Sunday, May 6, 2012, the University of Minnesota Duluth defeated the University of Mary 5-4 in the regular season finale for the Bulldogs. UMD scored in the eighth inning to break up a tie ballgame, but the game was nothing of note at the time. Since then, it's grown increasingly important to Bulldog history: it's the last time UMD baseball has played a home game in the city of Duluth.

That changes this weekend as the Bulldogs (11-7, 5-3 NSIC) make their debut at their home away from home for the upcoming ten-game homestand at the newly renovated Wade Stadium. UMD starts off the week of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action taking on the No. 2-ranked Minnesota State University Mankato, followed by a midweek doubleheader against Southwest Minnesota State University. The Bulldogs will hope to return to Bulldog Park on campus the following Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. tilt against Winona State University, but for now, the team is just happy to have somewhere to play in Duluth, having played home games in the Twin Cities and Wisconsin throughout each of the last two seasons due to inclement weather and adverse field conditions. Now though, the Wade features a turf playing surface and a drainage system allowing the only thing to stop game action to be rain, instead of a sloppy outfield from the Minnesota thaw.

It will officially be 1,062 days since its last Duluth home game when UMD takes the field in West Duluth on Friday against the top-rated Mavericks, but the wait is finally over.

COVERING THE BASES
UMD | OVERALL: 11-7 (5-3 NSIC) | @UMDBaseball
• Junior third baseman Kyle Comer is hitting .413/.528/.517 during his eight-game hitting streak. He nearly lost it last time out against Upper Iowa, drawing three walks, but laced a run-scoring double to keep the momentum going into the home series.
• Sophomore outfielder Grant Farley still leads UMD with a .434/.524/.811 batting line, with 12 of his 23 hits going for extra bases, driving in 15 runs and scoring 14. Comer leads the Bulldogs with 19 runs scored, while junior first baseman Alex Wojciechowski leads the Bulldogs with 27 hits.
• Freshman right-hander Jonny Houston allowed his first run of the year last time out against Upper Iowa, but has tossed 3.0 innings in three appearances for UMD, scattering his five hits allowed enough to stay out of trouble.
• Senior right-handed reliever Wes Mleziva took over the ERA lead for UMD, now 2-1 with three saves in seven appearances out of the bullpen, tossing 2.0 hitless innings against Upper Iowa in non-conference action on Tuesday afternoon. His seven games finished leads the NSIC, while he leads UMD with a 1.69 ERA and is second among Bulldogs with a .184 batting average allowed.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS (Friday & Saturday, April 3-4, Noon) - Live Stats | Live Video
No. 2 Minnesota State Mankato | OVERALL: 15-2 (5-1 NSIC) | @MSUMavericks
• Minnesota State dropped just its second contest of the season earlier this week when the top-rated Mavericks took on St. Cloud State in an NSIC doubleheader Tuesday, but they've won two in a row against the Huskies and Gustavus Adolphus (NCAA D-III) on Wednesday.
• Senior catcher Nolan Johnson leads MSU, hitting .453/.448/.672 with 11 doubles already on the young season, scoring 15 runs and driving in 13. Three hitters have each reached the 14-RBI mark for the Mavericks: senior utility Max Waletich, sophomore infielder Eric Peterson, and junior outfielder Taylor Branstad. Peterson, hitting .344/.436/.516, also leads Mankato with 17 runs scored.
• Freshman right-hander Christian Howell has tossed 13.1 innings of 2.03 ERA ball in five appearances, mostly out of the bullpen for the Mavericks and has already earned a 4-0 record. Another freshman, lefty Brody Rodning has made six appearances and collected 15 strikeouts in 18.2 innings, also 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA. Redshirt freshman lefty Aaron Rozek is 2-0 with a 4.00 ERA in four starts, a team-high, while senior righty Joey Reed is 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA in the same number of starts.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS (Wednesday, April 8, 1:00 p.m.) - Live Stats (No Broadcast)
Southwest Minnesota State | OVERALL: 10-12 (3-3 NSIC) | @SMSUMustangs
• SMSU has split its last six as conference play began, including a doublheader against Winona State University on Tuesday. The Mustangs will take on Northern State University over the weekend in Aberdeen before heading to Duluth next Tuesday.
• Senior first baseman Austin Stubbs has done it all season for the Mustangs, batting .405/.495/.759 with six home runs, eight doubles, 21 runs batted in, and 22 runs scored on 32 hits. Another senior corner infielder, Patrick Rients, leads Southwest Minnesota State with 27 RBIs and 27 runs scored, slugging five home runs on the season. His 30 hits are second only to Stubbs at SMSU.
• Freshman right-hander Jake Leighton has a 2.35 ERA in seven appearances out of the bullpen for the Mustangs, collecting two saves and striking out nine in 7.2 innings. Four pitchers have started on the mound four times for Southwest Minnesota State, none with more success than senior right-hander Mitch Wurm, who is 2-1 with 4.50 ERA in 28.0 innings. None of the other three has an ERA below nine, as the Mustangs have combined for a 7.60 ERA on the season.

UMD will play its first home games of the season beginning Friday at the Wade. General admission tickets will be $5.00 (with UMD students and children 12 years of age and under free). Ticket proceeds go to supporting the UMD Baseball program. Parking is free at the stadium. Opening pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.