TUCSON, Ariz. – After patiently waiting to hit the diamond, the Minot State baseball is set for league play just a week into the season.

The Beavers (3-2 overall), who flew to Arizona for two-plus weeks in the sunshine and 16 games, play a four-game, neutral-site series against Concordia, St. Paul (4-5) this Saturday and Sunday to open NSIC action.

The Golden Bears opened their season in mid-February and have played three games in Arizona this past week, including one against a foe Minot State has played as well, Mount Marty. While the Beavers split a pair of 1-run games with the Lancers, Concordia, St. Paul fell 9-7 to Mount Marty on Tuesday.

That's the lone similar measuring stick between the Beavers and Golden Bears this season as they prepare to play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m. (Minot time) and another Sunday at 4 p.m. (Minot time).

Last season, in another neutral-site, 4-game series, the Golden Bears won 3-of-4 against Minot State.

So what do these two teams look like headed into this NSIC-opening series?

Concordia, St. Paul has been rolling along on offense, hitting .323 as a team with 12 home runs and averaging almost 9 runs a game.

Leading the way are a quartet of hot hitters in senior outfielder Noah Juliar, who is hitting .500 with a home run and 10 RBIs, freshman infielder Eric Berg, who is hitting .476 with 4 RBIs, senior infielder Bennett McCollow, who is hitting .438 with a team-best four homers and 7 RBIs, and sophomore infielder Will Huseman, who is hitting .308 with three home runs and 10 RBIs.

While the offense has been stellar, the Golden Bears pitching has yet to find its groove with a team ERA of 8.71 and only two wins by starters. Senior right-hander Leo Bustos leads the way and is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 5 Ks in 4 innings.

Junior righty Christian Lindow and freshman righty Miles Jensen have been strong out of the bullpen, each with a save, while Lindow has a win, as well, an 8.44 ERA, and 6 Ks in 5 1/3 innings work.

On the other side, the offense also has been clicking for the Beavers also as Minot State is hitting .367 with 4 home runs and averaging 10 runs per game.

Leading the way are a trio of Minot State hitters with incredible averages as senior outfielder and pitcher Connor Hill is hitting .611 with 7 RBIs, senior outfielder Brent Riddle is hitting. 556 with 3 RBIs, and 2024 preseason All-American and junior first baseman Gunnar Kozlowitz is hitting .526 with a homer and team-high 11 RBIs.

On the hill, Minot State's staff has been a little more locked in than the Golden Bears with a 6.57 team ERA led by Hill, who tied a single-game Beaver record with 13 strikeouts in his Minot State debut, going 7 scoreless innings.

While Hill leads the staff, sophomore righty Jacob Thompson (1.80 ERA, 2Ks, 5 inn.), junior righty Devin Marton (0.00 ERA, 1 K, 1 inn.), and junior lefty Ian Bauer (10.80 ERA, 4 Ks, 3.1 inn.) each have a win, and sophomore righty Ayden Sauerbrei (0.00 ERA, 2 Ks) and senior righty Noah Balandran (0.00 ERA) have a save each.