stats are attached above

NORTHERN STATE STORYLINES

• Northern State enters the 3-game weekend series with a record of 6-13 (1-7 NSIC)
• Last weekend the Wolves went 1-2 at Winona State, falling by scores of 1-2 and 6-10 in the Sunday doubleheader before notching their first NSIC win of the season in a 14-13 game on Monday
• Monday's game against the Warriors featured the most runs scored by Northern since a 15-run game at Bemidji State in 2021 and the most homeruns by NSU in a single game since they hit four against UMary in 2019
• Reece Ragatz etched his name into the Northern State record books with one of the best single game performances in program history on Monday as his three homeruns within the first four innings against WSU are the second most all-time in a single game, and he tied the program record for RBI in a game with seven in the contest
• As a team Northern has hit .260 with 152 hits, 30 doubles, one triple, 20 homeruns, 78 RBI, and 89 runs scored through 19 games played
• With six homeruns this weekend, Northern State brought their season total to 20 through only 19 games, surpassing last season's total of 18
• Niko Pezonella and Ragatz are the only two players to hold a batting average above .300 currently, as Pezonella is hitting .366 and Ragatz is batting .333
• Pezonella holds the highest on-base percentage on the team at .509 while Ragatz holds the top slugging percentage at .905 and on-base plus slugging percentage at 1.288
• Austin Portner leads NSU with 17 hits this season and Pezonella's six doubles are a team-best, while Ragatz has recorded the lone triple this season for the Wolves and leads the team with seven homeruns
• Ragatz enters the series with a 6-game hit streak, the longest on the team, while Karson Hesser enters the series with a hit in four consecutive games
• Hesser, Portner, Jack Paulson, and Jordan DeMarce each have a team-best two stolen bases on the base paths
• The Wolves' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 6.32, allowing 152 hits and 74 walks, while throwing 149 strikeouts; opponents have held a .264 batting average against NSU pitchers
• Michael Chevalier (3-2), Max Otto (0-4), and Zach Carolin (1-2) have been NSU's primary starting pitchers, recording ERA's of 4.26, 5.40, and 5.64 respectively
• Chevalier and Otto have each pitched a team-best 31.2 innings this season and are first and second on the team with 43 and 34 strikeouts respectively
• Chevalier has held opponents to a .227 batting average while Otto has held opponents to .236 hitting
• Blake Ask and Christian Mundt have been two of Northern's primary relief pitchers, each having made six relief appearances this season
• Ask holds a 5.63 ERA and held opponents to a 1.94 batting average with five strikeouts, while Mundt holds a 5.68 ERA and held opponents to a .280 batting average with seven strikeouts

MINNESOTA DULUTH STORYLINES

• Minnesota Duluth enters the 3-game weekend series with a record of 10-12 (3-6 NSIC)
• During the mid-week series the Bulldogs were swept at Augustana, falling by scores of 11-2 and 12-1
• As a team Duluth has hit .263 with 186 hits, 44 doubles, three triples, 14 homeruns, 115 RBI, and 139 runs scores through 22 games played
• Ethan Cole leads the Bulldogs with a .362 batting average, .609 slugging percentage, .438 on-base percentage, and 1.047 on-base plus slugging percentage; Cole has totaled 25 hits, four doubles, two triples, three homeruns, 21 RBI, and 20 runs scored
• Tim Pokornowski is another notable UMD player at the plate, hitting .286 with 24 hits, a team-best nine doubles, one homerun, seven RBI, and 18 runs scored
• Cole is currently riding a team-best 10-game hit streak while Pokornowski also has a hit in six consecutive games
• Cole leads Duluth on the base paths and are 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts, while Pokornowski, Sam Tanner, and Gabe Richardson are each 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts
• The Bulldogs' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 5.37, allowing 193 hits and 94 walks, while throwing 152 strikeouts; opponents have held a .286 batting average against UMD pitchers
• Brayden Buttweiler (3-1) and Aaron Wukmir (2-0) have been two of Minnesota Duluth's primary starters this season, averaging ERA's of 3.20 and 3.86
• In four starts and appearances Buttweiler has pitched a team-high 19.2 innings with a team best 27 strikeouts, he has held opponents to a .247 batting average
• A key relief pitcher for the Bulldogs includes Alex Wattermann (1-0) who has recorded two saves in five relief appearances and 7.2 innings pitched, he has thrown nine strikeouts and help opponents to a .120 batting average
• Rob Rients is in his 24^th season as the head baseball coach at Minnesota Duluth, he holds a career record of 380-429 during his time with the Bulldogs

LAST MATCH-UP

• Minnesota Duluth took both games of the opening doubleheader before the third game was canceled due to inclement weather, the Bulldogs won by scores of 6-2 and 13-7
• UMD leads the all-time series 62-26 and have won five of the last six meetings dating back to 2021