On Tap: The Minnesota State baseball program, now 14-8 (5-3 NSIC) on the 2016 season, will travel to St. Cloud, Minn., to face the first-rated Huskies (21-0, 6-0 NSIC) for a two-game set on Wednesday before traveling to Bismark, N.D., to match up with a 4-15 (2-5 NSIC) U-Mary.  First pitch against St. Cloud State is set for 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Joe Faber Field while the pair of double headers on Saturday and Sunday against U-Mary are slated for 12:00 p.m. starts.
 
Last Time on the Diamond:  The Mavericks wrapped up their second Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series of the season on Sunday and Monday of this week.  Minnesota State completed the four-game sweep over the Bemidji State Beavers out scoring BSU by a combined clip of 26-16.

The Mavericks took Sunday's games in a 6-3 and 11-6 fashion before completing the sweep with two one-run games over the Beavers by scores of 8-7 and 1-0.

In the Mavericks 6-3 game-one victory, MSU took an early lead out of the gate by going up 3-0 in the first three innings. In the bottom of the first, junior Eric Peterson got things going getting hit by  pitch and stealing second base.  Sophomore Dylan Dresel then came up with two outs and hit Peterson in from second with an RBI single through the left side. In the bottom of the third, MSU notched two more to take a 3-0 lead with runs from senior Kyle Toth and Peterson.

The Beavers pushed across their first run in the top of the fifth when Logan Riedel double to right center to start the inning off. Duane Miller followed with an RBI single through the right side.  

Minnesota State opened things up with three more in the bottom of the sixth with Dresel leading off with a walk followed by sophomore Josh Wenzel's bunt single.  Freshman Jordan Hart knocked a triple to center to bring both runners in and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Hunter Harnisch to end MSU's scoring.

The Beavers threatened with two in the top of the seventh, but wasn't enough as sophomore Dalton Roach collected his second win of the year (2-2).

The Mavericks cruised to an 11-6 win in game two, paced by Hart and Peterson's home runs in the first and third innings as MSU presented an 8-1 lead after three innings.  Offensively, sophomore Luke Waldek went 3-3 with one run and one walk while Hart went 2-5 with two runs and three batted in including home run and a triple.  Four other Mavericks produced two hits each including Toth who was 2-6 with double, two runs scored and one run batted in.  Senior Taylor Branstad also had two hits with two runs and two batted in.

On the mound, sophomore Brody Rodning threw six innings allowing two earned runs on nine hits in his second win of the year (2-1).

Games three and four ended in one run games with senior Chase Lonetti and Hart earning walk-off hits in the two contests.  Junior Mitchell Bauer collected his third win of the season in his first-career shutout in the 1-0 game (3-0). Senior Dakota Belter picked up his third win as well in 3.2 innings of relief in game three.

Looking at the Huskies: Most recently, the Huskies completed a four-game sweep over Southwest Minnesota State,  out scoring the Mustangs 71-19.

Head coach Pat Dolan is in his ninth season at the helm of the program, boasting a 323-111-1 record over the last eight seasons, guiding SCSU to five NCAA Tournament bids since 20110. Offensively, the Huskies are led by Alex Naasz and Judd Davis. Naasz boasts a .565 batting average in 12 games played with 23 at bats while Davis is hitting .547 in 53 at bats and 19 games played.  On the hill, 2015 NSIC and 2015 Daktronics DII Pitcher of the Year, Reese Gregory along with 2015 NSIC Newcomer of the Year Sheldon Miks are pacing the Huskies with 2.35 and 0.74 ERAs. Miks boasts a 5-0 record in six appearances while Gregory has forged a 3-0 record in four starts.

Last Matchup: The last time Minnesota State met up with the Huskies was last year in the NCAA DII Central Region Tournament.  The Huskies came away with the win in a 5-4 fashion.  The two team split in the 2015 regular season in Mankato with SCSU taking the first game 5-0 and MSU winning the second 6-5.

Looking at the Marauders: Last Saturday and Sunday, the Marauders dropped three out of four games to Concordia-St. Paul by scores of 1-0, 4-1, and 7-3 while winning one game 6-5.

At the head of the coaching staff, Joel Barta has entered his fifth season and has  and overall record of 30-109 in his last four seasons.

At the plate, Tom Imholte is batting .452 in 17 games played with 19 hits and a team-leading 12 runs while Jason Shaul is batting .448 in 19 games played with a team-leading 26 runs batted in. On the mound, Jake Johnson and Ryo Takenaka are leading the staff.  Johnson boasts a 2-0 record in four appearances with 29 innings pitched and 25 strikeouts allowing eight earned runs.  Takenaka is leading the way for the relievers having pitched nine innings with three earned runs given up and a 1-0 record with seven appearances.  The last time the two teams met, Minnesota State swept U-Mary in a four-game set in 2015 in Mankato by scores of 5-4, 2-1, 6-3, and 10-7. 

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season marks the 76th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,679-843-7 (.665) all-time record in 2,529 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.

Quick Hitters: 

• As a team, MSU is batting a solid .754 when runners are on third with less than two outs and .325 when runners are in scoring position.
• The Mavericks are batting a combined .348 against left-handed pitchers vs. a .278 against right-handed pitchers.
• Eric Peterson ranks first in the conference with 12 HBP while junior Hunter Harnisch is tied for fourth with seven.
• Minnesota State will play again tomorrow, Wednesday, April 6, at No. 1 St. Cloud State in a double header at Joe Faber Field.

Leading the Herd: Offensively, Waldek is heading the charge in the lineup batting .346 while freshman Jordan Hart is leading the team in slg% .543 and ranks second in batting average (.343).  Eric Peterson ranks in the top five in  average (3rd/.342), slg% (2nd/.493), OBP (1st/.510), runs (1st/29), hits (T4/25), RBI (5th/14), HBP (1st/12/1st NSIC), walks (1st/14), doubles (4th/5), and home runs (T2nd/2).  

On the mound, sophomore Dalton Roach leads the starting corpse with a 3.67 ERA composing a 2-2 record. Junior Mitchell Bauer and senior Dakota Belter are leading the team with three wins each while sophomore Brody Rodning is pacing the staff in strikeouts with 32 in 30.2 innings pitched.  Senior reliever Peter Guastad has made a team-high nine appearances having not allowed an earned run in his 12.1 innings of work thus far.

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 320-94 (.773) 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 as recorded eight 40-or-more-win seasons in its 76 seasons of competition. Six of those seasons have come under the watch of head coach Matt Magers. 

Left-Right: MSU is Batting .348 against left-handed pitchers while the lineup is hitting .278 vs. right handers.  Pitching-wise, the Maverick staff is dealing . 240 batting average to left-handed hitters vs. a .298 batting average to right-handed hitters.

Runners On vs. Empty Pond: The Mavericks are batting .318 with runners on base while batting .271 when the bases are empty.

Ducks On the Pond: Minnesota State is hitting .325 with runners in scoring position while the pitching staff is serving up a .259 average to opposing hitters when there are runners in scoring position.

Streaking: The Mavericks are now on a four-game winning streak overall and at home.  Eric Peterson is riding a streak in which he has reached base in all 22 games and recorded a 12-game hit streak to start the season, the longest of the season for Minnesota State. Kyle Toth's streak of reaching base was ended in Minnesota State's last game against Bemidji State. Toth was riding a 21-game streak.

Get 'Em In: The Mavericks are batting a solid .754 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 their six-game road trip to St. Cloud, Minn., and Bismark N.D.  this week, Minnesota State will return home on Wednesday, April 13, to host Augustana University at the MSU Baseball Complex on the Campus of Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn.

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