On Tap: The Minnesota State Mavericks, now 18-11 (9-6 NSIC), hit the road this week for six away games before taking to the road for another six next week.

The Mavericks will travel to Fayette, Iowa this Thursday for a double header against the Peacocks and then will make their way to St. Paul, Minn., to take on the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday and Sunday.  Thursday's double header is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start.

Last Time on the Diamond:  With this past weekend off, the MSU's  last games played were against Augustana University on Wednesday, April 13, in Mankato.

MSU split with the Vikings at the MSU Baseball Complex last Wednesday, winning the first game 6-2 before taking a loss in game two by a score of 10-4.  

Sophomore pitcher Aaron Rozek (3-1) collected his third win of the season in game one while sophomore Brody Rodning (3-1) picked up his first-career save in the Maverick's 6-2 victory.  Rozek went four innings in giving up one run on seven hits while striking out two to start while Rodning struck out three in three innings pitched, giving up one run on two hits.

The Mavericks scored first in the bottom of the first inning in coupling two hits and a walk with a wild pitch to get junior Eric Peterson across to take a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota State stretched their lead to 4-0 after the bottom of the fourth frame when sophomore Josh Wenzel, junior Hunter Harnisch, and seniors Kyle Toth and Taylor Branstad all singled.  Toth batted in Wenzel and Harnisch with two outs while Toth scored on Branstad's single to right.

Augie pushed their two runs across in the top of the fifth and sixth innings, cutting the Maverick's lead to two before MSU cemented the win with two more in the bottom half of the sixth.

At the plate, the Mavericks were led by Peterson who went 3-3 with two runs and on batted in with a walk.

Redshirt freshman Jon Ludwig went seven innings in game two, allowing three runs on nine Viking hits while striking out three in his no-decision start.  Senior reliever Peter Gaustad (0-1) took his first loss of the season in giving up his first runs on the 2016 season.  The right-hander gave up three runs on one hit in 1.1 innings pitched.

The Mavericks were sporting a 4-3 lead heading into the top of the ninth inning before the Vikings rallied for seven runs to get the split.

Augustana jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Minnesota State tied it up in the bottom of the third.  Harnisch hit a one-out single to left followed by a double from senior Chase Lonetti.  Peterson then hit a single to bring in both Harnisch and Lonetti from second and third.  

The Mavericks took their first lead in the bottom of the fifth when freshman Chase Lonetti touched home on a Branstad bases-loaded walk, making it a 3-2 game.  Augie pushed one across to tie the game in the top of the seventh while MSU put one more on the board for a 4-3 lead.

The Vikings rallied in the top of the ninth with seven to ultimately take the win and move their record to 20-8 (11-1 NSIC).

Offensively, seven different Mavericks collected one hit while Peterson recorded two RBI in the loss.

Scouting the Peacocks: Most recently, Upper Iowa lost three-of-four games against Minnesota-Crookston matching the Golden Eagles in the four-game set with a combined score of 26 runs.  On the season, The Peacock sit 11-16 and 7-9 in the Northern Sun.

UIU is headed by Mark Danker who is in his 17th season at the helm of the program and 27th year on the staff.  The Peacocks have recorded winning records in all of Danker's 17 seasons and three conference titles.  

Upper Iowa is led by Zachary Cain at the plate who is batting .462 in 26 at bats while Luis Ravelo had tabbed 25 runs batted in.  On the mound, Mitch Moser lead the Peacocks with a 4-1 record with a 5.45 ERA and 34.2 innings pitched.

Looking at the Golden Bears: Last Saturday and Sunday, Concordia-St. Paul was swept four games to zero by Minnesota-Duluth.  The Bulldogs outscored the Golden Bears by a mark of 35-23 in the four-game set.  CSP is now 16-8 on the season and 9-6 in conference play.

