Friday, April 12
Fort Wayne, Ind.
12:00 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne
vs
South Dakota State
Photo by: Lucas Carter
Baseball Home Opener Set for Friday
4/11/2013 5:29:00 PM | Baseball
Live Stats
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – IPFW will play at Mastodon Field for the first time this season as they host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a scheduled doubleheader on Friday afternoon. The Mastodons will end the weekend with another Summit League doubleheader against North Dakota State on Sunday. Each game will get underway at 12 p.m.
A LOOK AT THE MASTODONS (13-14, 1-3 SL)
IPFW improved to 13-14 overall with an 18-10 win at Dayton on Wednesday afternoon. The Mastodons recorded 25 hits against the Flyers and did a majority of the damage early as they led 14-2 after four innings of action.
Kevin Wirth, Tyler Shepherd, Kristian Gayday, Brandon Soat and Clay Hathaway all recorded a home run and a double in the victory as the Mastodons posted their highest run total of the season.
Shepherd has been a great addition to the IPFW lineup coming in to the program from Delta College. The junior leads the team with a .347 batting average (33-for-95) and 15 stolen bases. He is second on the team in RBI's (14) and third in runs scored (12).
Markus Kalber and Clay Hathaway have also played well early in the season for IPFW. Kalber got off to a hot start in 2013 and is now hitting .326 (29-for-89) with a slugging percentage of .528. Hathaway has steadily improved over the year and now posts a batting average of .297 (30-for-101) with eight doubles, a triple and two home runs.
Markus Kalber's twin brother Jason will get the start on the mound for IPFW in game one of the South Dakota State series. Jason has eight starts for IPFW and holds an ERA of 4.39. He has two complete games and is second on the team with 33 strikeouts.
The Mastodons will throw Chuck Weaver in game two against the Jackrabbits as Weaver brings his 3.79 ERA into the weekend. The team's strikeout leader (38) is 2-2 on the year with one complete game to his credit.
SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS (14-11, 2-2 SL)
South Dakota State has not been able to play since the weekend as poor weather conditions have rained out their last three scheduled games. The Jackrabbits recently split a four-game series against North Dakota State winning the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday and the final game on Sunday giving them a 2-2 record in the Summit League.
The Jackrabbits are 14-11 overall with an 8-4 record on the road. Daniel Telford enters the weekend with a .460 batting average (23-for-50). He has only started in 10 games, but has appeared in 20. Despite not playing in all 25 games, the senior still leads the team in triples (3), home runs (2) and RBI's (16).
The projected starter for game one of Friday's doubleheader will feature right hander Layne Somsen. Somsen has the best ERA of any Jackrabbit starter at 1.48. He is 2-2 in his six starts and has a team-high 47 strikeouts in just 42.2 innings pitched.
Finishing the job on Friday in game two will be right handed Kolton Emery. Emery is 2-3 in four starts with an ERA of 4.18. The junior will try to eat innings in the seven inning game as he has been limited to just 23.2 innings thus far in 2013.
SCOUTING THE BISON (14-13, 2-2)
IPFW holds an 11-9 lead in the all-time series over North Dakota State, but the Bison will visit Mastodon Field looking to change that as they won three of four a year ago. This year's team is off to a 14-13 start which includes a 2-2 mark in league play after a split with SDSU.
Junior Tim Colwell leads the team with a .318 batting average (24-for-107) and 19 RBI's. Joining Colwell as hitters in the everyday lineup that are hitting over .300 is the tandem of Blake Turbak and Kyle Kleinendorst.
Turbak is tied for the team lead in home runs with two and he also sits in a tie alongside Colwell for most triples on the year with three. Kleindorst has a tendency to strikeout more than the rest of his teammates, but he does supply NDSU speed and power combination, registering five doubles and five stolen bases.
The Bison will put two right handers on the mound this Sunday with David Ernst getting the call in game one, followed by Trevor Jaunich in game two. Ernst is 4-4 overall with a 3.91 ERA. He has 32 strikeouts in 46 innings and has one complete game under his belt.
Jaunich is 2-3 overall with a 4.11 ERA. The sophomore is second on the team with 33 strikeouts, but opponents are hitting .324 against him.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Justin Osterhouse catch at Oakland
Monday, May 05
Mastodon baseball tops No. 20 Indiana
Wednesday, February 28
Feature Friday - Kevin Fee (baseball)
Thursday, February 15
2023 Mastodon Baseball Senior Day
Monday, May 15
