First win over ranked team since 2016
This weekend, the North Dakota State Bison took on the Long Beach State Dirtbags in a three-game series in Long Beach, Calif. NDSU took game one by a score of 5-4 while LBSU swept the Bison in Saturday’s doubleheader, winning 5-2 and 8-5. Despite the series loss, Friday night’s win by the Bison secured their first win over a ranked opponent since 2016, when they upset No. 19 Minnesota.
In game one, LBSU took an early lead on a solo home run from infielder Jonathon Long. However, it didn’t take NDSU long to get the bats going at historic Blair Field, as Logan Williams knocked in a two-RBI single in the third inning and Jack Simonsen kept things going with an RBI single of his own an inning later.
With the score now 3-1 in favor of the Herd, Long Beach State showed their resilience behind the bat of Eddie Saldivar, whose RBI single sparked a three-run fifth inning for the Dirtbags. Despite that surge, sophomore Peter Brookshaw lined a single into centerfield scoring two men to put the Bison back on top, 5-4.
In the bottom half of the ninth, the Dirtbags threatened again with two men on base and one out. However, Bison closer Tristen Roerich retired both batters he faced with an infield pop-out and a line out to the second basemen, to secure a 5-4 win for the Bison.
On the bump, southpaw Max Loven had the best start by a Bison pitcher this year, as he collected eight strikeouts and no walks for the 6.1 innings he pitched. In his two-thirds of an inning pitched, Roerich picked up his second save of the year and presumably cemented his role as a go-to guy in make-or-break situations.
At the plate, NDSU used 10 hits to punch in their five runs, with Brookshaw (2-4, 2 RBIs) and Brock Anderson (2-4, 2 runs scored) leading the way.
Continuing his success from game one of the series, game two saw Peter Brookshaw propel the Bison to a 1-0 lead thanks to his second home run of the year. LBSU’s Eddie Saldivar, who would prove to be a thorn in the Bison’s side, quickly tied the game up with an RBI single in the bottom half of the first inning. Slowly, the Dirtbags were able to chip away at Bison pitcher Evan Sankey in the third and fourth innings to take the lead 4-1.
Once again, Brookshaw struck as he ripped an RBI double down the right-field line to score Cadyn Schwabe. The Dirtbags would then add to their lead when Peyton Schulze added an insurance run in the seventh to make the score 5-2 and put the game out of reach for the Bison.
Just one game removed from a decent offensive showing, North Dakota State only managed to collect five hits, with two of those belonging to Brookshaw. For Long Beach, ace Jack Noble (2-0) had his way with NDSU, as he scattered five hits and collected six strikeouts over his six innings.
For Evan Sankey (2-1), his appearance on the mound was still a solid one, as he went 6.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts. Wyatt Nelson matched Sankey’s strikeout tally through 1.2 innings of work to close the game.
In Sunday’s rubber match, the Bison got out to another hot start, as freshman Will Busch cranked an RBI single to left and first baseman Hunter Koep launched a bomb over the outfield fence to make the score 2-0 through two innings. Then, in the top of the third, Busch hit another RBI single, and Jack Simonsen scored on a wild pitch to make the score 4-0 in favor of the Herd.
In the top of the fifth inning, Peter Brookshaw cashed in on a Dirtbag fielding error to make the score 5-0. However, in the bottom half of the inning, LBSU was able to erase that deficit by three runs, fueled by RBI doubles from Chris Jimenez and Eddie Saldivar. That was enough to chase Bison starter Cade Feeney from the game.
Thus far this season, the Bison bullpen has had decent success, but this was not the case on Sunday afternoon, as the Dirtbags tagged Bison relievers Skyler Riedinger and Jake Drew with five runs in the eighth. That inning proved to be the game-changer, as NDSU failed to rally in the top half of the ninth, falling by a score of 8-5.
In his third start of the year, freshman Cade Feeney tossed five strikeouts over six innings of work. Riedinger (0-1) was tagged with the loss, having retired just four of the seven batters he faced in a tumultuous eighth inning.
At the plate, Will Busch (2-5, 2 RBI’s), Zach Kluvers (2-4) and Peter Brookshaw (1-2, 2 runs) paced the Bison to nine hits on the day.
Despite the series loss, this Bison team showed everyone this weekend that they can hang with big-name programs. Expect them to use this series as a learning experience in preparation for important games later in this season.
Up next, the Herd (5-6) will get a chance to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at US Bank Stadium on Tuesday before heading down to Florida to compete in the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational next weekend, with games scheduled against Maine, Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast.