Wednesday, May 10
Bismarck, N.D.
Noon CT
St. Cloud State
vs
Southwest Minnesota State
Photo by: Kaitlyn Zuehl
SCSU Baseball prepares for NSIC Tournament
5/9/2023 5:40:00 PM | Baseball
Fourth-seeded Huskies open postseason play with No. 5 seed SMSU on Wednesday in Bismarck
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Fourth-seeded St. Cloud State Baseball (28-17, 20-10 NSIC) opens their appearance at the 2023 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament with a noon CT start against No. 5 seed Southwest Minnesota State (27-15, 19-13 NSIC) on Wednesday, May 10 at the Bismarck Municipal Ballpark in Bismarck, North Dakota.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The entire conference tournament will be streamed on the NSIC Network with live stats provided by the NSIC. Links to each coverage option can be found on the SCSU Baseball schedule page.
LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State's regular season finale on May 5 opened with a bang as the Huskies responded quickly to a Wayne State/ run in the first with a Mitchell Gumbko (1-for-4, RBI) run-scoring single that plated Sawyer Smith (2-for-5, R, RBI) to even things at one through an inning complete. Tate Wallat (2-for-3, HBP, R, RBI) added an RBI single in the second to spark a three-run frame capped by another Smith RBI knock, putting the Huskies up 4-1 after two. Wayne State began chipping away at the SCSU lead with a run in the fourth and fifth, then blew the game open with an eight-spot in the sixth – seven of which were unearned. The Huskies got one back in the bottom half on an RBI single from John Nett (1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI), but the Wildcat bullpen closed things out to earn the series win and a doubleheader sweep. Kevin Butler (2-for-4, 2 R) provided a two-hit game to account for a third multi-hit effort. Ethan Lanthier gave the Huskies 3.1 innings of one-run relief, striking out three and walking none while working around a pair of hits.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Huskies are the No. 4 seed at the 2023 NSIC Tournament and are joined on their side of the double-elimination bracket by No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 1 Augustana and No. 8 Wayne State. On the other side, No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato draws No. 7 Winona State while No. 3 Minnesota Crookston meets No. 6 Minot State.
REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Entering conference tournament play with a 22-14 in-region record, the Huskies are faced with just one realistic scenario to earn a spot in the 2023 NCAA Tournament: win the NSIC automatic bid with a conference tournament title.
IT'S BEEN HOW LONG?
St. Cloud State has met Southwest Minnesota State just once in the NSIC postseason, with their last matchup occurring all the way back in the Huskies' first-ever Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament appearance in 2010. Despite multi-hit efforts from Steve Rindelaub (3-for-3, BB, 2 R), Tyler Horning (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI) and Brian Hansen (2-for-4, BB), the Huskies dropped their elimination game to SMSU on May 8, 2010 at Joe Faber Field. SCSU would go on to earn an at-large bid to the Central Region Tournament hosted by New Mexico Highlands, eliminating the host with two wins and pushing Minnesota State-Mankato to a winner-take-all game on Championship Saturday.
ALL-NSIC HUSKIES
Four St. Cloud State Baseball players have earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors as announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon. Junior outfielder John Nett and redshirt senior two-way player Sam Riola earned First Team All-NSIC honors, redshirt senior catcher Drew Bulson was named Second Team All-NSIC while both Nett and senior third baseman Tate Wallat won NSIC Gold Gloves as members of the All-Defensive Team.
MR. JOHN NETT
John Nett has earned his third First Team All-NSIC honor after a tremendous regular season that saw him slash .453/.537/.659 for a 1.197 OPS across 45 games, starting every contest in centerfield as the leadoff man. Nett scored 53 runs while smashing 19 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He drove in 47 runs and added 19 stolen bases at an 86.4% success rate, striking out in just 6.9% of his trips against a stellar 13.4% walk rate. In the field, Nett logged 342.2 errorless innings with a 2.47 range factor and four outfield assists.
