New head coach and solid rotation for 2022
When the North Dakota State University baseball team was eliminated by the University of California at Irvine 18-3 in the NCAA Regional in Palo Alto, Calif., last June, the Bison walked off Sunken Diamond with a record of 43-19, new school records for wins, games played, and a Summit League Tournament championship. Now, nine months later, the 2022 version of Bison baseball looks to make their own mark on another baseball season with a repeat championship in the Summit League tournament.
Tyler Oakes, in his seventh year in the program, takes over at the helm for the Bison. Moving into the position from associate head coach, Oakes was named head coach on June 22, 2021. He came to North Dakota State University in 2013 as the new pitching coach. “I think the most exciting thing for me, and the coaching staff is we’ve got a group of guys coming back who were vital to that championship run last year,” Oakes said. “They know what has to happen on and off the field, and what the expectation is to play at that high level. We’ve got a good core group back from last year. We lost a few seniors, but we got guys that can step up and fill those holes.”
Coach Oakes says his starting pitching staff is back and solid. “Our starting rotation is pretty much back from last year in Max Loven, Cade Feeney and Evan Sankey as All-Summit League performers last year,” Oakes said. “Tristen Roehrich did a little bit of everything last year too and I can see him doing some of the same this year.” Oakes says there is some tinkering to do in the bullpen yet. “Now it’s a matter of figuring out a few of the pieces in the bullpen,” Oakes said. “We have a couple of guys back like Jake Drew and Wyatt Nelson who have done it in the past, then there are some younger guys who I think could fill in some spots there, but they got to go out and do it and showcase that.”
Utilityman Charley Hesse spoke about team philosophy when asked about this year’s club. “I think that one expectation going into a season coming off of a championship team, is that you’re supposed to do a carbon copy of that,” Hesse said. “That, regardless of the type of team you are, is pretty much impossible. Me, the coaches, anyone in a leadership role on this team is trying to carve that message out.” Hesse, from Mendota Heights, Minn., says the Bison will be fun to watch. “There are a million ways to win a baseball game and if Loven goes out and closes them out and we get an unearned run to win 1-0, who cares. If we win 11-10, who cares. It’s a win. I think you’ll see this team win a lot of games in a lot of different ways.”
At the plate, Oakes thinks the Bison will do a little bit of everything. “I think it’s going to be a mix of everything [power and average],” Oakes said. “We are not going to be a team that hits a hundred homers, but we will hit some doubles and I think we’ll do a great job on the running aspect with being more aggressive, taking the extra base when we can, stealing some extra bases and being able to handle the bat a little better. You know…some of the small ball stuff that comes with the game.”
According to Coach Oakes, the Summit League continues to get better and better. “I think the league, to the credit of the member schools, keeps getting better,” Oakes said. “Our goal is to be a program that is known as always going to be near the top. That’s our expectation. We have some challenges up here with our location and we probably don’t get the limelight as much as we should. Our players use that as a motivator, a chip on their shoulder, showing other guys around the league what we can do.” As for the rest of the league, Oakes feels Oral Roberts will be good, “…haven’t won in three years so they’re probably getting antsy…, they’ve retooled after we took them down last year,” Oakes said. A fresh crop of incoming transfers should also fuel Omaha, according to Oakes. “South Dakota State and Omaha should be there,” Oakes said. “Omaha lost a lot, so they are retooling with a lot of junior college and D1 transfers. Of course, the Bison will be there, too.”
The 2022 Bison baseball team opens their season on the road Feb. 18-20 in Abilene, Texas, where they will face the Wildcats of Abilene Christian University for four games.