On Tap: Ninth-rated Minnesota State begins its 2016 campaign this weekend as they head south to the University of Arkansas At Monticello in Monticello,  Ark.  The Mavericks and Weevils will play a doubleheader on Friday with game one beginning at noon and the second game to start at 2 p.m. On Sunday the two teams will play the third and final game of the series at Weevils Field, with the first pitch set at noon and 12 p.m.

Last Time on the Diamond:  Last spring, Minnesota State made its 34th and 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA DII National Tournament. The Mavericks coursed a 2-2 performance at the regional tournament, dropping their last two against Henderson State and this year's No. 4 preseason-ranked team St. Cloud State by scores of 9-6 and 5-4, respectively.

Inside the Maverick-Weevil Series: Minnesota State has just played two games vs. Arkansas-Monticello in its history.  In 2014, the Mavericks traveled to Monticello, Ark., and split with the Weevils by scores of 4-3 and 5-8.

A Look at the Weevils: Arkansas-Monticello comes into the three-game series against Minnesota State with a 3-1 record, most recently having beat to Delta State at home by a clip of 13-10 on Tuesday and getting downed to St. Mary's (Texas) in Houston by a score of 13-5 last Sunday.

Through there first four games, the Weevils are batting .277 with 33 runs scored on 38 hits. In the field UAM has committed six errors and has a fielding percentage of .962. On the mound the Weevils have a team earned run average of 7.71, serving up 27 strikeouts and handing their opponents 15 free bases on walks. 

The Weevils are led offensively by junior Nick Pirnaino (INF) who is batting .467 with seven hits including one double while batting in three runs this season. UAM has used four different starting pitchers in all four of their games.  Sophomore  Braden Chambers leads the starting rotation for the Weevils (RHP) owning a record of 1-0 and a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings. Junior Grant Black is right behind him with a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 innings of work and no decisions. Sophomore Dawson Moser leads the relieving corpse with three appearances and a 2.45 ERA in 3.2 innings pitched.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season marks the 76th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,665-835-7 (.666) all-time record in 2,507 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 four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference crowns (2010, 2011, 2012,2014). The program has 34 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, 2013, 2014, 2015) and eight in the NCAA Division II World Series (1971, 1979, 1980, 1986, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) including third-place finishes in 2012 and 2014 and a national runner-up performance in 2013.   Additionally, 10 Mavericks have been selected as All-Americans.

Quick Hitters (2015):

• The Mavericks posted their sixth-straight 40+ win season last season with a 43-9 record.
• MSU batted .390 with runners in scoring position last season
• The Purple and Gold were 30-2 when they scored six runs or more in a game
• When MSU held opponents to two runs or fewer they posted a 16-0 record and when opponents scored 3-5 runs the Mavericks were 18-6.
• Minnesota State was 32-2 when they scored first in a game
• The Mavericks outscored their opponent in every regulation inning last season for total clip of 429-213 runs scored, including a 55-18 (37 runs) mark in the fourth inning and a 60-27 (33 runs) margin in the seventh.

Leading the Herd: In 2015, senior Max Waletich led Minnesota State with a .423 batting average, .656 slugging percentage, .487 on base percentage, 54 RBI, and nine homeruns while finishing second in hits with 69 and total bases with 107. Not to be overshadowed by Waletich was senior Nolan Johnson who led the Purple and Gold with 81 hits, 23 doubles, 117 total bases, while coming in second with a .399 batting average, a .591 slugging percentage, and five homers. Senior Connor McCallum also provide some offensive prowess leading the Mavericks with 51 runs scored, and finishing second in RBI with 47 and doubles with 16 and third in hits (68), homeruns (4), and total bases (98). 

On the bump, sophomore Dalton Roach led the starting rotation with a 1.91 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 56.2 innings of work engineering a 6-1 record in 13 appearances.  Roach will enter the season with opponents calibrating a measly .174 batting average off of the right-hander.  Junior Dakota Belter led the entire staff with 21 appearances on the mound and a 1.77 ERA recording 11 saves in his 35.2 innings pitched.

Setting the Standard: Minnesota State finished in the top-10 of the NCAA DII circuit in four different categories in the country last season, including a number one ranking in batting average at .355. The Mavericks also finished fourth in win-loss percentage at 82.7%, in a tie for eighth with 621 hits, and in a tie for ninth with a 42% on base percentage. 

Sensational Skipper: Head coach Matt Magers will begin his eighth season at the helm of the Mavericks program. Magers has produced a 306-86 record and now sits in second for all-time wins at Minnesota State behind his predecessor Dean Boyer (1977-2008). Magers is one of three coaches at MSU who has passed the 200 wins mark (Jean McCarthy: 1964-76).

40+: Minnesota State as recorded eight 40-or-more-win seasons in its 76 seasons of competition. Six of those seasons have come under the reign of Head Coach Matt Magers. 

Preseason Prognostications:  Minnesota State was selected to finish in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll garnering 5 of the 15 first place votes. Nationally, the Mavericks were ranked No. 9 in the NCBWA Preseason poll and were No. 2 in the regional poll.

Senior Taylor Branstad and sophomore Dalton Roach were selected to the NSIC Players to Watch List while Branstad garnered NCBWA All-Central Region Preseason Team honors.

Position Breakdown:  The 2016 Minnesota State baseball roster features a total of 18 pitchers. Of the 305.1 innings
accumulated by the Mavericks' top-six pitchers last season, five are retuning who accounted for 260 IP. MSU's pitching
arsenal won't be missing much as the five pitchers who are gone after last season accounted for just five wins in 2015. Of the 18 pitchers on the roster, four of them are southpaws and of the 13 position players on the roster, eight of
them are infielders. The Mavericks have four outfielders and will carry six catchers along with two utility players.

NSIC Breakdown: In 2015, the Maverick's offense held in the top-quarter of the conference in batting average (1st/.355), hits (3rd/621), doubles (3rd/122), runs (4th/429), RBI (4th/375), total bases (4th/871), and slugging percentage (4th/.497).  Toeing the slab, Minnesota State ranked in the top three in the conference in saves (1st/13), ERA (2nd/3.88), shutouts (2nd/5), hits allowed (2nd/413), opponents batting average (2nd/.263), and earned runs allowed (3rd/177).  Defensively, the Mavericks made just 69 errors (.961) in 2015, ranking third in the NSIC in fielding percentage.

Welcome to Minnesota State: The Mavericks roster this season features 17 newcomers including 16 freshman on the squad.  Along with 17 fresh faces on the roster, the Mavericks also acquired the assistance of newly-hired Assistant Coach P.J. McIntee.  McIntee joins the program this season after serving as an assistant at Morehead State (Ky.) in 2015, helping  the Eagles claim an Ohio Valley Conference tournament title in 2015.

What Lies Ahead: After the three-game series with Arkansas-Monticello, Minnesota State will hit the road at the beginning of March when it heads to Daytona Beach. The Mavericks will play 10 games in an eight-day stretch in Florida. Opponents featured on the spring trip are Ashland (Ohio),  Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Florida Southern, Grand Valley State (Mich.), Northwood University (Mich.), Ohio Dominican, Walsh (Ohio), and West Chester (Penn.). The first games commence March 3rd in a double-header vs. Embry-Riddle.

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