MINOT, N.D. – The Beaver baseball team has proven to be true road warriors this spring, and they'll look to continue that trend this week.
With cold weather and snow still present and leaving their home field unplayable, the Minot State baseball team is back on the road as they will be the home team on the road for the third time this spring, moving a schedule NSIC doubleheader against Minnesota Crookston to the Golden Eagles field on Thursday, April 28.
First pitch for the doubleheader, which will count as home games for the Beavers, will be at 1:30 p.m.
Minot State (23-16 overall, 17-7 NSIC), which has played just five home games this spring, then continues its an extended weekend road trip playing at Minnesota Duluth in a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game Sunday.
But first up for the road-warrior Beavers will be the Golden Eagles (15-23, 7-12), who similarly have had few games on their home field as the twinbill will be games No. 5 and 6 at the Minnesota Crookston baseball field.
Minot State will look to spoil the rare home dates for Minnesota Crookston as the Beavers have been playing very well of late, having won 15 of their last 18, and are among the NSIC leaders in both hitting and pitching.
The Beavers are fourth in the NSIC in team batting average hitting .299, are second in home runs with 49, and third in runs scored with 294.
Leading the offense are senior infielder
Declan Buckle, who is hitting a team-best .387 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs, while junior infielder
Kaiden Cardoso is hitting .368 with a team-high 40 RBIs, and senior outfielder
Drew Behling is hitting .329 with a team-best 11 homers and 38 RBIs.
On the hill, Minot State's pitching staff also is fourth in the league with a 4.30 ERA and second in total strikeouts with 359.
Starters
RJ Martinez, a senior lefty, and
Dominick Parkhurst, a junior righty, lead the way as each is 4-0 for the Beavers. Martinez also has a 1.99 ERA and a team-best 65 Ks while Parkhurst boasts a 2.08 ERA and has struck out 37 batters.
As for the Golden Eagles, their pitching staff has given the team a chance as Minnesota Crookston is sixth in the NSIC with a team ERA of 5.39, but a team batting average of .252 has left the Golden Eagles struggling a bit to score runs as they've plated just 216 on the season.
Sophomore third baseman Jake Hjelle leads the offensive with a .326 batting average and has hit 11 home runs, driven in 35 runs, and is a perfect 9-of-9 in stolen bases. Senior catcher Ben Thoma adds another big bat as he is hitting .246 and leads the team with 12 homers while adding 34 RBIs.
On the hill, junior starter Jake Dykhoff is 6-4 with a 1.86 ERA and a time-high 74 Ks, while sophomore starter Jake Osowski is 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA and 40 Ks.
Following the doubleheader at Minnesota Crookston, the Beavers head to Duluth for their regularly-schedule three-game series with the Bulldogs (16-19, 10-12), who play at St. Cloud State in a twinbill on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs hit .295 and sit right behind Minot State offensively in batting average, but in terms of run production have plated just 229 runs and hit just 21 long balls. And pitching-wise, Minnesota Duluth holds a 7.17 team ERA.
