NDSU Baseball Set for Oklahoma State and Northern Colorado

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (4-14, 2-1 Summit) baseball team continues its road swing with a pair midweek matchups at Oklahoma State (9-8, 0-1 Big 12) on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. The Bison then return to Summit League play opening up a three-game series at Northern Colorado (7-13, 2-1 Summit) on Friday at 3:00 p.m. CT
 
COVERAGE
GoBison.com: The midweek series at Oklahoma State will broadcast on ESPN+, while all three games at Northern Colorado will be available on the Summit League Network for subscribers. All five games will also feature live statistics.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Bison took the first two games of the series at Oral Roberts before falling short in the series finale, 9-6. NDSU tallied 11 hits as team with Sam Canton connecting on a career-best four hits on five appearances at the plate with one run, while Jake Schaffner and Tommy Simon also notched two hits each. The Bison used six pitchers with Matt Sargeant making the start tossing two strikeouts over 2.0 innings. Austin Bergum (0-1) picked up the loss appearing for 1.1 frames out of the bullpen and Skyler Riedinger posted a team-best three strikeouts over 1.0 innings.
 
THE SERIES VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
This will be the third all-time meeting between NDSU and Oklahoma State with the Cowboys winning both prior matchups in 1982. Oklahoma State also enters the week receiving votes in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.
 
THE SERIES VS NORTHERN COLORADO
This will be the 60th all-time meeting between NDSU and Northern Colorado dating back to 1962 with the Bison leading the series, 33-26. The Bison are 6-4 over the last 10 meetings with the Bears and most recently fell short, 10-9, in 10 innings in an elimination game at the Summit League Championship in Tulsa last season.
 
TESTING OURSELVES AGAINST THE BEST
Entering the week, the Bison rank No. 22 in the NCAA Division I RPI rankings, which is the highest in the Summit League. NDSU has played the No. 1 strength of schedule in the nation and has the No. 1 strength of schedule in non-conference play.
 
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER ROAD TRIP
After just playing eight games in Alabama and Louisiana, the Bison are back on the road for another eight-game stretch across Oklahoma and Colorado. NDSU begins the trip with three games at Oral Roberts to open Summit League play before a pair of midweek matchups at Oklahoma State on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bison will wrap the trip with three games at Northern Colorado before returning to Fargo.
 
THE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AHEAD
The Bison are scheduled to play 52 total games and will face nine different opponents across 22 total non-conference games. Of that group, five teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, including Dallas Baptist, Alabama, LSU, Tulane and Oklahoma State. The schedule also boasts three teams ranked in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Dallas Baptist.
 
SCHAFFNER ON TOP OF THE LINEUP CARD
Jake Schaffner has been the leadoff hitter in all 18 games this season and has registered a .375 batting average with 27 hits and 16 runs over 72 appearances. The Janesville, Wis., native has notched a hit in 15 of 18 games this season, including starting the season on a 10-game hit streak. Schaffner has notched 91 hits with a .347 batting average over his first two seasons.
 
KNIGHT MODE IS BACK
Logan Knight helped lift the Bison to a 3-0 win at Oral Roberts on Saturday. He posted his first career complete game shutout with a season-high seven strikeouts across a career-high 9.0 innings with no walks. It marked the first complete game shutout in a nine-inning game for a Bison pitcher since Cade Feeney accomplished the feat against Western Illinois on April 9, 2021. Knight was named the Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the first time in career on Monday.
 
FRESH FACES IN THE LINEUP
Through the first 18 games, the Bison have had eight newcomers appear in the lineup for at least one start. Dante Smith leads the newcomer group with a .271 batting average to go along with 13 hits and 11 RBI. Alex Urlaub, Will Mann, Luke Shannahan, Evan Gustafson, Tyman Long, Tommy Simon and Tate Martin have also made at least one start this season.
 
CANTON MAKES HIS RETURN
After missing the first nine games to begin the season, Sam Canton made his season debut at Alabama on March 1. He’s appeared in each of the last seven games and has contributed nine hits, including a career-high four on five appearances at Oral Roberts on Sunday. Last season, Canton was the only Bison to play in all 51 games and contributed a team-high seven home runs and team-best 47 RBI.
 
KOENIG WORKING IN RELIEF
Landon Koenig started all 14 games he appeared in and ranked second on the team with 41 total strikeouts in his freshman season last year. The Portland, N.D., native has made all seven of his appearances this season out of the bullpen with 14 strikeouts over 13.1 innings.
 
EXPERIENCE IN THE BULLPEN
Reese Ligtenberg and Skyler Riedinger both return this season out of the bullpen. Last season, Ligtenberg made 31 relief appearances, which set the NDSU single-season record for appearances. His 31 appearances led the Summit League and ranked 27th in the nation. Reidinger made a career-high 29 appearances last season, which was the second-most in a single-season in Bison history.
The Bismarck, N.D., native ranks fourth all-time in Bison history with 72 appearances over five seasons.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked fourth in the Summit League preseason poll with 17 total points and one first place vote. Oral Roberts was picked first with 22 points and three first place votes.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sophomore infielder Jake Schaffner and senior left-handed pitcher Nolan Johnson were named to the Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch list. Schaffner, who was named to the All-Summit League First Team last season, recorded a team-best .337 batting average and .436 on-base percentage last season to go along with a team-high 64 hits. Johnson appeared in six games last season with a career-best five starts and registered a 2.73 ERA before an injury sidelined him March.
 
RETURNING ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS
NDSU earned eight All-Summit League selections last year and return three from that group this season. Shortstop Jake Schaffner was named to the All-League First Team in his freshman season, while outfielder Sam Canton and right-handed pitcher Logan Knight were named to the honorable mention list.
 
BISON PLAY IN BIG TIME VENUES
Under fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have made a habit of scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play and have done it in some of the best venues in college baseball. Over the last three seasons, the Bison have played in front of five of the largest road crowds in program history since 1977. Earlier this season, NDSU played in front of 10,446 fans at LSU on March 5, the highest road attendance in program history.
 
#PROBISON
NDSU has had eight incoming or current players selected in the MLB Draft since 2013. Joey Danielson became the 14th NDSU player selected in the MLB Draft dating back to 1968 after the Texas Rangers picked him in the 17th round last season. It marked the second straight season NDSU had a current pitcher selected in the draft after Cade Feeney was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round in 2023. Bennett Hostetler was also selected in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins.
 
WHO’S BACK?
NDSU returns 16 letterwinners this season, including five starters that played in at least 50 percent of the games last season. The roster also features 14 seniors: Alex Urlaub, Sam Canton, Luis Garcia, Colten Becker, Sam Roberts, Logan Knight, Seth Thompson, Cole Mahlum, Alex Karns, Austin Bergum, Hayden Sylte, Reese Ligtenberg, Leland Wilson and Skyler Riedinger.
 
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Bison welcome 14 newcomers this season: Alex Urlaub, Evan Gustafson, Will Mann, Tate Martin, Sam Roberts, Tommy Simon, Tyman Long, Luke Shannahan, Ethan Swaby, Danny Lachenmayer, Dante Smith, Cade Wiegert, Garrett Shupe and Luke Agnew.
 
STEIL JOINS COACHING STAFF
Jack Steil joined the NDSU coaching staff as the Director of Operations this offseason after spending two seasons with the Bison from 2023-24. He’s the second former Bison player on the coaching staff, joining Trent Keefer, who played at NDSU from 2014-15.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will make its home debut hosting South Dakota State on Friday, March 28. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m., at Newman Outdoor Field.