Sean Williams/MDN Brent Riddle (2) of Minot State celebrates after scoring a run at Corbett Field earlier this season.

BISMARCK – They’ve battled on the diamond all season long to earn a berth in the postseason, and now the Minot State baseball team is ready to make its run at the NSIC Baseball Tournament.

Following a challenging season that saw the Beavers (29-17) play just 11 games at home, Minot State hits the road but doesn’t have to travel far as they head to Bismarck, North Dakota for the eight-team, double-elimination tournament that begins Wednesday.

Heading in as the sixth seed with a 29-17 overall record, the Beavers open the tournament playing third-seeded Minnesota Crookston (36-18) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Municipal Ballpark.

A very interesting match-up as the Golden Eagles have put together a historic season, setting school records for wins (36) and conference victories (26) along with records for runs with their NSIC best 445 runs, and home runs with 82.

But head-to-head with Minot State, the teams split their regular-season doubleheader as the Golden Eagles hit two solo home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 2-1 win in the opener before the Beavers rolled to a 13-3 victory in the nightcap.

Offense proved to be a key for Minot State that day and has been big all season long as the Beavers set their own single-season school records with 86 home runs – which leads the NSIC and is 9th-best in the nation – hits with 500 and RBIs with 350.

Gunnar Kozlowitz has been a leader for a balanced offensive onslaught as he finished the regular-season No. 2 in the NSIC with his .414 batting average, leading the Beavers who also were No. 2 in the league in hitting with a .324 team average.

Kozlowitz also shared the team lead in home runs with 15 as five Minot State players bashed double-digit dingers, and he was second in RBIs with 52.

Adding to the Beavers offensive bite were Derek Kay (.362, 14 HR, 57 RBIs), Brent Riddle (.345, 10 HR, 37 RBIs), Javier Gutierrez (.326, 15 HR, 33 RBIs), and Mark Ossanna (.333, 13 HR, 42 RBIs), who each hit double-digit home runs, and Matt Malone (.358, 7 HR, 32 RBIs), Martin Rodriguez (.306, 2 HR, 21 RBIs), and Dalin Ludlow (.300, 2 HR, 22 RBIs) who hit .300 or better, giving Minot State a potent starting lineup.

As for Minnesota Crookston, the Golden Eagles offense was powered by the one-two punch of Mike Hallquist and Jake Hjelle who each hit .403, third best in the NSIC, and who were one-two in home runs and RBIs in the league as Hjelle hit 22 bombs and drove in 77 runs, and Hallquist had 19 dingers and 61 RBIs.

But against Minot State pitching, that duo went a combined 3-for-12 with a solo home run and just one RBI.

Silencing those hitters will be a key in Wednesday’s matchup, but who will be asked to take on that task on the mound might be a question mark for Minot State, which has gotten a balanced effort from all five of its starting pitchers Gage Yost (5.01 era, 4-2), Bryant Bagshaw (5.43, 6-2), Craig Schmich (5.51, 5-4), Trevyn Bager (5.94, 2-2), and Dominick Parkhurst (6.34, 4-1).

As for the Golden Eagles, their potential starter looks to be NSIC ERA-leader Alex Koep. The left-handed senior did not pitch against Minot State in the team’s doubleheader on April 27, so the Beavers will likely get their first look at him Wednesday.

Koep led the NSIC with a 2.53 ERA as he went 7-1 on the season with 75 strikeouts in 57 innings..

The winner of Wednesday’s game moves into a quarterfinal match-up on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. with the winner of the second-seeded Minnesota State, Mankato (35-13) versus seventh-seeded Winona State (22-27) game. The loser plays in an elimination game Thursday at noon against the loser of the Mavericks versus Warriors match-up, and that winner would play a second elimination game Thursday evening.