On Tap: The Minnesota State Mavericks, now 22-13 (13-8 NSIC), hit the road this week for their final-six away games of the 2016 season. 

The Mavericks take to Northern State (14-17, 7-11 NSIC) in Aberdeen, S.D., this Thursday, April 28 for a double header against the Wolves before heading to Winona, Minn.,  to take on the Warriors of Winona State(16-21-1, 13-11-1 NSIC) this weekend, April 30- May 1.

Last Time on the Diamond:  The Mavericks played six Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contests last week as they split with the Peacocks at Upper Iowa last Wednesday and took three of four games from Concordia-St. Paul this past weekend with two of those games in St. Paul, Minn., and two of those games in Mankato, Minn.

Minnesota State was shutout by the Peacocks in game one in Fayette, Iowa last Wednesday, 3-0 before recharging and taking game two by a score of 21-3.  Senior Kyle Toth and sophomore Josh Wenzel both collected two hits in the first contest before contributing with the rest of the line up in game two.

The Mavericks took a 6-0 lead after the top of the third inning in game two against Upper Iowa before the Peacocks could make a two-run mark on the score board in the bottom half of the third.  It was all Maverick offense after that at MSU went on to score 15 more runs in the seven-inning game.

The Minnesota State line up was led by four-hit and three RBI performances from freshman Jordan Hart and sophomore Ryan Moffett with Hart scoring two runs and Moffett scoring one. Sophomores Dylan Dresel and Luke Waldek  also played  big part in the affair with each of them hitting  home run. Dresel went 3-5 with three runs batted in and four scored while Waldek went 2-4 with four runs batted in and three scored.  Wenzel, Toth and senior Taylor Branstad also homered in the contest contributing to MSU's 20-hit victory.

On the mound, sophomore Brody Rodning picked up his fourth win in moving his record to 4-1 on the 2016 season.  The left-hander threw five complete in giving up one earned run on seven hits, three walks and striking out nine.

In the series with Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State combined for 12 home runs including going deep seven times in game two.  

In games one and two, the Mavericks counted for 21 runs with 14 in each of the contests. In game one the Golden Bears took the lead at 1-0 in the bottom of the second but relinquished it when MSU tallied four in the top of the third. Concordia-St. Paul chipped away with five runs scored in the bottom halves of the third and fourth to take 6-4 lead.

The Mavericks went on to score 10 more runs over the next three innings to the Golden Bear's one for a final at 14-7.

Junior Mitchell Bauer collected his fourth win in upping his record to 4-2 in 2016. 

Game two was highlighted by Toth and Moffett's two home run performance with Wenzel, Hart, and junior Eric Peterson all contributing with home runs as well in the 14-0 win.  

Redshirt freshman Jon Ludwig earned his first-career win in the shutout, throwing the complete seven innings with no runs allowed on two hits given up.  His seven innings thrown ties a career-high for innings thrown while his eight strike outs mark as a personal career-best.

Due to inclement weather and rain accumulated on Saturday and Sunday, games three and four were moved to Mankato with CSP remaining as the home team.

Minnesota State won game three 8-3 over the Golden Bears with redshirt freshman Daniel Feneis (1-0) picking up his first-career win in relief with four innings pitched not allowing a single run and striking out two batters.

The Golden Bears again struck first in  the bottom of the third inning with three runs but that was all as the Mavericks went on to score eight unanswered runs starting in the top of the fourth inning. Waldek again homered for his sixth of the season in the 8-3 win. 

Peterson helped lead the way with his three hits, two runs and two runs batted in while Waldek tallied three runs batted in.

The Golden Bears battled back with a game-four win in nine innings.  It was a fight all the way up until the finish. CSP had  a 4-3 lead until the top of the ninth inning when senior Chase Lonetti hit a solo shot to left to tie it up at 4. In the bottom  of the ninth  the Golden Bears led off the inning when Connor Olson hit a walk-off solo home run to left for a 5-4 final.  

