With Wednesday's snowfall in Duluth, the University of Minnesota Duluth's planned Friday-Saturday home-opening Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series with the University of Sioux Falls will be moved to the Cougars' home field.
The move marks the second time in as many weekends that UMD (8-19, 4-13) has traveled to Sioux Falls to get in NSIC games originally slated to be at Bulldog Park, last week taking on Augustana in a three-game set. The Bulldogs were on the road, again, earlier this week, traveling to the University of Mary where they earned a split against the Marauders, taking game two in the 14th inning when senior
Kellen McCoshen lifted a pinch-hit double to centerfield, plating freshmen
Grant Farley and
Skyler Wenninger. Farley went 2-for-8 on the day with a pair of doubles and three runs scored, but it was senior left fielder
Cody Aasen who had the most productive afternoon for UMD, 5-of-9 on the day with a pair of runs batted in. Altogether, UMD batted .233/.290/.362 in its last five but has ten doubles, one triple, and three home runs over that frame.
Offense has been at a premium for the Bulldogs in the past week as they have gone 1-4 against Augie and U-Mary, scoring 3.40 runs per game, almost a run lower than their season average of 4.37 per outing. On the other side of the coin, opponents have torn into Bulldog pitching to the tune of an 8.34 ERA over their last five. Sophomore
Matt Schreder picked up his first victory of the 2014 campaign with two hitless innings against the Marauders on Tuesday, while freshman
Marco Lucarelli collected his first career save, notching the final two outs of the game. Sophomore
Bo Hellquist will look to bounce back from a complete-game loss last week, tossing seven innings but striking out just a pair while allowing nine hits and three walks. Defense did UMD pitching no favors with 11 errors across the last five games, and the Bulldogs will need to clean that up to bounce back against the Cougars.
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| Projected Lineup |
| CF | Noah Durkin (Sr.) | .366 |
| 3B | Ryan Fobes (Sr.) | .286 |
| LF | Trevor Crow (So.) | .273 |
| DH | Jeremy Varner (Sr.) | .210 |
| C | Dylan Dwyer (Sr.) | .196 |
| 1B | Austin Goodenow (Sr.) | .197 |
| 2B | Anthony Lopez (Fr.) | .257 |
| SS | Gunner Peterson (Fr.) | .236 |
| RF | Michael Downs (Fr.) | .250 |
Sioux Falls (15-20, 9-13 NSIC) is 1-5 over the past week, taking a slugfest victory over Southwest Minnesota State last time out, 8-7 in Sioux Falls. The Cougars needed to hold on late as the Mustangs charged for five runs in the seventh against a pair of Cougar pitchers before senior Noah Coleman came in to close out the game over the final 0.2 innings.
The top of the order has led the way for USF offensively with senior centerfielder Noah Durkin leading the way at .366/.396/.443 in 2014. He ranks eighth in the NSIC with 48 hits along with a team-high 23 runs scored and 18 runs batted in. Third baseman Ryan Fobes is second on the team with a .286 average and fifth in the league with 11 stolen bases on 12 attempts.
Five pitchers have started games on the mound for Sioux Falls. Junior right-hander Henry Ojeda has been the Cougars' most reliable arm with a 5-4 record and 3.28 ERA in 46.2 innings over 13 appearances including six starts. Defense hasn't helped Ojeda out with opponents scoring nine unearned runs already against him. Senior righty Derek Fischer has eight starts and three complete games under his belt and a team-high 41 strikeouts in 50.1 innings. He and the aforementioned Coleman have nearly matching ERAs at 3.93 and 3.96, respectively. Coleman, though, is just 1-3 in 11 appearances including six starts and two complete games. Junior Eric Brothers and freshman Elijah Turnquist round out the rest of the starts for USF but have a combined 2-8 record.
Opening pitch of each day's doubleheader is set for Noon in Sioux Falls.
