BEMIDJI, Minn. – Fresh-off a mid-week doubleheader split with University of Minnesota Duluth, the Bemidji State University Baseball team jumps back on the road for a four-game series at No. 8 Minnesota State University, Mankato beginning Saturday, April 12.
 
The Beavers (4-24, 3-19 NSIC) and Mavericks (26-3, 20-2 NSIC) will play a four-game series with doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday but only the first three games will be part of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action after a fourth game was added to the series that was originally scheduled for three. Both teams agreed to add a fourth game to the series after non-conference series at the beginning of the season were cancelled.
 
BSU and MSU begin the series with an NSIC doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1:30 p.m. and will then play a doubleheader Sunday at Noon. Game three in the series will also be a conference game with the series finale marked as non-conference.
 
Each game will be streamed online exclusively at NSICNetwork.com/bsubeavers and live stats available, here.
 
The Beavers are 4-24 on the season but two of their four wins have come over the last six games and are 2-4 during that span. BSU is 13^th in the conference standings holding a 3-19 NSIC record while the Mavericks are first and lead the NSIC by five games over second-place Augustana University. The Beavers are eight games back of a spot in the NSIC Baseball Tournament with 18 league games remaining. Bemidji State has a favorable second-half portion of its schedule and following its series with the Mavericks, six of its final seven opponents are in the bottom half of the NSIC standings.
 
Bemidji State has been trending up as of late and are averaging 5.67 runs over its last six games and are batting .287 as team while slugging at a .437 clip which would rank as the eighth-best percentage in the NSIC. Sophomore Matt Filippi has paced the Beavers over the last five games batting .550 with 11 hits in 20 at bats. He has combined for a 1.191 OPS (on-base + slugging) and stolen six-of-eight bases. Senior Zach Evenson has also been mashing the ball as of late and is 7-for-19 (.368) over the last six games and is slugging a team-high .737 with two home runs, a double and has driven in a team-high eight runs.
 
On the season Filippi leads the team batting .301 with 25 hits in 83 at bats. He has stolen 12 bases to rank sixth in the NSIC and is tied for the seventh most in a single season at BSU. Sophomore Beau Thoma closely batting .296 with 24 hits in 83 at bats and his seven doubles leads the team. Evenson follows batting .261 (23-88) and is slugging .534 leading the team and is tied for seventh in the conference with seven home runs.
 
On the mound the Beavers are led by senior left-handed pitcher Brandon Lind who is 2-3 in five starts and has compiled a 4.78 ERA in 26.1 innings of work. He is tied for 12^th in the NSIC with 35 strikeouts this season and his 12.18 K/9 average is the best by a BSU pitcher since 1992. He has been hot as of late and over his last two starts, he is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.84 in 12.2 innings, pitched one complete game and has 16 strikeouts to just four walks.
 
He is followed by Evenson who makes his impact in both the batter's box and mound pitching in 18.1 innings. In four appearances, three starts, he has an ERA of 4.42 and holds opponent batters to just a .214 batting average.
 
In the bullpen, BSU is led by freshman Connor Donlin who has a 3.24 ERA in seven relief appearances and 8.1 innings while junior Cole Smith has closed the door collecting two saves this season in 10 appearances. He has 16.0 innings pitched and is second on the team with 16 strikeouts.
 
Following their series with the Mavericks, the Beavers return home for a doubleheader with University of Minnesota, Crookston at the BSU Baseball Field, Tuesday.
 
For more information on the Bemidji State Baseball program, follow the Beavers on X, like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram.
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--bsu—