St. Cloud State Baseball Opens NSIC Play with SMSU

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Baseball will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play this weekend with a four-game set over two days against Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday, Feb. 18 and Monday, Feb. 19 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Huskies and Mustangs will play a pair of 7-inning/9-inning double headers over the two days. Sunday's games will start at 12:00 p.m. CT while Monday will start at 11:00 a.m. CT.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES

Game 1 – Sunday, Feb. 18 / 12:00 p.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats
Game 2 – Sunday, Feb. 18 / 2:00 p.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats
Game 3 – Monday, Feb. 19 / 11:00 a.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats
Game 4 – Monday, Feb. 19 / 1:00 p.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats

GAME NOTES FROM SERIES WITH MISSOURI WESTERN

St. Cloud State looks to improve on last weekend's series where the Huskies dropped all three games to Missouri Western.

Top Performances & Notes from Game 1 – 5-0 loss:
- Senior Grady Fuchs – 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 K
- Fuchs recorded a career-best five strike outs in the game, surpassing his previously best mark of three, set five times last season, most recently at Winona State on April 2, 2023. Fuchs has yet to allow a run in two appearances this season, pitching 6.1 IP with six strike outs and a .136 opponent batting average.
- Senior Mitchell Gumbko (Ada, Mich.) – 1-3, extends four-game hit streak
- Senior Drew Beier (Foley, Minn.) – 1-4
- Redshirt freshman Archer Ogbourne (Carlisle, Iowa) – SB
- Ogbourne recorded his first career stolen base in the game.
Top Performances & Notes from Game 2 – 12-11 loss:
- Junior Sawyer Smith – 1-3, 3 RBI, BB
- Smith's three RBI are the second-most in his career, trailing only his six RBI at Arkansas-Monticello on Feb. 11, 2023.
- Graduate Cal James – 1-4, RBI, 2 R, BB
- Senior Mitchell Gumbko – 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R
- Gumbko extended his hit streak to five games to open the 2024 season and remained put with his season average of .400 with eight hits, two doubles and two RBI.
- Redshirt Junior Luke Tupy – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 K
- Tupy recorded six or more strike outs for the first time this season and the 16th time in his career.
Top Performances & Notes from Game 3 – 3-0 loss:
- Senior Payton VanBeck – L, 6.0 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 5 K
- VanBeck's five strike outs are the second-most he has produced in a single game. Despite recording the loss in each of his first two starts of the season, the Husky senior has recorded an impressive stat line of 2.31 ERA and .190 opponent batting average with 15 strikeouts in 11.1 IP.
- Graduate Cal James (Buffalo, Minn.) – 2-4, SB
- James logged his first two-hit game of the season and has now hit safely in five of six games to open the 2024 season, raising his average to .261.
- Redshirt sophomore Brayden Jacobson (West Fargo, N.D.) – 1-3, SB
- Senior Mitchell Gumbko (Ada, Mich.) – 1-5, extends hit streak to six games
- Gumbko extended his hit streak to six games to open the 2024 season. Through six games, Gumbko has hit .360 with nine hits, two doubles, two RBI and four SB.
- With the loss, SCSU is now 11-15 all-time against Missouri Western. This is the Huskies fourth straight loss to the Griffons.
- Junior Sawyer Smith pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two strike outs.
- James and Jacobson both recorded stolen bases in the game.

NSIC PRESEASON POLL

St. Cloud State Baseball was selected to finish third in the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office on Jan. 18. Additionally, graduate Cal James (Buffalo, Minn.) was named the Player to Watch and redshirt junior Luke Tupy (New Prague, Minn.) was named the Pitcher to Watch.

The Huskies finished fourth in the NSIC standings in 2023 with a conference mark of 20-10 before making a run to win the 2023 NSIC Tournament and earn a spot in the 2023 NCAA regional tournament. The NSIC championship was the sixth conference title under head coach Pat Dolan while the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10^th time in the Dolan era and 12^th time overall.

James transfers into St. Cloud State after a stellar career at fellow NSIC school U-Mary. In 2023, James earned All-NSIC First Team honors while batting .382 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI while recording a .509 OBP and .674 SLG%. He was also named the 2021 NSIC Freshman of the Year and earned 2021 All-NSIC First Team honors.

Tupy, the 2022 NSIC Freshman of the Year and All-NSIC First Team selection, went 4-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 44.2 inning pitched in 2023.

COACHES CORNER

Head coach Pat Dolan will be entering his 17^th season with the Huskies in 2024 and his 28^th season as a collegiate head coach. During his tenure at SCSU, Dolan has posted a record of 579-222-1 and has led St. Cloud State to six NSIC Championships (NSIC Tournament – 2011, 2015, 2016, 2023; NSIC Regular Season – 2013, 2015) and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Assistant Coach Rob "Doc" Swendra partners with Dolan in his 13^th season at St. Cloud State and is currently the third-longest tenured assistant coach in the NSIC.

New this season is newly graduated Riley Ahern, who will handle the pitching staff as Assistant Coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Rob Moone.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.