NDSU Baseball Closes Out Regular Season Play Hosting Omaha

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (16-31, 12-15 Summit) baseball team wraps up regular season play hosting Omaha (19-27, 12-15 Summit) for a three-game series beginning on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., at Newman Outdoor Field.
 
COVERAGE
All three games will feature live statistics and be available on the Summit League Network for subscribers. Fans can listen to all three games on Bison 1660 with free streaming available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. The Thursday night game will also broadcast on WDAY Xtra for subscribers.
 
SATURDAY IS SENIOR DAY
NDSU will recognize 14 players in the series finale on Saturday. Alex Urlaub, Sam Canton, Luis Garcia, Colten Becker, Sam Roberts, Logan Knight, Hayden Sylte, Reese Ligtenberg, Seth Thompson, Leland Wilson, Cole Mahlum, Alex Karns, Austin Bergum and Skyler Riedinger will all be honored pregame.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU fell short in the series finale at St. Thomas, 9-2, on Sunday. The Bison totaled eight hits as a team with Sam Canton and Colten Becker each going 2-of-4 at the plate with one RBI. The Bison combined to use five different pitchers with Parker Puetz making the start and going 1.2 innings. Skyler Riedinger provided a season-long 3.0 innings of relief, while Hayden Sylte also chipped in 1.2 frames with one strikeout.
 
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
This will be the 114th all-time meeting between NDSU and Omaha dating back to 1978 with the Bison leading the series, 59-53-1. The Bison have dropped the last two meetings against the Mavericks after Omaha picked up an 11-1 win in the series finale earlier this season on April 6.
 
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. 76 overall strength of schedule, which is the 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 47 games this season and has registered a team-best .385 batting average and leads the Summit League with 77 hits and team-best 43 runs.  The Janesville, Wis., native has notched a hit in 41 of 47 games this season. His 77 hits rank 24th in the nation and tied for sixth on the Bison single-season list. He also ranks second in the Summit League with 16 stolen bases on 22 attempts. Schaffner surpassed the 100 career hits milestone this season with 141 and has a .362 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 13 games and totaled a career-best 69 strikeouts over 71.2 innings this season. His 69 strikeouts rank second in the Summit League this season. Johnson helped guide the Bison to a 6-3 win over Omaha on April 4 after tossing a career-best 10 strikeouts over 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.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PEAK PITCHER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
Nolan Johnson was named the Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season on May 5. He worked a career-long 8.0 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts against Oral Roberts on May 2. He registered a 0.00 ERA and limited the Golden Eagles to a .138 batting average. It marked his fourth start with at least seven strikeouts. In Summit League play this season, Johnson leads the league with 55 strikeouts and ranks sixth with a 3.34 ERA.
 
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 third in the Summit League with 62 strikeouts over 68.0 innings with a 5.29 ERA.
 
PUT THE GAME ON LOCK
Danny Lachenmayer is slotted second in the Summit League with seven saves this season, including six in League play. He ranks third on the team with 43 strikeouts over 28.1 innings with 15 walks. The Eagan, Minn., native is also holding opponents to a .196 batting average with a 3.18 ERA. His seven saves rank tied for seventh on the NDSU single-season list.
 
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.
 
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 71 appearances over five seasons, which ranks 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 is tied with Kyle Kingsley (2010-13) for the most appearances all-time in Bison history with 83.
 
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 travel to Omaha, Neb., for the Summit League Championship on May 21-24.