#4 St. Cloud State (21-5, 9-3 NSIC) collides with Wayne State (19-7, 10-3 NSIC) this Wednesday in a two-game midweek series beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Dick Putz Field.

Both games can be heard on the KVSC Sports Stream, with Husky Den Pregame at 11:45 a.m.

The Huskies are half a game behind Wayne for third place in the Northern Sun. SCSU will hope to rebound from a tough sweep at the hands of Augustana on Monday, a series in which they hit just 3-17 with runners in scoring position, while Wayne State enters the set on a 10-game winning streak.

Cal Giese and Matt Osterberg are the scheduled starters for St. Cloud State. Giese comes off an outstanding start at Upper Iowa, firing 4.0 innings of two-hit ball with four punchouts. Osterberg struck out 8 at Upper Iowa, allowing just a lone earned run over 4.0 frames.

Wayne State is set to counter with sophomore Aaron Ras (2-1, 4.91 ERA) and freshman Ryan Obrecht (3-0, 2.05 ERA). Ras earned Wayne State Athletics’ Male Freshman of the Year honors in 2018 after going 5-2 with a 4.02 ERA over 10 starts, striking out 44 and holding opponents to a .249 average across 53.2 innings. The southpaw has struggled a bit this season, walking 18 over 18.1, albeit with 29 strikeouts. Obrecht has made six appearances with three starts, posting a 2.05 ERA over 22.0 innings.

Redshirt-senior third baseman Kyle Thompson (.385/.431/.635, 5 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 31 RBI) leads a potent Wildcat lineup, protected by All-Region first baseman Bryce Bisenius (.944 OPS, 4 2B, 6 HR, 29 RBI), All-NSIC honoree Andrew Hanson (.858 OPS, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR) and All-American leftfielder Travis Miller (4 HR). Centerfielder Brendan Madsen (.330/.443/.415, 8 2B, 13-19 SB) and rightfielder Alex Logelin (.347/.435/.632, 16 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 4-4 SB) set the table for the powerful middle-of-the-order.

Wayne’s bullpen features a stalwart closer in Charles Hasty. The senior has saved five games with a 1.84 ERA in 15 appearances this season, striking out 16 and walking just 6 in 14.2 innings. Andrew Staebell serves as the primary bridge arm to Hasty, holding a 3.18 ERA over 11 appearances and 22.2 frames.