MINOT, N.D. – An 11-game win streak vaulted the Minot State baseball team into the upper echelon of the NSIC standings, and now the Beavers are set to start another run of victories and see where it takes the team.
That potential victory streak can start this week as Minot State (19-15 overall, 13-6 NSIC) hits the road for five NSIC contests, starting with a doubleheader on Thursday at Southwest Minnesota State (8-21, 1-16) with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The Beavers then continue the weekend road trip with a doubleheader at the University of Mary (16-18, 8-11) on Saturday, and a single game against the Marauders on Sunday.
The road trip comes right after the Beavers' homestand was cut short as a winter storm forced the team to travel last week and host a series of neutral-site games.
Returning home, the Beavers faced new challenges with Corbett Field under a few feet of snow and the air-supported dome unavailable for use, forcing the team to practice in batting cages in the Minot State Dome.
"Coming back inside after you have been outside for so long is always tough," Minot State coach
Scott Eul said. "This has been a difficult year for a lot of reasons, but I have been really proud of our guys for the resiliency to keep fighting no matter what.
"We have put in some serious bus hours this spring, and it would be easy to make excuses," Minot State's coach added as the Beavers did not play a home game until April starting the season with 25 contests on the road. "Winners win, losers complain; we are going to keep doing what we can to win games."
That attitude has the Beavers in NSIC title contention, that along with solid pitching and hitting as the only variable has been defense.
Minot State is third in the NSIC in home runs with 42, third in total runs scored with 252, and fourth in the league in batting average hitting .299 as a team.
On the mound, Minot State is No. 2 in the NSIC in total strikeouts with 219 and fourth in ERA at 4.33.
Defensively, though, the Beavers have committed 65 errors on the year, though during the team's 11-game win streak Minot State cut its miscues per game in half, providing another key to victory.
"Those 11 games we won in a row we played really nice defense," Eul said. "I think we have pitched extremely well all year, and swing it pretty well for the most part, and we continued to do that. But the defense got away from us a bit again (against Northern State last Thursday) and we need to real that in.
"The other area we need to continue to put focus on is executing with guys in scoring position," Minot State's coach added. "We have had a few too many chances to score a guy where we haven't."
Defense and pushing home runners in scoring position will be keys for Minot State against the Mustangs and Marauders as the Beavers look to start a late-season push for the NSIC crown.
Individual, key contributors leading the way have been
Declan Buckle, who is hitting .375 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs,
Drew Behling, who is hitting .318 with a team-high eight home runs and 30 RBIs, and
Kaiden Cardoso, who is hitting .368 with three homers and a Beaver-best 32 RBIs.
While they lead the offense, on the hill the starting tandem of
RJ Martinez and
Dominick Parkhurst are a combined 7-0 with Martinez, the all-time career strikeout leader for Minot State baseball, also holding a 1.01 ERA with 57 Ks, and Parkhurst at a 2.12 ERA with 35 Ks.
All of them have been vital parts of a true team effort for Minot State, which looks to continue its strong play over the last month as the Beavers are 13-4 since March 20.
"I like where we are at right now as a team, and standings-wise we have put ourselves in position to make a nice run," Eul said. "Let's play some Beaver baseball and see where it takes us."
