NDSU Baseball Set for Minnesota and Oral Roberts

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (14-26, 11-10 Summit) baseball team travels to Minnesota (20-21, 7-14 B1G) on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. The Bison then return home for a three-game series with Oral Roberts (25-17, 12-8 Summit) beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
 
COVERAGE
The midweek matchup at Minnesota will be available on B1G+, while all three games with Oral Roberts will broadcast on the Summit League Network for subscribers. Fans can listen to the Oral Roberts series on Bison 1660 with free streaming available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. All four games will also feature live statistics.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU dropped the series finale at South Dakota State, 9-6, on Sunday to wrap up a four-game series with the Jackrabbits. The Bison totaled 11 hits as a team with four players contributing at least two. Jake Schaffner posted two hits with three runs and two RBI, while Dante Smith tallied three hits with one run. Reese Ligtenberg provided a career-long 3.1 scoreless innings of relief work with three strikeouts and one walk.
 
THE SERIES VS. MINNESOTA
This will be the 47th all-time meeting between NDSU and Minnesota dating back to 1964 with the Gophers leading the series, 33-13. NDSU is 3-3 against Minnesota in the last six matchups and most recently fell short, 9-2, earlier this season on April 15. The Bison totaled eight hits as a team with Davis Hamilton going 2-of-4 at the plate with two runs and one RBI.
 
THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will be the 81st all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 2008 with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 52-28. The Bison are 6-4 against the Golden Eagles in the last 10 meetings and won two of three games at Oral Roberts earlier this season. In the most recent meeting on March 16, the Golden Eagles edged the Bison 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.
 
TESTING OURSELVES AGAINST THE BEST
Entering the week, the Bison have played the No. 1 non-conference strength of schedule in the nation and No. 116 overall strength of schedule, which is the second-highest in the Summit League. The Bison have also been positioned as high as No. 22 this season in the RPI rankings.
 
SCHAFFNER ON TOP OF THE LINEUP CARD
Jake Schaffner has been the leadoff hitter in all 40 games this season and has registered a team-best .367 batting average and leads the Summit League with 62 hits and team-best 38 runs.  The Janesville, Wis., native has notched a hit in 34 of 40 games this season. He also leads the Summit League with 15 stolen bases on 20 attempts. Schaffner recently surpassed the 100 career hits milestone with 126 and has a .351 batting average over his first two seasons.
 
SCHAFFNER ON BROOKS WALLACE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Jake Schaffner was one of the top 100 shortstops in the nation to earn a spot on the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award watch list, which recognizes the nation’s top shortstop. He was as one of two players in the Summit League named to list, joining Carter Sintek from South Dakota State.
 
THE FRIDAY STARTER
Nolan Johnson has started a career-high 11 games and totaled a career-best 60 strikeouts over 57.1 innings this season. His 60 strikeouts rank second in the Summit League this season. Johnson helped guide the Bison to a 6-3 win over Omaha after tossing a career-best 10 strikeouts over a season-high 7.0 innings with no walks and no runs. Johnson sent the Mavericks down in order each of the first five innings and retired his first 17 batters before Omaha connected on a two-out single in the sixth inning. He has recorded at least eight strikeouts in three starts this season.
 
KNIGHT MODE ACTIVATED
Logan Knight helped lift the Bison to a 3-0 win at Oral Roberts on March 15. 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 ranks fourth in the Summit League with 51 strikeouts over 56.2 innings with a 5.56 ERA.
 
PUT THE GAME ON LOCK
Danny Lachenmayer is slotted second in the Summit League with six saves this season, including five in League play. He ranks third on the team with 37 strikeouts over 23.0 innings with 14 walks. The Eagan, Minn., native is also holding opponents to a .175 batting average with a 3.91 ERA.
 
LACHENMAYER ON NCBWA MIDSEASON STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Danny Lachenmayer was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Midseason Stopper of the Year watch list. Lachenmayer is one of only six freshmen to earn a spot on the watch list, joining Brendan Conner (UAB), Cason Evans (LSU), Kade Eudy (TCU), Walker McDuffie (North Carolina) and Dylan Volantis (Texas). He also joins Conner Floyd from Oral Roberts as the only Summit League pitchers on the list.
 
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 29 games and has contributed 29 hits, including a career-high four on five appearances at Oral Roberts on March 16. 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.
 
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. He has totaled 69 appearances over five seasons, which ranks tied for fifth in Bison history.
 
Riedinger 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 second all-time in Bison history with 81 career appearances. Kyle Kingsley (2010-13) is the all-time leader with 83 career appearances.
 
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.
 
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. He was recently named to the opening day roster for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of 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 be back in action in an exhibition game with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on Wednesday, May 7. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m., at Newman Outdoor Field.