MINOT, ND - The Minot State Beavers baseball team is on the road this weekend to take on Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. The Beavers will take on Wayne State in a double header on Saturday, March 22, with game one starting at 12:00 pm and game two starting soon after the conclusion of game one. Sunday, March 23, will also be a double header, with the first game starting at 12:00 pm and game two starting soon after the conclusion of game one. The Beavers are currently 10-6 overall with a 5-3 conference record, and sit at 4th place in the conference standings. Wayne State College is currently 9-8 overall with a 5-3 conference record, and sit at 5th place in the conference standings.
Wayne State College is coming off of a 4-game conference series sweep over Bemidji State back on Thursday, March 13, and Friday, March 14. Minot State is coming off of their trip to Arizona in which they played a total of 16 games. Their last 4 games of that trip was a 4-game conference series against Winona State in which the Beavers won 3 of 4. In those 4 games against Winona State, the Beavers offense managed to score a total of 46 runs, so the Beavers will be looking to keep the bats hot against Wayne State this weekend.
Over the years, Minot State and Wayne State has proved to be an incredibly even match-up as both teams hold 18 wins over one another.
Wayne State's offense currently totals a .302 team batting average with a .870 OPS, and have hit 11 home runs on the year. Most notably, Wayne State has three players currently hitting over .300. Cam Madsen leads the team with a .381 batting average, followed by Chase Douglas hitting .349 and Max Heard hitting .339.
Minot State's offense currently holds a .341 team batting average with a .904 OPS, and have hit 12 home runs on the years. Most notably, Minot State has three players currently hitting over .400.
Brent Riddle leads the team with a .508 batting average, followed by
Michael Williamson hitting .415 and
Connor Hill hitting .411.
On the pitching side, Wayne State's pitching staff has combined for a 6.97 ERA and a .283 batting average against. Minot State's pitching staff has combined for a 6.23 ERA and a .315 batting average against.
The three pitchers who have tallied the most innings pitched for Wayne State are Jackson Shelburne, Josh Kilzer, and Clay Beaumont. Shelburne currently holds a 7.56 ERA, Kilzer holds a 3.14 ERA, and Beaumont holds a 8.03 ERA. Braden Cannon currently holds 2 saves for Wayne State College on the season.
The three pitchers who have tallied the most innings for Minot State are
Connor Hill,
Jacob Thompson, and
Colton Bagshaw. Hill currently holds a 7.53 ERA, Thompson holds a 4.50 ERA, and Bagshaw holds a 9.24 ERA.
Noah Balandran currently holds 2 saves for the Beavers, and
Ayden Sauerbrei and
Conner Meldrim each hold one save for the Beavers.
Following the 4-game NSIC series against Wayne State College, the Beavers will be back in action on Saturday, March 29, and Sunday, March 30, in a 4-game NSIC series against Southwest Minnesota State University.