ROCKSTAR RIOLA
Sam Riola earns his second straight First Team All-NSIC nod after slashing .364/.434/.695 for a 1.129 OPS with 64 runs scored, 13 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 55 RBI and 21 stolen bases on a 91.3% success rate over 45 games. Riola posted stellar discipline marks of an 8.5% K rate and a 9.4% walk rate, serving as a catalyst at the top of the Huskies order. On the hill, Riola chartered a 3-4 record with a 4.45 FIP – striking out 64 to just 18 walks across 50.1 innings and 12 appearances.
THE BULLY BOMBER
Drew Bulson has picked up his first career NSIC nod with Second Team honors in 2023 after producing the second-highest batting average by a catcher in program history. Bulson mashed in an everyday role behind the plate, slashing .394/.485/.633 for a 1.118 OPS over 34 games prior to seeing his season cut short by an injury. The St. Cloud native blasted eight doubles and six home runs while driving in 31 and drawing walks at a 13.4% clip against a strikeout rate of just 11.2%. He also shined defensively, recording just three errors for a .986 fielding percentage while throwing out 31.0% of attempted basestealers and logging the best wild pitch percentage on the staff at just 0.67%.
HOT CORNER HANDLED
Tate Wallat closes his Huskies career as a two-time NSIC Gold Glove winner at third base, committing just four errors over 287.0 innings for a .957 fielding percentage with a stellar 2.76 range factor/9. Wallat helped turn three double plays at the hot corner and provided a dazzling display of highlight-reel plays to go with his steady work on routine chances.
A KING IS CROWNED
Redshirt senior second baseman Sam Riola has tied the St. Cloud State career home run record, blasting No. 35 of his Huskies career at Minnesota Duluth. Riola now shares the career mark with legendary SCSU corner infielder Zak "Squatch" Hoffman, a 2016 graduate who feasted on NSIC pitching over his four-year Huskies career. Incredibly, Riola has matched the record in just two seasons - blasting 22 last season and 13 this spring.
CONSIDER THE TABLE SET BY NETT
Junior centerfielder John Nett is enjoying an incredible campaign at the top of the Huskies order, currently leading the NSIC Batting Title race by a whopping 56 points by slashing .453/.537/.659 for a 1.197 OPS. He ranks third in the Nation in batting average, leading the NSIC on-base percentage and hits (81) while ranking third in doubles (19); fourth in OPS in addition to landing fifth in stolen bases (19) and sixth in runs scored (53). Nett's defensive work in center has been simply phenomenal as the junior has logged 342.2 errorless innings with four outfield assists and a stellar 2.47 range factor/9. Of note, Nett is also within striking distance of breaking the Huskies' modern-era single season batting average record of .457 held by Jordan Smith.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The entire conference tournament will be streamed on the NSIC Network with live stats provided by the NSIC. Links to each coverage option can be found on the SCSU Baseball schedule page.
LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State's regular season finale on May 5 opened with a bang as the Huskies responded quickly to a Wayne State/ run in the first with a Mitchell Gumbko (1-for-4, RBI) run-scoring single that plated Sawyer Smith (2-for-5, R, RBI) to even things at one through an inning complete. Tate Wallat (2-for-3, HBP, R, RBI) added an RBI single in the second to spark a three-run frame capped by another Smith RBI knock, putting the Huskies up 4-1 after two. Wayne State began chipping away at the SCSU lead with a run in the fourth and fifth, then blew the game open with an eight-spot in the sixth – seven of which were unearned. The Huskies got one back in the bottom half on an RBI single from John Nett (1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI), but the Wildcat bullpen closed things out to earn the series win and a doubleheader sweep. Kevin Butler (2-for-4, 2 R) provided a two-hit game to account for a third multi-hit effort. Ethan Lanthier gave the Huskies 3.1 innings of one-run relief, striking out three and walking none while working around a pair of hits.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Huskies are the No. 4 seed at the 2023 NSIC Tournament and are joined on their side of the double-elimination bracket by No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 1 Augustana and No. 8 Wayne State. On the other side, No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato draws No. 7 Winona State while No. 3 Minnesota Crookston meets No. 6 Minot State.
REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Entering conference tournament play with a 22-14 in-region record, the Huskies are faced with just one realistic scenario to earn a spot in the 2023 NCAA Tournament: win the NSIC automatic bid with a conference tournament title.
IT'S BEEN HOW LONG?
