St. Cloud State Baseball Hosts UMary at Joe Faber Field

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Baseball (19-12, 15-6 NSIC) returns home to Joe Faber Field to host UMary (13-17, 9-11 NSIC) for a three-game series on Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday (7-inning / 9-inning) followed by one 9-inning game on Sunday. Both days are scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. CT.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES

Game 1 vs. UMary – Saturday, April 13 / 12:00 p.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats
Game 2 vs. UMary – Saturday, April 13 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats
Game 3 vs. UMary – Sunday, April 14 / 12:00 p.m. CT / Live Stream / Live Stats

ELITE LINEUP

St. Cloud State enters the series with the fourth-ranked batting average in the league at .308 while scoring 10 or more runs in 12 games this season. The Huskies will send three batters to the plate this weekend with a .345 average or better, as the Huskies are one of four teams in the NSIC this season with three or more batters with a .345 average. Senior Drew Beier (Foley, Minn.) currently leads the Huskies in hitting at .369, while junior Sawyer Smith (Somers, Wis.) and junior Garrett Bevacqua (Carlsbad, Calif.) are close behind at .358.

Beier currently has a nine-game hit streak and powered the Huskies to a four-game sweep over Northern State, hitting .376 (6-for-16) with a home run and eight RBI with three stolen bases. Smith batted .357 (5-for-14) to lead the Huskies to a series win over Sioux Falls with three doubles and five RBI. Smith ranks among the league's top-10 in numerous hitting categories, including second in doubles (13), ninth in triples (three), and eighth in hits (44).

Additionally, graduate Cal James (Buffalo, Minn.) ranks 10th in home runs with seven while hitting .311 with 26 RBI. James was named NSIC Player of the Week after SCSU's 3-1 trip to Colorado, as he hit .500 (9-for-18) over the four-game stand with four home runs, 11 RBI and eight runs.

SCSU hitters above .300:
- Drew Beier – .369/.450/.476, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 5 2B, 3 SB
- Sawyer Smith – .358/.428/.585, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 13 2B, 3 3B, 3 SB
- Garrett Bevacqua – .358/.410/.495, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 7 2B
- Brayden Jacobson - .333/.467/.536, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 7 SB
- Mitchell Gumbko – .325/.412/.386, 9 RBI, 5 2B, 7 SB
- Cal James - .315/.466/.586, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 7 2B

TRIO OF LEFTIES

St. Cloud State's trio of lefties – redshirt junior Luke Tupy (New Prague, Minn.), senior Payton VanBeck (Elrosa, Minn.) and senior Jack Habeck (Appleton, Wis.) – have made starts in 23 of SCSU's 31 games this season. The three Huskies currently rank 1-4-8 in innings pitched in the NSIC this season, with Tupy recording 46.1 innings pitched followed by VanBeck at 44.0 IP and Habeck at 40.0 IP.

Tupy has solidified his position as the ace of the Husky rotation having twice been named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week. In seven starts this season, Tupy is 5-1 on the season with a 2.91 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .202 opposing batting average and 57 strikeouts. Tupy leads the NSIC in innings pitched (46.1), wins (five) and strike outs (57) while ranking fourth in opposing batting average (.202) and fifth in ERA (2.91). Tupy flirted with a no-hitter once again against the Vikings on March 14, as he didn't allow a hit over the first 3.2 innings. The Husky junior struck out 10 batters while allowing five hits and five walks. Tupy routinely worked around jams with Augustana stranding 10 runners in the game.

VanBeck has pitched five or more innings in seven of eight starts this season and has allowed one or fewer runs in three starts. VanBeck has won back-to-back starts and is 3-3 on the season with a 3.68 ERA. Habeck notched his fourth win of the season in an 8-2 win on Sunday to close out the sweep against Northern State. He went 6.1 inning while striking out six to improve to 4-2 on the season with a 5.40 ERA.

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