After nearly three weeks of Western Athletic Conference play, UND’s baseball team will take a break and play a non-conference series.

The Green and White are heading to Omaha, Neb., to take on the Creighton baseball team for three games this weekend.

After a slow start to the season, UND is starting to look like the team that finished its season one game away from the championship.

Last weekend ended with a little bit of history for the team. Against Northern Colorado, North Dakota accomplished its first sweep of a Division I baseball team in UND school history.

Even though the coaches knew what was at stake, they did not make it the focus of the game.

“We didn’t say a word about it,” UND coach Jeff Dodson said with a laugh. “I just wanted the guys to come out and play baseball and see how they responded after a big double header sweep.”

Though the sweep was a highlight, there is more to take away from last weekend

This team is hot, and playing its best baseball of the season. The Green and White are on a season high four-game win streak and will look to build on it this weekend against Creighton.

This surge has catapulted UND up from last in the WAC to fourth place, with a conference record of 6-3.

Pitching has been a huge part of UND’s recent success. Jeff Campbell has been hot, winning the last three games in a row. In that stretch, he has pitched two complete games, struck out 14 total batters compared to his first two games with only three, and lowered his ERA from 5.06 to 3.41.

Along with Campbell, freshmen up-and-comer Zach Muckenhirn is pitching at a high level for the Green and White. While his record is only 1-2, Muckenhirn sports a 3.58 ERA and leads the team with 28 strikeouts, which is 11 more than the next closest pitcher (Campbell, 17).

In the batting department, Ryan Reese and Jeff Campbell have been the go-to guys. Reese has the best batting average on the team at .345, while also collecting the most hits with 20. Campbell has been the power hitter, as he leads the team with four homeruns and is tied for team lead in RBI’s with 10.

UND will be traveling to Creighton at the opportune time. The Bluejays have been in a slump as of late, losing four out of five games.

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].