On Tap: No. 11 Minnesota State (15-4, 4-0 NSIC) - who is riding a five-game winning streak - looks to stay unblemished in conference play this weekend as it hosts Northern State (7-7, 0-0 NSIC) in a pair of doubleheaders Friday (1:00 p.m. MT) and Saturday (11:30 p.m. MT) at Fitzgerald Stadium in Rapid City, S.D.
 
Last Time on the Diamond:  The Mavericks claimed all four games from visiting Minnesota, Crookston last week at the Metrodome outscoring the Golden Eagles 34-2 to open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. MSU won 9-0 and 10-0 Sunday night before capturing two victories on Monday afternoon by margins of 3-0 and 12-2.
 
Senior righthander Harvey Martin recorded seven strikeouts and allowed only one baserunner in five scoreless innings to earn the win in game one, while junior righthander Jason Hoppe fanned nine UMC hitters and scattered two hits and a pair of walks over seven shutout innings to move to 4-0 overall in the second game. The Mavericks pitching prowess continued in game three as junior righthander Tyler Ockuly tallied 11 strikeouts without allowing a run in six innings of three-hit baseball. Senior righthander Mahlon Zimmerman picked up his fifth save of the year in the contest.
 
Junior firstbaseman Stetson Olson had a fantastic series at the plate for MSU going 7-for-13 (.538) with three homeruns, five runs and eight RBI. The transfer fom Washington State added two stolen bases while producing 16 total bases and a 1.231 slugging percentage in the four-game set. Olson received NSIC Player of the Week honors Mar. 25 for his performance. Sophomore infielder Connor McCallum was equally impressive as he went 6-for-12 with a double, two RBI and four runs scored. As a team, the Mavericks posted a .975 fielding percentage and sparkling 0.00 ERA in the series while hitting a combined .321 and limiting UMC’s hitters to a .134 batting average.
 
A Look at the Wolves: Northern State owns a 7-7 overall record and will begin NSIC play this weekend against MSU. In their most recent action, the Wolves were swept by Division-I North Dakota State, 5-2 and 16-2, March 23rd in the Metrodome. Offensively, NSU is currently tied for first in the conference with nine triples, second in slugging percentage at .432, tied for second in homeruns with four and sixth in batting average at .305. The Wolves pitching staff has the second-worst ERA in the league at 7.45 and is allowing the third-highest opponent batting average at .337. 
 
Northern State is led at the plate by junior Trevor Sporrer (OF, 5-11, 190, R/R, Chino Hills, Calif.) who owns a team-high .481 batting average with six runs and two RBI in 27 at-bats. Senior Brent Lawrence (OF, 5-10, 180, L/R, Vancouver, B.C.) is hitting .333 with team-highs in runs (13), extra-base hits (6), slugging percentage (.571) and stolen bases (6), while junior Derek Tymesen (3B, 6-0, 195, R/R, Spirit Lake, Idaho) is right behind with a .316 batting average, .553 slugging percentage and team-high 17 RBI. Senior Sean Winslow (LHP, 6-1, 175, L/L, Sheldon, Calif.) has a 1-1 record with a 3.21 ERA, team-best 18 strikeouts and eight walks in 14.0 innings, while senior Clint Manzo (RHP, 6-5, 225, R/R, Gustine, Calif.) stands 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA, 17 strikeouts and eight walks in a team-high 17.1 innings pitched. The Wolves are coached by Dean Berry who is in his third year at the helm of the program.
 
Minnesota State History: The 2013 season marks the 74th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,557-808-7 (.657) all-time record in 2,372 total games. Minnesota State has five Northern Intercollegiate Conference titles (1968, 1969, 1979, 1980, 1981), 19 North Central Conference championships (1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007) and three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference crowns (2010, 2011, 2012). The program has 31 appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and six in the NCAA Division II World Series (1971, 1979, 1980, 1986, 2010, 2012) including two third-place finishes in 1980 and 2012.
 
Additionally, five Mavericks have been selected as All-Americans.
 
To view the complete seven-page PDF of this release, click HERE.