On Tap: No. 10 Minnesota State wraps up its conference schedule this week when it hosts a doubleheader with Concordia-St. Paul (15-11, 8-6 NSIC) Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. on Senior Day before battling MIAA-member Truman State in Kirksville, Mo., Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday at 12:00 p.m. in its regular-season finale.
 
Last Time on the Diamond:  The Mavericks claimed three-of-four games last week from host Wayne State to improve to 29-8 overall and 18-4 in NSIC play. Minnesota State swept Sautrday’s games by scores of 15-4 and 6-0, before splitting on Sunday thanks to an 8-1 win and 3-1 defeat. Sunday’s defeat snapped a 12-game winning streak for the Purple and Gold, their longest of the season up to this point.
 
Junior righthander Jason Hoppe moved to 6-1 overall after tossing his second straight nine-inning, complete-game shutout in game two of the series. Hoppe recorded a season-best 14 strikeouts in the contest and has not allowed a run in his last 23 innings pitched. Fellow junior righthander Bryce Bellin improved to 2-1 on the year by firing six scoreless innings with a season-high seven strikeouts as MSU earned an 8-1 victory in game three of the four-game set.
 
On the offensive side, sophomore third baseman Connor McCallum had his season-best 16-game hitting and 17-game on-base streaks come to an end Sunday. However, senior second baseman Lucas Skjefte was swinging a hot bat going 7-for-14 (.500) with a double, a home run, two runs scored and five RBI, while junior first baseman Stetson Olson went 7-for-16 (.438) with a home run, three doubles, five runs and six RBI and added a stolen base.
 
A Look at the Golden Bears: Concordia-St. Paul owns a 16-12 overall record and a 9-7 mark in NSIC play after splitting a four-game series at home last weekend against the University of Sioux Falls. Offensively, CU holds the second-worst batting average (.253) in the NSIC along with the second-worst slugging percentage (.335). However, the Golden Bears’ pitching staff has the fifth-best ERA (4.19) in the league and the fourth-lowest opponent batting average (.256).
 
CU is led offensively by senior Greg Larpenter (IF/OF, 5-9, R/R, Urbandale, Iowa) who is batting a team-best .346 with 13 runs scored plus seven doubles, two home runs, 15 RBI and a .531 slugging percentage, all of which are team-highs. Additionally, sophomore Kyle Dalton (2B, 6-0, L/R, Minnetonka, Minn.) is hitting .323with 12 RBI, 15 runs scored and a team leading four stolen bases. On the mound, freshman Zach Rengel (LHP, 6-2, 190, L/L, Fergus Falls, Minn.) owns a team-low 1.95 ERA and 3-2 overall record with 39 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched.
 
A Look at the Bulldogs: Truman State currently holds a 12-34 overall record and 11-32 mark in the Mid-America Athletic Association which is good for 13th-place among the 15 teams in the league.
 
The Bulldogs are led at the dish by sophomore Paul Trenhaile (1B/3B, 6-5, 195, Hannibal, Mo.) who is hitting .371 with team-highs in runs (38), RBI (34), doubles (11), home runs (4), triples (2) and slugging percentage (.541), while senior Blake Marino (3B, 6-1, 175, R/R, San Antonio, Texas) is batting .358 with 21 runs, 21 RBI, 10 doubles and three homeruns. On the hill, senior Logan Siegler (RHP, 6-0, 210, Freeburg, Mo.) stands 5-5 on the year with a 4.82 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 65.1 innings pitched.
Minnesota State History: The 2013 season marks the 74th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,571-812-7 (.659) all-time record in 2,390 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.

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