Fargo-

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (2-13) baseball team travels to Oral Roberts (11-4) to open up Summit League play with a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

COVERAGE
GoBison.com: All three games will feature live statistics and will broadcast on the Summit League Network through the Midco Sports Plus app for subscribers.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bison picked up a 12-3 win in the series finale at Tulane after scoring in three of the first four innings. The Bison combined for 12 hits with Dante Smith going 3-of-5 at the plate with three runs and five RBI. Sam Canton also tallied three hits with two RBI. Matt Sargeant made the start on the mound going 3.1 innings, while Reese Ligtenberg (1-0) earned the win logging 2.2 innings in relief. Skyler Riedinger finished out the final 1.1 innings with a team-best two strikeouts.

THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will mark the 78th all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 2008 with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 51-26. The two teams are 5-5 over their last 10 meetings with Oral Roberts edging NDSU, 11-3, at the Summit League Championship in Tulsa in the most recent meeting last season.

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER ROAD TRIP
After just playing eight games in Alabama and Louisiana, the Bison are back on the road for another eight-game stretch across Oklahoma and Colorado. NDSU begins the trip with three games at Oral Roberts to open Summit League play before a pair of midweek matchups at Oklahoma State on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bison will wrap the trip with three games at Northern Colorado before returning to Fargo.

THE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AHEAD
The Bison are scheduled to play 52 total games and will face nine different opponents across 22 total non-conference games. Of that group, five teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, including Dallas Baptist, Alabama, LSU, Tulane and Oklahoma State. The schedule also boasts three teams ranked in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Dallas Baptist.

TESTING OURSELVES AGAINST THE BEST
The Bison have the highest strength of schedule in NCAA Division I baseball through the first 15 games in the WarrenNolan.com rankings as of March 13. NDSU has faced opponents with a combined record of 176-40 (.814) so far this season.

SCHAFFNER ON TOP OF THE LINEUP CARD
Jake Schaffner has been the leadoff hitter in all 15 games this season and has registered a team-best .377 batting average with 23 hits and 14 runs over 61 appearances. The Janesville, Wis., native has notched a hit in 13 of 15 games this season, including starting the season on a 10-game hit streak. Schaffner has notched 87 hits with a .347 batting average over his first two seasons.

FRESH FACES IN THE LINEUP
Through the first 15 games, the Bison have had eight newcomers appear in the lineup for at least one start. Alex Urlaub leads the newcomer group with a .279 batting average to go along with 12 hits and six RBI. Dante Smith, Will Mann, Luke Shannahan, Evan Gustafson, Tyman Long, Tommy Simon and Tate Martin have also made at least one start this season.

CANTON MAKES HIS RETURN
After missing the first nine games to begin the season, Sam Canton made his season debut at Alabama on March 1. He’s appeared in each of the last three games and has contributed four hits, including going 3-of-4 at the plate in the 12-3 win at Tulane. Last season, Canton was the only Bison to play in all 51 games and contributed a team-high seven home runs and team-best 47 RBI.

KOENIG WORKING IN RELIEF
Landon Koenig started all 14 games he appeared in and ranked second on the team with 41 total strikeouts in his freshman season last year. The Portland, N.D., native has made all six of his appearances this season out of the bullpen with 13 strikeouts over 12.0 innings.

EXPERIENCE IN THE BULLPEN
Reese Ligtenberg and Skyler Riedinger both return this season out of the bullpen. Last season, Ligtenberg made 31 relief appearances, which set the NDSU single-season record for appearances. His 31 appearances led the Summit League and ranked 27th in the nation. Reidinger made a career-high 29 appearances last season, which was the second-most in a single-season in Bison history.
The Bismarck, N.D., native is tied for fourth all-time in Bison history with 71 appearances over five seasons.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked fourth in the Summit League preseason poll with 17 total points and one first place vote. Oral Roberts was picked first with 22 points and three first place votes.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sophomore infielder Jake Schaffner and senior left-handed pitcher Nolan Johnson were named to the Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch list. Schaffner, who was named to the All-Summit League First Team last season, recorded a team-best .337 batting average and .436 on-base percentage last season to go along with a team-high 64 hits. Johnson appeared in six games last season with a career-best five starts and registered a 2.73 ERA before an injury sidelined him March.

RETURNING ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS
NDSU earned eight All-Summit League selections last year and return three from that group this season. Shortstop Jake Schaffner was named to the All-League First Team in his freshman season, while outfielder Sam Canton and right-handed pitcher Logan Knight were named to the honorable mention list.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS
Under fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have played a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play. 

Over the last three seasons, the Bison are a combined 47-24-1 in conference play with 27 of those victories coming on the road. NDSU has reached the 15-win mark in three of the last four seasons and seven total times in Summit League play since joining the league in 2008. In Oakes’ first season as head coach in 2022, the Bison secured their first Summit League regular season title in program history.

BISON PLAY IN BIG TIME VENUES
Under fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have made a habit of scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play and have done it in some of the best venues in college baseball. Over the last three seasons, the Bison have played in front of five of the largest road crowds in program history since 1977. Earlier this season, NDSU played in front of 10,446 fans at LSU on March 5, the highest road attendance in program history.

#PROBISON
NDSU has had eight incoming or current players selected in the MLB Draft since 2013. Joey Danielson became the 14th NDSU player selected in the MLB Draft dating back to 1968 after the Texas Rangers picked him in the 17th round last season. It marked the second straight season NDSU had a current pitcher selected in the draft after Cade Feeney was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round in 2023. Bennett Hostetler was also selected in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins.

WHO’S BACK?
NDSU returns 16 letterwinners this season, including five starters that played in at least 50 percent of the games last season. The roster also features 14 seniors: Alex Urlaub, Sam Canton, Luis Garcia, Colten Becker, Sam Roberts, Logan Knight, Seth Thompson, Cole Mahlum, Alex Karns, Austin Bergum, Hayden Sylte, Reese Ligtenberg, Leland Wilson and Skyler Riedinger.

WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Bison welcome 14 newcomers this season: Alex Urlaub, Evan Gustafson, Will Mann, Tate Martin, Sam Roberts, Tommy Simon, Tyman Long, Luke Shannahan, Ethan Swaby, Danny Lachenmayer, Dante Smith, Cade Wiegert, Garrett Shupe and Luke Agnew.

STEIL JOINS COACHING STAFF
Jack Steil joined the NDSU coaching staff as the Director of Operations this offseason after spending two seasons with the Bison from 2023-24. He’s the second former Bison player on the coaching staff, joining Trent Keefer, who played at NDSU from 2014-15.

LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will be back in action at Oklahoma State on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.