University of St. Thomas Athletics
North Dakota State
Game Notes - Baseball faces first-place Bison on home diamond
4/7/2022 1:13:00 PM | Baseball
Home Field Again
St. Paul, Minn. - Tommie Baseball (4-17 overall, 1-5 Summit League) is set to play a three-game conference series this weekend against league-leading North Dakota State University (17-9, 5-1). The games were moved from Fargo to St. Thomas' Koch Diamond due to wet fields.
There's no Friday game. A Saturday doubleheader starts at noon. Sunday's game starts at 1 p.m. All three are nine-inning contests. NDSU will bat as the home team in all three games.
NDSU has won 12 of its last 15 contests, and has hit 33 home runs in 26 games. The Bison are hitting .290 and scoring seven runs a game and have a 4.18 ERA.
The Toms will look to bounce back after three close losses at home last weekend against South Dakota State. Despite solid pitching over 27 innings, St. Thomas was outscored 13-5, allowed five home runs, and didn't collect an extra-base hit.
The Toms have incurred 12 one- or two-run losses among their 17 defeats. That includes a 1-7 record in games decided by one run. They are 1-10 in games when they allow four or more runs and 0-12 when their pitchers allow seven or more hits.
Follow
April 8-10 live stats: https://tommiesports.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
NDSU Talk
North Dakota State finished 2021 with a 42-19 record and as Summit League champion. It currently sits atop the Summit League standings. The Bison swept three from Northern Colorado and went 2-1 vs. Western Illinois in conference play thus far. They have also recorded a 5-2 win over Minnesota.
NDSU has played all 26 of its games thus far on the road. It had an eight-game win streak halted last Sunday with a 6-2 loss at Western Illinois.
Who's Hot?
Tommie freshman Brigs Richartz has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, along with one double, one triple and five RBI over that span.
Charlie Bartholomew has struck out just eight times in 84 plate appearances in 2022. He leads the Tommies with an .299 batting average, 23 hits and 11 RBI.
Kyle Halverson leads or shares the team lead in HRs (two), walks (13) and runs (10).
Three freshmen pitchers in particular are playing well as they gain more experience and confidence at the college level:
- RHP Walker Retz (1.88 ERA, 33 Ks, nine walks in 24 innings);
- LHP Evan Esch (eight outings, pitched 26 innings, 2.42 ERA, 25 Ks).
- RHP Carl Cano (five outings, 1.80 ERA with seven Ks in 5 innings).
Complete weekly Tommie Baseball notes HERE
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