Lonetti and Moffett both recorded home runs in the final matchup of the series   

Looking at the Wolves: Most recently, Northern State took three of four this past weekend from Minot State.  The Wolves outscored the Beavers 34-9 in the four-game series in Aberdeen, S.D.  and are currently 14-17 overall (7-11 NSIC) while sitting at number 10th in the league standings.

Head coach Dean Berry is in his sixth season at the helm of the program culminating a 208-240 (73-101 NSIC) record. Jack Schmidt is leading the Wolves at the plate with a .463 batting average, 57 hits, 36 runs batted in, and 12 doubles.  On the mound, Luke Chevalier heads the staff with a 3.06 ERA with  1-1 record in eight appearances and 17.2 IP while Colton Boucher is leading the way with four wins and 47.1 innings pitched and fanning 45 batters.

Last Matchup: Last season, the Mavericks swept the Wolves in the regular season by scores of 20-7 and 4-3, but were bumped in the their third game of the NISC Tournament by NSU 7-6.

Looking at the Warriors: The Warriors took three of four games against Sioux Falls this last weekend outscoring the Cougars 50-32 including a 21-9 win and 7-7 tie in game four that was called in the sixth inning due to rain.  

Winona State is now 16-21-1 (13-11-1 NSIC) in 2016 and sits seventh in the conference standings.

Head coach Kyle Poock has posted a 384-289-2 record since heading the program in 2003. Offensively, Mitch Voter leads the lineup with a .393 average, 57 hits, 50 RBI, and 13 home runs.  Voter is also leading the pitching staff with a .54 ERA in 13 appearances and 16.2 innings pitched with 29 Ks. Mitchell Stalsber has collected a 5.74 ERA on the year going 4-4 and a team leading 55 strike outs.

Last Matchup: The Mavericks beat the Warriors three out of four times during the regular season in 2015 and defeated Winona State 5-4 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season marks the 76th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,687-848-7 (.665) all-time record in 2,542 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 sophomore Josh Wenzel who is batting .374 in starting all 35 games in center field. Wenzel also leads the team with 49 hits and  10 doubles. Waldek is leading the team with  .569 slugging percentage, 35 RBI, six home runs, and 74 total bases. 

Dresel leads the team and ranks second in the conference with 274 putouts while boasting a .993 fielding percentage. Toth leads the team and ranks fifth in the NSIC with 92 assists through the Mavericks first 35 games.  As a team, Minnesota State ranks second in the conference with 32 double plays turned, fourth with 1234 chances in the field and third with 344 assists, fifth with 839 putouts, while culminating a .959 overall fielding percentage, ranking fifth in the NSIC.
 
On the mound, freshman Jon Ludwig leads the starting corpse with a 3.07 ERA composing a 1-2 record in four starts. Four other Mavericks have collected three wins on the year while sophomore Brody Rodning is pacing the staff and NSIC with 49 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched.  Senior reliever Peter Gaustad has made a team-high 14 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. The Gaylord, Minn., native has produced a 328-99 (.775) 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 .356 against left-handed pitchers while the lineup is hitting .296 vs. right handers.  Pitching-wise, the Maverick staff is dealing a .231 batting average to left-handed hitters vs. a .297 batting average to right-handed hitters.

Runners On vs. Empty Pond: The Mavericks are batting .309 with runners on base while batting .322 when the bases are empty.

Ducks On the Pond: Minnesota State is hitting .319 with runners in scoring position while the pitching staff is serving up a .262 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. Josh Wenzel has the highest-current hitting streak of nine games while Kyle Toth and Taylor Branstad have reached base in each of the last 13 and 12 games.

Get 'Em In: The Mavericks are batting a solid .667 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 were receiving votes 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 the Maverick's six-road games this week, they will finish out the regular season with six home games next week. On May 4, MSU will play Wayne State for an NSIC double header before taking on Sioux Falls next Saturday and Sunday.


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