MINOT, N.D. – After getting a bit of rest thanks to winter weather, the Minot State baseball team is ready to hit the diamond for another home weekend.

The Beavers will host Minnesota Duluth in a three-game series pushed back to Sunday and Monday, April 23 and 24, with the teams playing a doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Corbett Field, then meeting for a single-game Monday starting at noon.

The series might also be a bit of a grudge match as the Beavers will look for revenge against a Bulldog team that eliminated Minot State from the NSIC Tournament last spring.

Since then, the Beavers (22-11 overall, 13-8 NSIC) have continued to be a top team in the NSIC as Minot State is No. 2 in hitting with a .324 team batting average, and the Beavers lead the league in home runs with 65 on the season.

Meanwhile, on the hill, Minot State has been just as strong as the Beavers staff is No. 6 in ERA at 5.81 and No. 4 in total strikeouts with 272.

Conversely, things haven't gone as well for Minnesota Duluth which, on the mound, is in the middle of the pack with a 6.43 ERA and 256 Ks, though the Bulldogs' offense is 13^th in the league hitting .273 and averaging just over 6 runs per game.

That's led to a 14-20 overall record and a 7-14 mark in league play, though the Bulldogs do have some momentum as they snapped a seven-game skid with a doubleheader sweep of Bemidji State, 7-5 and 11-1 on Tuesday.

Individual, sophomore infielder Ethan Cole (.369) and freshman catcher Michael Gabbard (.301) lead the Bulldogs offense as the only two players hitting over .300. Cole is the team's big bopper leading Minnesota Duluth in average, home runs (6), and RBIs (27).

On the hill, senior left-hander Brayden Buttweiler has been the top starter with a 3-1 record, a 3.04 ERA, and 36 Ks in 26 2/3 innings to lead the staff.

For the Beavers, Gunnar Kozlowitz is among the league's offensive leaders with his .389 batting average, which ranks No. 8 in the NSIC, but he is just one of seven Minot State players hitting over .300 – Derek Kay (.377), Mark Ossanna (.364), Brent Riddle (.352), Matt Malone (.347), Martin Rodriguez (.337), and Javier Gutierrez (.317).

While Kozlowitz is a league leader in average, Kay and Guiterrez are tied for third in the NSIC with 12 home runs each, while Kay is No. 4 in the conference with 43 RBIs.

That potent offense makes things easier for a solid pitching staff led by starters Bryant Bagshaw, who is 5-1 with a 4.32 ERA and 41 Ks in 41 2/3 innings, Trevyn Badger, who is 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA and 36 Ks in 31 1/3 innings, and Dominick Parkhurst, who is 4-0 with a 5.76 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 31 innings.

The weekend series is just the second of the season at home for the Beavers who will make a quick road trip to play a doubleheader Wednesday at Minnesota Crookston before hosting the University of Mary on April 29-30, then hosting Southwest Minnesota State on May 2.