On Tap: No. 21 Minnesota State baseball continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with home matchups against Sioux Falls and St. Cloud State. Minnesota State faces Sioux Falls in a doubleheader at 1:30 p.m., on Tuesday before facing St. Cloud State for a four-game weekend series in Mankato, Minn. The series with St. Cloud State will consist of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday — beginning at 1:30 p.m., and noon, respectively.
Last Time on the Diamond: The Mavericks (24-5, 19-1 NSIC) went 5-1 on the week in NSIC play. The Mavericks swept a doubleheader (12-2, 8-2) with Concordia-St. Paul at home on Wednesday afternoon. Over the weekend, the Mavericks lost their first game of a four-game set at Minot State in Minot, N.D., 10-5, but the Mavericks rebounded to win the final three games of the series (19-1, 13-1, 5-2). The loss to the Beavers was the Mavericks' first of the season in NSIC play.
Leading the NSIC: After a 5-1 week in NSIC play, the Mavericks remain atop the conference with a 19-1 conference record — four games ahead of St. Cloud State, which is 15-5 in NSIC play. The two teams will meet in a four-game series on Friday and Saturday in Mankato, Minn.
NSIC Player of the Week: Dylan Dresel was named the NSIC Player of the Week for his performance last week as the Mavericks finished 5-1 against Concordia-St. Paul and Minot State. The Chisago City, Minn., native hit .458 with 11 hits in 24 at-bats, four doubles, four home runs, 10 runs scored, six runs batted in, 27 total bases, and a 1.125 slugging percentage. He hit home runs in three consecutive games, including a two-homer game against Minot State on Sunday. He had at least one hit in all six games to extend his hitting streak to 19 games — the longest-active hitting streak by a Maverick.
Wenzel's Record Setting Day: Junior outfielder Josh Wenzel had a game that will go down as one of the greatest offensive performances in program history — launching four home runs in his first four at-bats against Minot State in game one of Sunday's doubleheader. Wenzel, who also drove in a career-high eight runs, established a school record for most home runs in a game. Wenzel surpassed the previous mark of three home runs in a game that was achieved by Jon Flattery in 2013. The NCAA DII record for home runs in a single game – set by St. Edward's Josh Hamilton in 2013 – is five.
Winning with the Long Ball: The Mavericks hit 16 home runs last week. Junior outfielder Josh Wenzel and junior first basemanDylan Dresel tallied five and four home runs, respectively.
All-Time Runs Scored Leader: Senior infielder Eric Peterson scored nine runs on the week to increase his career runs scored total to 195 — the most in program history.
Steal Tycoons: Senior infielder Eric Peterson leads the Mavericks and the NSIC with 14 stolen bases in 2017.
Minnesota State in the Polls: After receiving votes in the April 28 edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II poll, the Mavericks moved into the poll in the April 4 release at No. 21. The Mavericks are also ranked third in the central region.
Scouting Sioux Falls: The Cougars (12-16, 9-9 NSIC) enter the mid-week doubleheader with the Mavericks seventh in the NSIC.
The Sioux Falls offense features Josh Rehwaldt, who leads the team in hits (40), runs batted in (28), doubles (9), total bases (59), and is tied for the team lead with 23 runs scored. Rehwaldt is batting .377.
On the mound, Zak Wallner (1-0, 4.64 ERA) leads the Cougars in innings pitched (33) and strikeouts (23).
Facing the Cougars: Last season, the Mavericks swept a four-game regular-season series against Sioux Falls (4-3, 8-2, 23-12, 6-3). The two teams also met in the NSIC Tournament with the Mavericks winning 6-4.
Scouting St. Cloud State: The Huskies (24-8, 15-5 NSIC) start the week in second place in the NSIC — four games behind the first-place Mavericks.
Jackson Goplen leads St. Cloud State in batting average (.461), home runs (4), total bases (54), slugging percentage (.711), and on-base percentage (.571).
Toeing the rubber for the Huskies, Cal Giese (5-2) has a 1.26 ERA in 35 2/3 innings pitched with 42 strikeouts and a .226 batting average against.
Facing the Huskies: Last season, the Mavericks lost 5-1 in their lone regular-season meeting with the Huskies before defeating the Huskies 1-0 in the 2016 NCAA DII Central Region Tournament.
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