TOPKEA, Kan. – The season started with a bang for the Beaver baseball team which hit 11 home runs in a four-game series hosted by Emporia State.

Winning 3-of-4, Minot State (3-1 overall) looks to continue that hot start as the Beavers play a single game at Washburn on Wednesday, then wrap up a 9-game swing through Kansas with four games at Newman, Friday through Sunday.

The weekend at Newman against the Jets has changed just a bit with Game 1 of the series now Friday at 2 p.m., then the teams playing a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon, and the series wraps up with a single Sunday game scheduled for 1 p.m.

While the Beavers have been hammering the ball, their pitching staff has also been tough on foes as starters Bryant Bagshaw, Dominick Parkhurst, and Craig Schmich each have a win and have combined to allow 1 earned run while striking out 16 opposing batters in 16 innings.

Offensively, Gunnar Kozlowitz, Derek Kay, and Javier Gutierrez each had 3 home runs apiece just four games into the season, with Kozlowitz hitting .500 (8-for-16), Kay hitting .400 (6-for-15), and Brent Riddle added a team-high 7 RBIs, along with 2 homers and a .353 (6-for-17) batting average.

The Beavers will face an Ichabods team Wednesday that is 2-7 on the young season, but a team that did get some momentum in its last outing, an 18-3 rout of Lynn University on Monday.

Washburn is batting .270 with 5 homers and has stolen 14 bases in its first nine games while the pitching staff comes in with a 5.68 team ERA and 74 strikeouts. Opposing teams are hitting .268 against the Ichabods.

Following the solo game Wednesday, Minot State moves on to take on a Newman Jets team that is 2-3 overall with a .302 batting average. The Jets have hit four home runs in their five games and stolen 11 bases.

On the hill, Newman boasts a 6.16 team ERA with 43 strikeouts, and opponents hit .286 against the Jets.