The white stuff falling from the sky is no longer snow but baseballs. The North Dakota State baseball team is already in full swing, and after 25 games on the road, they come home to Fargo for the first time this season to face Summit League opponent Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne starting Friday.
The season started well for the Bison, winning seven of its first eight games. Their road trip brought them to the Snowbird Baseball Classic down in Florida in late March. The team took three of seven during the event and has proceeded to pick up just two games since starting conference play.
The team was picked to finish fifth in the pre-season coaches poll and are sitting in that spot after playing three series with Summit League teams.
The Bison opened conference play against Western Illinois University, picking up a win against the Leathernecks. The other win came in Omaha.
The Bison got swept by pre-season favorites Oral Roberts in a three-game set.
The team is looking to get back to winning ways this week, as they took a trip to Minneapolis on Tuesday to take on the Minnesota Gophers, who hold a 25-8 edge in the series all-time over the Bison, and came back Wednesday to play Minot State. The Bison will then have the conference opener this weekend with Fort Wayne. The first game of the three game series will be 6:30 p.m. Friday at Newman Outdoor Field.
This weekend could be a big one for head coach Tod Brown. Brown sits on 197 wins, and will take a couple of home wins to hit the 200 mark.
To get those wins, look no further that the sophomore duo of Drew Fearing and Brayden Resch. They lead the Bison in hitting, with averages of .330 and .306, respectively. Resch also leads the team with 15 RBI while Fearing has reached base in each of his last 15 games.
On the mound, NDSU is led by a number of players.
Reed Pfannenstein leads the starters with a 2-1 record, along with 3.45 ERA and 18 strikeouts in seven starts.
Reliever Brian VanderWoude leads the team with four wins while boasting an ERA of 3.28 in his 10 appearances. The lefty starter Zach Mayo leads the team with 34 in six starts and one relief appearance.