St. Cloud State Baseball Ready to Defend Title at NSIC Tournament

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Baseball (32-17, 28-11 NSIC) is set to open the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) on Wednesday when the Huskies face Wayne State (26-21, 21-16 NSIC) at Municipal Park in Bismarck, N.D. The Huskies secured the four-seed in the tournament and will face the fifth-seeded Wildcats at Noon CT.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES

First Round: #4 St. Cloud State vs. #5 Wayne State – Wednesday, May 8 / 12:00 p.m. CT / Live Stream ($) / Live Stats / NSIC Tournament Central Page / Tickets

Note: The NSIC tournament will be streamed on the NSIC Network for a charge of $10 per game or $30 for a tournament pass.

JAMES AND TUPY EARN ALL-NSIC HONORS

Graduate third baseman Cal James (Buffalo, Minn.) and redshirt junior pitcher Luke Tupy (New Prague, Minn.) were both named to the All-NSIC First Team after standout seasons at their respective positions.

James has been nothing short of spectacular in his final collegiate season with the Huskies after earning All-NSIC honors in 2021 and 2023 while being named the 2021 NSIC Freshman of the Year at U-Mary. This season, James has produced a .366/.504/.686 slash line with 13 home runs, 14 doubles, 49 RBI and 53 runs. Among conference leaders, James ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.504), fifth in home runs (13), sixth in OPS (1.190), sixth in slugging percentage (.686) and seven in runs scored (53). His 13 home runs rank eighth on SCSU's single season top-10 list while his 42 career home runs rank 18^th among active D-II players. James was named NSIC Player of the Week after SCSU's 3-1 trip to Colorado (Feb. 24-26), as he hit .500 (9-for-18) over the four-game stand with four home runs, 11 RBI and eight runs.

Tupy earned his second career All-NSIC First Team honors after being named to the First Team in addition to being named the 2022 NSIC Freshman of the Year. Tupy has solidified his spot as one of the top hurlers in the nation with an outstanding 7-2 mark in 11 starts with a 2.98 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .202 opposing batting average in a team-leading 63.1 innings pitched. Among conference leaders, Tupy leads the NSIC in strikeouts (82) while ranking second in opposing batting average (.202), third in wins (seven), fourth in ERA (2.98) and seventh in IP (63.1). Tupy has twice been named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week this season, has struck out eight or more batters in six times, including in three of his last four starts, while reaching 10 punch outs three times. He's allowed one or fewer runs in five of 11 starts and has gone six or more innings in eight of his last nine outings. Tupy has a real chance to move high up the single season strikeout list as his 82 punch outs currently rank eighth all-time and is 25 strikeouts away from the program record of 107 set by David Deminsky in 2010.

SMITH LEADS THE WAY

Junior Sawyer Smith (Somers, Wis.) has led the way offensively for the Huskies this season, leading the team in numerous categories, including batting average (.381), hits (75), triples (three) and RBI (58). He also ranks in the NSIC's top-10 in many of those categories, ranking first in doubles (19), third in RBI (58), fifth in hits (75), eighth in triples (three), ninth in slugging percentage (.675) and 10^th in batting average (.381). The Husky shortstop also leads the team in multi-hit games (24) and multi-RBI games (18).

Smith's season will go down in the SCSU record book, as he currently ranks in SCSU's single season top-10 list in extra base hits (sixth, 33), total base hits (ninth, 133) and RBI (10^th, 58). He is also nearing the top-10 in doubles, hits and home runs.

QUARTET OF LEFTIES TAKE THE MOUND

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 31 of SCSU's 49 games this season. The three Huskies currently rank 7-9-11 in innings pitched in the NSIC this season, with Tupy recording 63.1 innings pitched followed by VanBeck at 61.2 IP and Habeck at 58.1 IP.

Tupy has solidified his position as the ace of the Husky rotation having twice been named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week. In 11 starts this season, Tupy is 7-2 on the season with a 2.98 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .202 opposing batting average and an NSIC-leading 82 strikeouts.

VanBeck has pitched five or more innings in eight of 10 starts this season and has allowed one or fewer earned runs in four starts. He is currently 5-3 on the season with a 3.65 ERA. Habeck has recorded wins in three of his last four starts and enters the weekend with a 6-3 mark and a 5.40 ERA. He went a season-long 7.1 innings with a season-best six strikeouts to earn the victory over Mary on April 14.

Additionally, junior Kaden Pfeffer (Racine, Wis.) has been remarkable in the mid-week starter role for the Huskies, posting a 5-0 mark with a 3.44 ERA. The Husky junior has recorded three complete games in his last three starts, matching Tupy for the most this season. It also marks the most by a Husky pitcher since Dominic Austing had three in 2018 and the first time since 2015 the Huskies have had a pair of Huskies with three or more complete games each. SCSU's seven complete games as a team are the most since recording nine in 2022.

COACH DOLAN REACHES 600^th CAREER VICTORY, OTHER PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2024

With a 13-11 win over U-Mary on April 14, head coach Pat Dolan recorded his 600^th career win at St. Cloud State. Already the winningest coach in program history, Dolan is now 611-241-1 in 17 seasons at SCSU. Overall, Dolan's 863 career wins at four-year institutions ranks 15^th nationally among active Division-II coaches. Adding in his time with Itasca Community College (1995-96), Dolan has 917 career wins. Dolan has led the Huskies to six conference championships and 10 NCAA regional appearances in his 17 seasons at the helm of the Huskies, including a program record 54 wins in 2015.

With 32 wins, the Huskies clinched their third consecutive 30-win season and its 14^th 30-win season in program history, all coming under Coach Dolan.
The Huskies concluded the regular season with a 28-11 mark in NSIC play, which is tied for its second-most conference wins in program history, trailing only its 31 wins in 2015 and matching its total from 2022. SCSU reached 20 conference wins for the 11^th time in program history, all coming under Dolan.
SCSU has won or split the last 10 series it has played dating back to March 29-30 against Sioux Falls. In that span, the Huskies are 22-7.
SCSU won or split 12 of 13 NSIC series played in the regular season, with its only series loss coming to Minnesota State on March 21-22.
The Huskies finished 17-6 on the road in 2024, its most wins on the road since a 24-2 mark in 2015.