Second-Seeded NDSU Baseball Prepared for Summit League Championship - NDSU (2024)

Zachary Lucy

Baseball 5/20/2024 4:05:00 PM

THIS WEEK
The second-seeded North Dakota State (19-28-1, 14-12-1 Summit) baseball team is set to take on third-seeded Oral Roberts (24-30-1, 13-15-1 Summit) to begin the Summit League Championship on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m., at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Okla.

COVERAGE
Live statistics and video will be available for all games during the championship. All games will broadcast on the Summit League Network for subscribers.

BISON AT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
NDSU boasts a 16-17 overall record at the Summit League Championship. Last season, the Bison, who hosted the tournament for the first time in program history, went 1-2 after defeating Omaha and dropping two games to South Dakota State. NDSU has won the tournament twice in program history (2021, 2014).

THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will be the 77th all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 2008 with the Golden Eagles holding the edge in the series, 50-26. NDSU is 6-4 against Oral Roberts in the last 10 meetings and most recently edged the Golden Eagles, 5-4, after Garret Hill provided a walk-off hit to secure the series win. The Bison went 4-2 against the Golden Eagles in regular season play this season.

SCHWABE IS ON A HOT STREAK
Cadyn Schwabe enters the week on a team-best and career-high 23-game hitting streak and has tallied a team-high 20 multiple hit games this season. Schwabe is also on a career-best 26-game reached base streak.

SCHAFFNER SWAG
Jake Schaffner hasn't wasted any time settling into the lineup in his freshman season and has appeared in 45 games with 44 starts. The Janesville, Wis., native has notched a team-best .345 batting average, which ranks third in the Summit League. Schaffner has also connected on a team-best 61 hits this season, which ranks tied for ninth in the Summit League. He has also contributed a team-high 38 runs and 14 stolen bases. In Summit League play this season, Schaffner led all freshmen in batting average (.348), on-base percentage (.451), hits (39) and runs (27).

150 CAREER GAMES
Will Busch enters the week having appeared in 152 career games over four seasons at NDSU. He has started 137 career games, including 135 as a catcher. Cadyn Schwabe is also closing in on 150 career games and has appeared in 146 over three seasons.

DANIELSON CLOSES IT OUT
Joey Danielson has recorded a team-high 11 saves this season, which leads the Summit League and ranks fourth in the nation. His 11 saves are slotted as the third-most in a single-season in NDSU history. Parker Harm (2021) and Neal Wagner (2004) share the top spot with 12 saves each. Prior to this season, Danielson earned only one career save and he's now totaled 12 over four seasons, which ranks tied for sixth all-time in Bison history. Danielson has also made 26 total relief appearances this season, which is positioned tied for fourth place on the NDSU single-season list.

THE STOLEN BASES KING
Cadyn Schwabe stole one base against Oral Roberts on April 20 to move into first place on the NDSU all-time career stolen bases list. He passed Tim Colwell for the spot after he totaled 52 stolen bases from 2011-14. Schwabe flew up the list stealing a team-high 18 in his first season in 2022 and followed it up with a team-best 27 last season, which ranked second on the all-time NDSU single-season list. Schwabe has stolen 57 total bases over three seasons at NDSU.

SCHWABE SPEED
Cadyn Schwabe has totaled a career-high five triples this season, which leads the Summit League and is slotted 16th in the nation. His five triples are also slotted tied for the fourth-most on the NDSU single-season list. Schwabe is currently positioned tied for third on the NDSU all-time triples list with 11 over three seasons.

PUTTING IN THE WORK
Sam Canton is in his first season at NDSU after spending the first two seasons of his career at Gonzaga. He's the only player on the roster to both appear and start all 48 games this season. Canton has totaled a team-high 40 total RBI and posted a team-best 12 multiple RBI games.

EXPERIENCE IN THE BULLPEN
Reese Ligtenberg has made a team-high 29 relief appearances this season, which leads the Summit league and ranks 15th in the nation. His 29 relief appearances are the most in a single-season in NDSU history. Skyler Riedinger has also made 27 appearances this season and has made 64 total appearances over the last four seasons, which ranks sixth on the NDSU all-time list. As a team, NDSU has combined for 13 total saves, which is slotted tied for fourth all-time in a single-season in Bison history.

CANTON TABBED PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Sam Canton helped lead the Bison to a series win at South Dakota State after posting a team-best .455 batting average. The Port Orchard, Wash., native totaled five hits in 11 at-bats, including a team-high three home runs. Canton contributed a team-best eight RBI and added four runs. He also provided the key throw from the outfield for the final out to secure the 7-6 win in 11 innings to win the series on Saturday.

GARRET HILL WALK-OFF MAGIC
Garret Hill came up with two clutch moments to help lift NDSU past Oral Roberts. In game two of the series, he blasted a two-out solo home run to right field to seal the 7-6 walk-off win over the Golden Eagles. Hill then followed it up in the finale capping off a three-run ninth inning rally with a single to deep center to score Kyle Law and secure the 5-4 walk-off victory.

