SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (11-14, 5-4 NSIC, 7th) will host Upper Iowa (10-13, 6-6 NSIC, 8th) on Wednesday (April 13) for an NSIC doubleheader at 1:30/3:30 p.m. at Harmodon Park. This coming weekend, USF goes to Bemidji State for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at noon and 2 p.m.

This past week, the Cougars were 3-3 as they defeated Minnesota-Crookston, 14-1 and 15-8 last Wednesday before dropping 3-of-4 to UMD. They defeated UMD 13-8 in the final after falling 17-8, 31-16 and 5-4 in a high-scoring series at Harmodon Park.

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Cougars score in double digits four times in six games

While USF lost three of four games this past weekend, the Cougars had two wins last Wednesday over Minnesota-Crookston. In four of the past six games, USF has reached double digit in runs scored. In the six games, USF hit .393 with 86 hits in 219 at bats. They had 70 runs scored with 16 doubles, two triples and nine homeruns. USF had a .607 slugging percentage and a .469 OBP.

USF's offense was led this past week by Josh Rehwaldt and Dylan Gavin, who hit .481 while Anthony Lopez batted .476. Ed Reichenbach hit .381 with three home runs and 12 RBI with a .857 slugging pct. Reichenbach had 10 RBI in the sweep of UMC, including a career-best seven RBI in the 15-8 win. Rehwaldt and Connor Merriam, who hit .350 over the six-game span, both had nine RBI.

Offensive surge lifts average to .339

Since last Wednesday, USF has jumped their batting average from .319 to .339, which is fourth in the NSIC. Rehwaldt , who is making a big impression as a freshman first baseman, is hitting a team-best .425, which is 15th in the NSIC. Dylan Gavin, a sophomore who mostly pitched as a freshman, is also hitting .400 at .403 with three homeruns, 13 RBI and a .team-best .627 slugging pct. Rehwaldt now has a team-best nine game-hitting streak while Gavin, a sophomore, has a seven-game streak and is coming off a big week with the bat and on the mound.

Gavin hits and pitches Coo to win vs. UMD

Sophomore Dylan Gavin played a key role as USF finished 3-3 this past week. Overall he hit .481 with 13 hits in 27 at bats with nine runs scored and four doubles. He had two homeruns and six RBI. In addition, he had a .852 slugging and .500 OBP in the six games, increasing his hitting streak to seven games. He also starred on the mound with a start and win over UMD (14-1 win) and also had one inning of shut out relief vs. UMD. He was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six innings, allowing five hits and one run allowed in two appearances. In the doubleheader against UMD on Sunday, Gavin of Pueblo, Colo., hit .750 with six base hits in eight trips while accumulating five RBI and a slugging mark of 1.500 with an OBP of .750. In USF's 13-8 game two win, Gavin collected career highs of four hits and had four RBI while tossing an inning of relief.

 In the seventh inning of game two after UMD had scored two runs, he entered the game and shut down the Bulldogs rally by inducing a popup and a game-ending double play. In the opener, USF dropped a 5-4 decision in eight innings but Gavin had two hits and an RBI. For the weekend, Gavin hit .625 with 10 hits in 16 at bats with seven runs, two home runs and six RBI. He had a monstrous slugging mark of 1.240 and an OBP of .647 during the four-game set.

Player Notes

All-league right-fielder Matthew Minnick has shined in his sophomore season. Minnick has had a team-best 12-game hitting streak and has a five-game streak going now. He is hitting .381 with three HRs and 21 RBI with a team-high 56 total bases. Minnick owns a .577 hitting percentage and a .450 OBP. In addition, he has a team best 37 hits and 25 runs with five steals in seven attempts. With eight multi-hit games this year, Minnick has 25 in his career. In addition, the sophomore has reached base in 20 straight games with six multi-RBI games.

Sophomore center-fielder Rob Johnson is hitting .340 with a team-high 23 RBI. Johnson, who has three assists and no errors in center field, has a team-high 12 multi-hit games, including 10 games with two hits. He also has five multi RBI games and reached base nine straight games.

Junior outfielder Trevor Crow is hitting. 321 with 24 starts. He has four steals, three doubles and a team-high three triples. He is also perfect in fielding with 34 putouts and five assists.

Behind the dish, sophomore Connor Merriam has been solid with 17 assists including throwing out 12 of 33 would be base stealers. At the plate, Merriam is hitting .316 with a .464 OBP, which is second best on the team (Anthony Lopez, .514). Merriam has three home runs and 19 RBI with 24 runs. On the mound, USF owns a 7.91 ERA with 180 runs allowed in 179.2 innings. Of those runs, 158 have been earned on 237 hits. USF is led by Gavin, who is 5-0 with a 4.32 ERA. Zachary Miller is 2-3 with a 5.20 ERA with a team-high 29 strikeouts. Freshman Dan Johnson is 1-3 but has a respectable 5.57 ERA with six starts and 21 innings with 14 strikeouts.

This and That

The Cougars have been the most productive in second inning of games this year with a 35-to-16 advantage. In the third inning, they own a 33-to-23 edge. In games in which USF has reached double digit runs, they are 8-1. USF has a 10-5 mark when they score first and are 1-9 when the opponent strikes first. When they out-hit opponents, USF is 11-3 and 0-10 when the opponents hold the hits edge. Against right-handed starters, USF is 7-10 and 4-4 vs. southpaws. In one-run games, USF has a 1-4 mark and 6-5 when they own a five run or greater advantage.

Last time – USF drops two to UIU in '15

The two squads have met just once, in Fayette a year ago. On April 8, 2015, the Cougars lost twice to Upper Iowa in Fayette. The Cougars lost a 15-7 decision in the first game. USF had three hits from Austin Richey and Noah Durkin and two from Gunner Peterson. Upper Iowa took a 13-0 lead before USF rallied to within 14-7. In game two of the series, Upper Iowa broke from a 2-2 game in the seventh inning by scoring four runs and added three more in the eighth inning.

Upper Iowa gives SCSU 1st loss

Upper Iowa, which has lost five of eight games, handed #1 St. Cloud State its only loss of the season on April 9 with a 3-1 decision in St. Cloud. However, SCSU won the other three matchups, 19-0, 13-10 and 14-4.

Anthony Calton leads UIU in hitting with a .338 average and has 14 RBI. Luis Ravelo, who is hitting .318, has three home runs and 17 RBI while Colton Janssen, who is batting .282, is tied for a team-high 18 RBI with Jacob Greco (.270). As a team UIU is hitting .292 and has a .394 OBP. They are giving up 7.71 runs per game, athough Mitch Moser has been solid with a 4-1 record and a 5.45 ERA. Tyus Adkins is 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

Guilano has 167 career wins at USF

Matt Guiliano is in his ninth season as the University of Sioux Falls Head Baseball Coach. A native of San Diego, he was appointed the Cougars' head baseball coach in May 2007 and has made a mark on the program with a career coaching record of 167-215 (.436). Guiliano has led USF to a 11-14 mark this year, including 5-4 and seventh place in the NSIC.