On Tap: 2016 marks the 35th-overall attendance made by the Minnesota State baseball program and the 11th-consecutive appearance by the team. 

The Mavericks (34-16), who were named the eighth seed, are slated to play the first seeded St. Cloud State (42-8) on Thursday, May 19, at 5:00 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minn.

Last Time on the Diamond:  The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference post-season tournament started last week with the Mavericks taking on the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in a first-round match up, a team in which Minnesota State took three-of-four games from in the regular season.  MSU ended up taking a first-round 8-4 loss to the Golden Bears who went on to take second in the tournament.  The Mavericks took on Sioux Falls in the second round of the double-elimination tournament, beating the Cougars by a mark of 6-4 to move onto the their third game.  Minnesota State was eliminated by Augustana in their third contest of the tournament as the Vikings defeated MSU by a 5-2 margin.

In game one against the Golden Bears, the Mavericks took the game's first leading the bottom of the first inning when senior Kyle Toth led the game off with a double to center field.  Toth eventually came around to score on a two-out double to right center by sophomore Luke Waldek to go up 1-0.  CSP tied the game with one run in the top of the second and grabbed the lead with four more runs over the course of the next three innings including three in the top of the fifth inning.

The Mavericks pulled within two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning starting with a sophomore Josh Wenzel scoring from first base on a double down the left-field line from junior Eric Peterson who scored from third base on a double  from senior Taylor Branstad to make it a 5-3 game.  

Concordia-St. Paul extended their lead with two more runs in the top of the seventh inning off of a two-run home run to left-center field.  The Mavericks tallied one run in the bottom half of the seventh when senior Chase Lonetti led off with a single up the middle and came around to score from third on a ground-out from junior Hunter Harnisch for the Mavericks final run of the contest.

The Golden Bears added one in the top of the ninth for good measure to cement the game at 8-4.

Sophomore Brody Rodning's record moved to 5-2 after the loss having thrown four innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits and striking out five. 

Three Mavericks led the way at the plate with Toth, Branstad, and Lonetti all collecting two hits apiece.

In their second contest of the NSIC tournament, the Mavericks defeated the Cougars of Sioux Falls 6-4.  

Minnesota State took the game's first lead scoring one in the top of the first inning Toth reaching on a Cougar error and scoring on a single from Branstad.  

The Mavericks opened it up with five more runs in the top of the second inning including a three RBI triple from sophomore Josh Wenzel.  

Sioux Falls notched the game's final four runs with one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the bottom of the eighth inning as Minnesota State went on to claim the win.

Both Peterson and Branstad each knocked two hits while Wenzel went 1-3 with a triple and three runs batted in.  

Sophomore starting pitcher Dalton Roach threw 5.1 innings in collecting his fifth win of the year and moving his record to 5-3.  Roach gave up three runs on seven hits while fanning nine USF hitters.  Senior Dakota Belter came in to throw the last inning and pick up his seventh save of the year.

In their third game of the tournament, Minnesota State was eliminated on Friday, losing to second seeded Augustana University.

The Vikings took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning and tallied three more insurance runs in the top of the fifth inning that featured at three-run home run to right center to go up 5-0.   

The Mavericks tried clawing back with a run in the bottom half of the sixth inning and one more in the bottom of the eighth, but was not enough as the final tally showed a 5-2 score in Augustana's favor. 

The Vikings had out hit the Mavericks 12-4 when it was all said and done. 

Junior Josh Matheson garnered his first loss of the season moving his record to 5-1 in 2016.  Matheson threw 4.1 innings giving up five runs on eight hits and striking out four.

Sophomore Luke Waldek led the Mavericks with a 2-4 performance with a double while Wenzel went 1-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Looking at St. Cloud State: The Huskies (42-8) most recently took home the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament championship last week end having won all four of their games.

2016 marks the eighth time that SCSU has advanced to the NCAA tournament since 1971 (1971, 1991, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016). This season marks the sixth time since 2010 that the Huskies have advanced to the NCAA Central Regional tournament and has finished as the runner-up at the NCAA Central Regional in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 under the head coach Pat Dolan.

The Huskies are headed at the plate by 2016 NSIC Freshman of the Year Judd Davis who is hitting .470 in starting 40 of 47 games played in.  On the mound, the Huskies are led by 2016 NSIC Pitcher of the Year Sheldon Miks who has recorded a 1.72 ERA in 14 appearances and 10 starts on the year.  Miks has forged an 8-2 record leading SCSU with 78.1 innings thrown and striking out a team leading 72 batters.

Last Match Up: During the regular season, the Mavericks lost their lone contest against the Huskies, falling by a 5-1 margin.  The second match up of the double header was eliminated due to poor weather conditions earlier in the season in St. Cloud, Minn.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season marks the 76th for Maverick baseball. MSU owns a 1,699-851-7 (.666) all-time record in 2,557 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 35 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, 14 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 50 games at third base. Peterson also leads the team with a .487 on base percentage and 60 runs scored while ranking second with a .526 slugging percentage,ranks third with 63 hits and leads the team with 13 steals.

Dresel leads the team and the conference with 369 putouts while boasting a .992 fielding percentage ranking third in the NSIC. Waldek and Toth lead the team and rank seventh and tenth, respectively in the NSIC with 115 and 113 assists.  As a team, Minnesota State is tied for second in the conference with 40 double plays turned, and fourth with 1,709 chances, while culminating a .963 overall fielding percentage.
 
Minnesota State has three starting pitchers in the top-10 for ERA in the conference in Dalton Roach (6th/3.99), Mitchell Bauer (8th/4.09), and Brody Rodning (9th/4.28), respectively.  Both Rodning and Roach lead the NSIC in strike outs with 78 and 77, Minnesota State ranks second in the league with a team ERA of 4.22

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 .420 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 340-102 (.778) 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 .351 against left-handed pitchers while the lineup is hitting .300 vs. right handers.  Pitching-wise, the Maverick staff is dealing a .247 batting average to left-handed hitters vs. a .281 batting average to right-handed hitters.

Runners On vs. Empty Pond: The Mavericks are batting .309 with runners on base while batting .325 when the bases are empty.

Ducks On the Pond: Minnesota State is hitting .317 with runners in scoring position while the pitching staff is serving up a .261 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. Peterson has reached base in each of the last 13 games counting for the highest current streak.

Get 'Em In: The Mavericks are batting a solid .657 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.

NSIC Honors: Left-handed pitcher Brody Rodning garnered All-NSIC First Team honors for the second-consecutive year while short-stop Luke Waldek was recognized on the All-NSIC Second Team.  Outfielders Chase Lonetti and Josh Wenzel were also selected as NSIC Gold Glove Members.

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.

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 first-round match up with St. Cloud State, depending on whether they win or lose, Minnesota State will play the winner or loser of Arkansas-Monticello and Missouri Western.

If the Mavericks win, they well play at 5:00 p.m. on Friday evening and will play at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning if they lose.

To view the Minnesota State Baseball Post-Season Media Guide, click HERE.

To go to the tournaments homepage, click HERE.