SMSU baseBALL vs. AUGUSTANA

PREVIEWING SUNDAY AND MONDAY

• The Southwest Minnesota State University (20-26, 10-24 NSIC) baseball team concludes the 2026 season on Wednesday hosting nationally ranked Augustana University (33-12, 26-6 NSIC) at Legion Field with a doubleheader (7-9) starting at 3 p.m.
• Augustana is receiving votes in both the D2 Baseball Top 25 and ABCA Top 30 polls this week.
• Augustana was also one of 10 teams ranked in the first NCAA Central Region rankings released on April 22.

HEAD COACH JEREMY ISCHE

• Jeremy Ische, the sixth head coach in team history, is in his third season with a record of 70-74. He was named to the position on June 15, 2023.
• SMSU finished 27-23 overall and placed sixth in the NSIC at 20-19 during his first season as head coach in 2024. SMSU won its opening game at the NSIC tournament, earning the program's first conference tournament victory since the 2014 season.
• Prior to SMSU, Ische spent five seasons (2019-23) as head coach at Upper Iowa University compiling a record of 57-125.
• In seven seasons as a head coach he has a career record of 123-195.
• He was an assistant coach at UIU for two seasons (2017-18) prior to becoming head coach.
• Ische was also an assistant coach at Luther College (2015-16), SMSU (2013-14) and St. Cloud Tech (2012).

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE VIKINGS

• AU holds a 70-46 all-time lead over SMSU in a series that started in 1980.
• AU leads 37-9 in league games since joining the NSIC in 2009.
• AU has won the last 11 meetings and holds a 36-5 advantage since the 2012 season.

MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS

• As a team, the Mustangs are batting .288, while scoring 7.1 runs per game. SMSU pitchers have recorded a 6.04 ERA with 283 strikeouts in 346 2/3 innings. The Mustangs have committed 53 errors in 1,513 total chances (.965 fielding pct.).
• SMSU has set a team record for hit by pitches for the second straight season. SMSU has been hit 81 times this spring, breaking last season's previous record of 74.
• SMSU turned a triple play to end the game in a victory over Minnesota State on April 11. It was the program's first triple play since 2016 versus Upper Iowa.
• In NSIC play, eight of SMSU's losses have come with its opponent scoring in its last at bat.
• SMSU has suffered nine losses by two runs or less in league play.
• SMSU's eight-game winning streak earlier this season was the program's longest since the 2010 season.
• Senior Levi Lampert had a 64-game on-base streak come to an end on March 10 versus Concordia-St. Paul. Lampert reached base safely in all 47 games last season and the first 17 games this spring.
• Sophomore Jared Cortez is batting a team-high .379 with a team-high 16 doubles, while ranking second on the team with 36 RBIs. He is tied for the team-high with 21 multi-hit games. In NSIC games, Cortez ranks first in the league in hits (49) and fifth in doubles (12).
• Lampert is batting .358 with 13 doubles and team-leading seven home runs. He is tied with Cortez with 21 multi-hit games and had a team-high 15-game hitting streak earlier this season.
• Junior Connor Davis has five home runs, a team-leading 41 RBIs, is batting .322 while leading the squad with 12 multi-RBI games.
• Redshirt freshman Tanner Rezny was hitting .357 with three doubles, three home runs and 19 RBIs, but was injured on March 28, missing the remainder of the season.
• Senior Henry Hammrich reached base in 21 straight games earlier this season, the longest by a Mustang player this season.
• Junior Cody Wichmann has a 5.15 ERA in 57 2/3 innings with 53 strikeouts compiling a 3-3 record in 10 starts. He fired a three-hit, seven-inning shutout with a career-high nine strikeouts versus Jamestown on April 20.
• Sophomore Jameson Quinn is 4-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 11 starts with a team-high 52 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings.
• Junior Ryan Bell has made 11 starts and is 5-3 with a 5.01 ERA in 59 1/3 innings.
• Freshman Tad Tjaden has recorded 34 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.
• Redshirt freshman Ryan Dalager has made a team-high 16 appearances out of the bullpen, while sophomore Austin Dent and Lincoln Vasgaard have both pitched in 15 games.

QUINN TOSSES NO-HITTER, EARNS NSIC AWARD

• SMSU sophomore right-hander Jameson Quinn tossed the ninth no-hitter in team history last Saturday in a 1-0 seven-inning victory at Minnesota Duluth. He struck out six and walked one in facing two over the minimum. It's the first no-hitter since Joe Axelson tossed a seven-inning gem versus Bemidji State during the 2014 season in Tucson, Ariz.
• Quinn was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week on Monday for his efforts.

MUSTANGS IN THE NCAA STATS

• As of April 27, SMSU pitching ranks 10th in Division II in walks allowed per nine innings (3.43) and 25th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.11).
• The SMSU defense ranks 51st in double plays (35) and 58th in double plays per game (0.76).
• Jared Cortez ranks 70th in doubles (16).
• Ryan Bell ranks sixth in walks per nine innings (1.2) and 23rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.6).
• Jameson Quinn begins the week 28th in complete game (3), 54th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.33) and 57th in WHIP (1.18).

MUSTANG HISTORY

• SMSU is in its 57th season of baseball in 2026.
• SMSU has played 2,314 games compiling a record of 1,091-1,230-3.
• SMSU has won four NSIC championships (1974, 1994, 1996, 2002), four NSIC tournament titles (1996, 1997, 1999, 2002) and has played in one NCAA tournament (2009).

GAME LINKS