KNIGHT MODE ACTIVATED
Logan Knight was named the Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on April 15. He helped lift the Bison to a 3-2 win at Northern Colorado after tossing a career-high 10 strikeouts over 7.0 innings with one walk, one run and six hits. Knight worked five scoreless frames before the Bears scored in the sixth inning. He notched a 1.29 ERA and held Northern Colorado to a .231 batting average.

HOW'S THAT FOR A FIRST CAREER START?
Nolan Johnson made his first career start in the series opener at Pacific. He fired a career-high nine strikeouts over 5.0 frames with three hits, one run and no walks. He followed up his first career start tossing five strikeouts over 5.0 innings at Oregon State.

THE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AHEAD
The Bison are set to embark on a 53-game regular season schedule spanning 10 different states and are scheduled to play the first 28 games away from home. The schedule also features three teams ranked in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25, including LSU, Oregon State and Iowa.

THE ROAD WARRIORS
The Bison are set to play 37 of 53 regular season games away from home, including the first 28 straight before making their home debut against South Dakota State on April 5.

Last season, NDSU ended up playing its first 38 games on the road after weather forced schedule changes. The Bison went on to play at least one game in seven different states.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked second in the Summit League preseason poll with 21 total points and one first-place vote. Oral Roberts earned 25 points and five first-place votes to take the top spot and South Dakota State closed out the top three in third place with 16 points.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Will Busch and Parker Puetz were named to the Summit League Preseason Players to Watch list. Busch has appeared in 106 games with 93 starts over three seasons. Last season, Busch posted a .252 batting average with 32 hits, 11 doubles and two home runs. Puetz made 16 appearances with 10 starts on the mound last season. He led the Summit League with a 2.51 ERA in his freshman season and totaled 47 strikeouts over 61.0 innings. The Volga, S.D., native earned a spot on the All-Summit League second team and the D1Baseball Freshman All-America second team.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS
Under third-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have played a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play.

Over the last three seasons, the Bison are a combined 47-24-1 in conference play with 27 of those victories coming on the road. NDSU has reached the 15-win mark in three of the last four seasons and seven total times in Summit League play since joining the league in 2008. In Oakes' first season as head coach in 2022, the Bison secured their first Summit League regular season title in program history.

RETURNING ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS
NDSU earned nine All-Summit League selections last season, which was the most since joining the conference in 2008. The Bison return four players from that list this season, including James Dunlap, Cadyn Schwabe, Parker Puetz and Skyler Riedinger after all four grabbed a spot on the All-Summit League second team.

PUETZ LANDS ON D1BASEBALL FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Parker Puetz made 16 appearances with 10 starts on the mound and boasted a 3-0 overall record in his freshman season. The Volga, S.D., native paced the Summit League with a 2.51 ERA. He tossed 47 total strikeouts over 61.0 innings and held opposing batters to a .187 average in Summit League play. Puetz was one of 10 starting pitchers to be named to the list and was the only Summit League player selected.

BISON PLAY IN BIG TIME VENUES
Under third-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have made a habit of scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play and have done it in some of the best venues in college baseball. Last season, NDSU played in front of five of the largest road crowds in program history since 1977, including 6,522 at Texas on March 15, 2023, which is the third-highest road attendance in program history. That trend has continued this season as NDSU played in front of 9,833 fans at LSU on March 13, the second-highest road attendance in program history. The Bison also played in front of 9,909 fans at LSU on March 12, the highest road attendance in program history.

#PROBISON
NDSU has had seven incoming or current players selected in the MLB Draft since 2013. Cade Feeney became the 13th NDSU player selected in the MLB Draft dating back to 1968 after the Boston Red Sox selected in him in the 13th round last season. Bennett Hostetler was also selected in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins and most recently earned a spot on the non-roster invitees list for spring training with the Marlins. Parker Harm, who signed with the Kansas City Royals organization as an undrafted free agent in 2021, was recently moved up to the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

WHO'S BACK?
NDSU returns 12 letterwinners this season, including seven starters that played in at least 50 percent of the games last season. The roster also features nine seniors: James Dunlap, Will Busch, Garrett Hill, Jack Steil, Cadyn Schwabe, Hunter Rosenbaum, Carson Hake, Joey Danielson and Colbey Klepper.

WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Bison welcome 19 newcomers this season: Noah Gordon, Blake Timmons, Jake Schaffner, Sam Canton, Luis Garcia, Matt Sargeant, Roman Trapani, Colten Becker, Aiden Schenk, Logan Knight, Julien Hachem, Ben Soke, Ben Berkhof, Seth Thompson, Landon Koenig, Colbey Klepper, Cole Mahlum, Alex Karns and Austin Bergum.