STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific baseball team continues its seven-game homestand to begin the 2024 season with a three-game series against North Dakota State, beginning Friday at 5 p.m. at Klein Family Field.
 
The Tigers (1-3) opened the season by defeating UNLV in the home opener, 2-1, before dropping a Sunday doubleheader by scores of 6-5 (10 inn.) and 8-0. Pacific then fell 9-5 to Seattle in a standalone game on Presidents' Day.
 
This weekend, the Tigers and Bison (0-4) go head-to-head for the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
 
Starting the 2024 season with 28 consecutive road games, NDSU opened its campaign getting swept at UC Irvine. The next game against Long Beach State was canceled due to rain in the area. NDSU's most recent contest came Wednesday at Cal Poly where the Mustangs hit a walk-off single in the ninth inning to defeat the Bison, 5-4.
 
The Bison were picked to finish second in the Summit League Preseason Poll, earning 21 total points and one first-place vote. NDSU's Will Busch and Parker Puetz were named to the Summit League Players to Watch List. Last season, Busch posted a .252 batting average with 32 hits, 11 doubles and two home runs.
 
Puetz made 16 appearances with 10 starts on the mound a season ago. He led the Summit League with a 2.51 ERA in his freshman campaign and totaled 47 strikeouts over 61.0 innings. Puetz earned a spot on the All-Summit League Second Team and the D1Baseball Freshman All-America Second Team.
 
The Tigers enter their series seeking to continue their success on the mound from the starting rotation. Junior Ethan Shaver, redshirt junior Josh Souza and junior Jakob Guardado have given up just a combined four runs in 15.0 innings while striking out six batters.
 
Through four games, senior Chase Graves paces the Tigers with a .333 batting average (4-for-12) with three runs and a .529 on-base percentage. His five walks drawn are the second-most in the West Coast Conference.
 
Sophomore Jack Metcho has taken advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position, driving in five Tigers for the team lead in RBIs, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Sophomore Andrew Sloan also produced effectively at the plate, hitting .308 (4-for-13) with a triple, which puts him a tie for first in the conference.
 
Series Information
North Dakota State at Pacific – Friday, Feb. 23 at 5 pm
North Dakota State at Pacific – Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 pm
North Dakota State at Pacific – Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1 pm
 
For all the latest news on the Tigers, be sure to visit www.pacifictigers.com and follow us on X (@PacificTigers), Instagram (@PacificTigers) and like the department's official Facebook page (Pacific Athletics).
  
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