Snow keeps the Bison away for another two weeks
Spring baseball in North Dakota is an absolute hassle. There is always, without fail, snow on most baseball fields in the state.
So, instead of the North Dakota State baseball team having their grand home opener against Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, they will head down to Fort Wayne, Indiana and play the three-game series there.
The bright side is the series with Purdue Fort Wayne in late May will now be in Fargo. In the long run, this could be a huge positive. That series is one of the last in the regular season, and if the Bison need a few wins, playing at home can make the difference.
The Bison currently hold a 5-14 overall record and are 3-6 in Summit League play. The Bison have been playing games since mid-February, but have yet to play in front of a home crowd.
Perhaps a little bit of Fargo baseball will help the Bison move up in the league standings.
Catcher Sean Noel has been one of the leaders for the Bison so far. The senior from Mahtomedi, Minnesota leads the team with a .353 batting average and started in all three of the Herd’s Summit League wins. Noel has also only struck out twice in 34 plate appearances.
One of the studs on the mound for the Bison has been true freshman Max Loven, who has stepped up and given the Herd some quality innings as a starter. His 0-2 record does not look good on paper, but doesn’t do him justice to how well he has pitched. Loven has pitched passed the 6th inning all but once and leads all starters with a 2.23 earned run average.
The only issue is Loven has not received much run support. The Bison have some pieces in play to have success; it just has not all come together yet. The Bison have a golden opportunity to start putting things together against Purdue Fort Wayne.
After starting the year with four straight wins, the Mastodons have lost their last 21. That is not a typo. The Mastodons have not won a game since February.
As it stands right now, everyone in the Summit League is looking up at 9-0 Omaha. A series sweep here could make the difference late in the year for the Bison to have any chance of catching the Mavericks.
The Bison will now have to wait until April 16 against Valley City State. Oral Roberts will be the first Summit League guests to Newman Outdoor Field for a three-game series April 19-20.
NDSU will play 18 of their final 19 games in the cozy confines of Newman Outdoor Field in April and May. The only game outside of Fargo will be a mid-week battle against the University of Minnesota on April 30.