St. Cloud State has met Southwest Minnesota State just once in the NSIC postseason, with their last matchup occurring all the way back in the Huskies' first-ever Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament appearance in 2010. Despite multi-hit efforts from Steve Rindelaub (3-for-3, BB, 2 R), Tyler Horning (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI) and Brian Hansen (2-for-4, BB), the Huskies dropped their elimination game to SMSU on May 8, 2010 at Joe Faber Field. SCSU would go on to earn an at-large bid to the Central Region Tournament hosted by New Mexico Highlands, eliminating the host with two wins and pushing Minnesota State-Mankato to a winner-take-all game on Championship Saturday.
ALL-NSIC HUSKIES
Four St. Cloud State Baseball players have earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors as announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon. Junior outfielder John Nett and redshirt senior two-way player Sam Riola earned First Team All-NSIC honors, redshirt senior catcher Drew Bulson was named Second Team All-NSIC while both Nett and senior third baseman Tate Wallat won NSIC Gold Gloves as members of the All-Defensive Team.
MR. JOHN NETT
John Nett has earned his third First Team All-NSIC honor after a tremendous regular season that saw him slash .453/.537/.659 for a 1.197 OPS across 45 games, starting every contest in centerfield as the leadoff man. Nett scored 53 runs while smashing 19 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He drove in 47 runs and added 19 stolen bases at an 86.4% success rate, striking out in just 6.9% of his trips against a stellar 13.4% walk rate. In the field, Nett logged 342.2 errorless innings with a 2.47 range factor and four outfield assists.
ROCKSTAR RIOLA
Sam Riola earns his second straight First Team All-NSIC nod after slashing .364/.434/.695 for a 1.129 OPS with 64 runs scored, 13 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 55 RBI and 21 stolen bases on a 91.3% success rate over 45 games. Riola posted stellar discipline marks of an 8.5% K rate and a 9.4% walk rate, serving as a catalyst at the top of the Huskies order. On the hill, Riola chartered a 3-4 record with a 4.45 FIP – striking out 64 to just 18 walks across 50.1 innings and 12 appearances.
THE BULLY BOMBER
Drew Bulson has picked up his first career NSIC nod with Second Team honors in 2023 after producing the second-highest batting average by a catcher in program history. Bulson mashed in an everyday role behind the plate, slashing .394/.485/.633 for a 1.118 OPS over 34 games prior to seeing his season cut short by an injury. The St. Cloud native blasted eight doubles and six home runs while driving in 31 and drawing walks at a 13.4% clip against a strikeout rate of just 11.2%. He also shined defensively, recording just three errors for a .986 fielding percentage while throwing out 31.0% of attempted basestealers and logging the best wild pitch percentage on the staff at just 0.67%.
HOT CORNER HANDLED
Tate Wallat closes his Huskies career as a two-time NSIC Gold Glove winner at third base, committing just four errors over 287.0 innings for a .957 fielding percentage with a stellar 2.76 range factor/9. Wallat helped turn three double plays at the hot corner and provided a dazzling display of highlight-reel plays to go with his steady work on routine chances.
A KING IS CROWNED
Redshirt senior second baseman Sam Riola has tied the St. Cloud State career home run record, blasting No. 35 of his Huskies career at Minnesota Duluth. Riola now shares the career mark with legendary SCSU corner infielder Zak "Squatch" Hoffman, a 2016 graduate who feasted on NSIC pitching over his four-year Huskies career. Incredibly, Riola has matched the record in just two seasons - blasting 22 last season and 13 this spring.
CONSIDER THE TABLE SET BY NETT
Junior centerfielder John Nett is enjoying an incredible campaign at the top of the Huskies order, currently leading the NSIC Batting Title race by a whopping 56 points by slashing .453/.537/.659 for a 1.197 OPS. He ranks third in the Nation in batting average, leading the NSIC on-base percentage and hits (81) while ranking third in doubles (19); fourth in OPS in addition to landing fifth in stolen bases (19) and sixth in runs scored (53). Nett's defensive work in center has been simply phenomenal as the junior has logged 342.2 errorless innings with four outfield assists and a stellar 2.47 range factor/9. Of note, Nett is also within striking distance of breaking the Huskies' modern-era single season batting average record of .457 held by Jordan Smith.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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