St. Cloud State
Wayne State College
Huskies clash with Wildcats on road in first midweek series of 2021
3/24/2021 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
St. Cloud State Baseball (3-5, 1-2 NSIC) travels to Wayne State (3-3, 2-1 NSIC) for a midweek series this Thursday, continuing a seven-game road stretch for the Huskies in the opening legs of the conference season. The series will be played as a seven-and-nine inning doubleheader beginning at noon CST at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne, Nebraska.
The Huskies lead the all-time series with a 27-8 record against Wayne State. SCSU and WSC last met in a midweek at Dick Putz Field in April 2019, a set that saw the Huskies earn a split with a 7-4 win in the series opener. In their last trip to Wayne in 2018, St. Cloud State swept the Wildcats 3-1 and 12-4 in the front end of a four-game series before games three and four were cancelled due to weather.
Scouting the Huskies
St. Cloud State opened NSIC play last weekend against No. 18 Augustana, losing the series two games to one with their lone win coming in Sunday's game two, a 4-2 victory in extra innings. SCSU lost two one-run games against the Vikings and currently holds a plus-21 run differential. The Huskies are hitting .309 with a .951 team OPS, with five players (Matt Quade, Tyler Schiller, John Nett, Jake Shusterich and Caleb Marquez) maintaining OPS marks above one thousand. Quade is the leading hitter among qualifiers at .407 with a 1.282 OPS, three home runs and 11 RBI, while John Nett has starred in the leadoff spot with a .346 average, .553 OBP, 12 runs scored, five steals and a fantastic 3:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio. As a team, SCSU has blasted 17 home runs and gone 12-for-14 (85.7%) on the basepaths.
Staff ace Matt Osterberg is scheduled to make his third start of the season in Thursday's second game in search of his first win. The lefthander has worked 11.0 innings to the tune of a 2.45 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP with nine strikeouts and a .211 batting average across his two outings in 2021. Freshman Luke Tupy shined in his collegiate debut by tossing 5.0 frames of two-hit, one-run baseball with six strikeouts in Fort Scott and will make his first NSIC start in the series opener. The Huskies staff nearly halved their ERA during last weekend's set at Augustana, as SCSU starters combined to allow just two earned runs over 17.1 frames for a 1.04 ERA.
Scouting the Wildcats
Wayne State enters the midweek series with a 3-3 overall record and is fresh off a two-games-to-one series win over Northern State last weekend. Owning a veteran-laden roster, the Wildcats have scored 65 runs in six games thanks in no small part to a fearsome top of the order. Brendan Madsen (.410/.456/.525 in 2020) has been a staple in the leadoff spot since joining Wayne State from Seward County College; Alex Logelin currently holds a .500 average and has clubbed 42 doubles in 93 career games played (including 11 in 15 games last season); freshman Eric Standish has found a home in the three-hole by hitting .429 with four doubles, two home runs and a team-best 13 runs scored this spring; and cleanup hitter Bryce Bisenius has long feasted on NSIC pitching (132 games played, .930 career OPS, 20 2B, 21 HR, 120 RBI). Shortstop C.J. Neumann is hitting .375 with six doubles through six games played, and Wildcats All-NSIC second baseman Andrew Hanson has long been a threat in the middle of the order.
The Wildcats' pitching staff has struggled through their first six games, posting a 10.91 ERA with a .335 batting average against and 11 home runs surrendered. Longtime rotation staple Hunter Weinhoff has made a team-high three starts, striking out 12 over 10.1 innings but has allowed 12 earned runs. The righthander posted a strong 2020 season and will be looking to return to his dazzling 2019 form in which he made 13 starts and went 8-3 with a 2.74 ERA, striking out 68 and walking just 28 across 75.2 innings with a .223 opponent batting average. Fellow righthander Ryan Obrecht has made a pair of starts this spring, working to the tune of a 7.27 ERA. The righthander was phenomenal as a freshman in 2019, going 7-2 with a 2.04 ERA and a .194 BAA over 57.1 innings. Other Wildcats arms figuring to be in the mix of things in the midweek include righthander Aidan Breedlove (2.95 ERA over 12 starts in 2017), lefthander Aaron Ras (47 strikeouts over 33.1 IP in 2019), righty Trenton Frerichs (3 appearances this spring) and righthander Lawson Zenner (8 collegiate saves). Wayne State has a weekend series beginning Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State, meaning the Wildcats will likely be utilizing a true midweek rotation.
Broadcast Information
The series will be streamed on the NSIC Network with Live Stats courtesy of Wayne State.
Attendance Information
Wayne State's 2021 Fan Attendance Policies can be found HERE.