Head coach Mark McKenzie is in his 17th year of coach in the Golden Bears and boasts a 372-285-1 record in his time.  Leading the team at the plate is Alex LaPorte who is batting .361 with 26 hits in 72 at bats.  Connor Olson is right behind him batting .356 with a team-leading .711 slugging percentage and 26 RBI.  Leading the way for the pitching staff is Kody Knaus who sits at 4-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 26 innings pitched.  

Last Matchup: Last season, the Mavericks defeated the Peacocks in the two contests they played by scores of 7-4 and 7-4.  The Mavericks also claimed four victories over the Golden Bears last season, outscoring CSP a combined 29-9.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season marks the 76th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,683-846-7 (.665) all-time record in 2,536 total games. Minnesota State has five Northern Intercollegiate Conference titles (1968, 1969, 1979, 1980, 1981), Nineteen 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.

Leading the Herd: Leading the Mavericks at the plate is junior Eric Peterson who is batting .364 in starting all 29 games at third base.  Peterson also leads the team with a .511 on base percentage (9th NSIC), 39 runs scored (T-5th NSIC), 19 walks,  and 12 hit by pitches.  Senior Taylor Branstad leads the team with 28 runs batted in while  sophomore Luke Waldek leads the team with or is tied for the team lead with eighth doubles and 38 hits.

Dresel leads the team and ranks second in the conference with 2128 putouts while boasting a .992 fielding percentage. Toth leads the team and ranks fifth in the NSIC with 74 assists through the Mavericks first 29 games.  As a team, Minnesota State ranks second in the conference with 24 double plays turned, fourth with 1043 chances in the field and 268 assists, fifth with 713 putouts, while culminating a .958 overall fielding percentage.
 
On the mound, junior Mitchell Bauer leads the starting corpse with a 3.00 ERA composing a 3-2 record in six starts. Four other Mavericks have also collected three wins on the year while sophomore Brody Rodning is pacing the staff in strikeouts with 48, good for second in the conference in 36.2 innings pitched.  Senior reliever Peter Guastad and red-shirt freshman Daniel Feneis have made a team-high 11 appearances out of the pen.

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 is in his eighth season at the helm of the Mavericks baseball program. Magers has produced a 324-97 (.770) record and now sits in second for all-time wins at Minnesota State behind his predecessor Dean Boyer (1977-2008/ 990 wins). Magers is one of three coaches at MSU who has passed the 200 wins mark (Jean McCarthy: 1964-76/ 250 wins).

40+: Minnesota State has recorded eight 40-or-more-win seasons in its 76 seasons of competition, including 51 wins in 2012. Six of those seasons have come under the watch of head coach Matt Magers. 

Left-Right: MSU is Batting .339 against left-handed pitchers while the lineup is hitting .284 vs. right handers.  Pitching-wise, the Maverick staff is dealing . 238 batting average to left-handed hitters vs. a .303 batting average to right-handed hitters.

Runners On vs. Empty Pond: The Mavericks are batting .303 with runners on base while batting .295 when the bases are empty.

Ducks On the Pond: Minnesota State is hitting .299 with runners in scoring position while the pitching staff is serving up a .268 average to opposing hitters when there are runners in scoring position.

Streaking: In the first 22 games of the season Eric Peterson had reached base and at one point rode a team-high 12-game hitting streak. Hunter Harnisch has the highest-current hitting streak of four games Luke Waldek has reached base in each of the last 10 games.

Get 'Em In: The Mavericks are batting a solid .682 with runners on third and less than two outs.

Preseason Prognostications:  Minnesota State was selected to finish second 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 Central Region 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 returning 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.

Minnesota State in the Polls:  The Mavericks rank 9th in the most recent NCBWA DII Central Region Poll. 

Welcome to Minnesota State: The Maverick's 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 Minnesota State's six games this week, they will hit the road again for the second half of their 12-game roadie playing two games at Northern State on April 27 in Aberdeen, S.D., before heading to Winona, Minn., to play a four-game series against Winona State April 30- May 1.

To view the full release, click HERE.