On Tap: Second-seeded Minnesota State is set to start the NCAA DII Baseball Central Region Tournament, an eight-team double-elimination tournament, against seventh-seeded Central Oklahoma at 10:00 a.m., on Thursday at Emporia State's Trusler Sports Complex.
 
The winner of the game between Minnesota State (44-9) and Central Oklahoma (33-19-1) will face the winner of third-seeded St. Cloud State and sixth-seeded Missouri Western State, while the losing team will drop into the losers' side of the bracket and face the losing team from the St. Cloud State and Missouri Western State matchup in an elimination game on Friday.
 
The Bracket: The NCAA DII Baseball Central Region Tournament field is made up of eight teams. The participating teams are: eighth-seeded Arkansas-Monticello (31-19), seventh-seeded Central Oklahoma (33-19-1), sixth-seeded Missouri Western State (32-20), fifth-seeded Southern Arkansas (39-14), fourth-seeded Lindenwood (35-18), third-seeded St. Cloud State (39-16), second-seeded Minnesota State (44-9) and top-seeded Emporia State (41-11), which is the host institution.   
 
Mavericks in the NCAA Tournament: This will mark the Mavericks' 36th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks hold a 61-56 record in their previous 35 appearances. This season marks the 12th-straight appearance for the Minnesota State baseball program in the NCAA Division II baseball tournament and only Florida Southern's 41 postseason tournament appearances stand ahead of the 36 made by the Mavericks. Minnesota State has won eight regional championships, with the latest coming in 2014.
                      
NSIC Tournament Champions: The Mavericks (44-9) earned an automatic qualifier into the regional tournament by winning the 2017 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Baseball Tournament with a win over St. Cloud State in the championship game on Saturday.
 
Regular Season Champions: The Mavericks, who finished NSIC regular-season play with a 35-5 conference record, claimed the program's 10th-NSIC regular-season championship and the fifth in the last eight years.
 
NSIC Regular Season Accolades: Head coach Matt Magers was named the 2017 NSIC Coach of the Year after leading the Mavericks to a 40-9 overall record and a 35-5 NSIC mark during the regular season. He led Minnesota State to its 10th NSIC regular season title – the first since 2014 and the fifth under Magers' guidance. He coached six players, who earned All-NSIC honors, including four first-team members and the NSIC Newcomer of the Year. Magers, who eclipsed 40 wins in a season for the seventh time, has a 386-113 career record at Minnesota State.
 
Junior right-hander Ricky Digrugilliers was named the NSIC Newcomer of the Year. So far this season, he is 7-0 with one save (pitching primarily out of the bullpen) with a 1.57 ERA, .194 batting average against, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 12:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Four Mavericks were named All-NSIC First Team: junior right-hander Dalton Roach, junior left-hander Aaron Rozek, junior first baseman Dylan Dresel and senior third baseman Eric Peterson. Junior left-hander Brody Rodning and sophomore outfielder Jordan Hart were named to the second team. 
 
All-NSIC Tournament Team: Five Mavericks were named to the All-NSIC Tournament Team: Junior shortstop Luke Waldek (Tournament MVP), junior right-hander NIck Belzer, junior Right-hander Dalton Roach, junior left-hander Brody Rodning and junior center fielder Josh Wenzel.
 
One of the Top Pitching Staffs in NCAA DII: The Maverick pitching staff has been one of the best in NCAA DII — ranking second in ERA (2.67), second in hits allowed per nine innings (7.31), second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.63:1), 10th in strikeouts per nine innings (9.4), tied for fifth in shutouts (8), sixth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.58) and first in WHIP (1.10).
 
Leading the Rotation: Junior right-hander Dalton Roach (9-1, 1.74 ERA) leads NCAA DII with a 12.10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also ranks third in NCAA DII with 14.02 strikeouts per nine innings, fifth in strikeouts (121) and second in WHIP (0.79). With his 14-strikeout performance against Minnesota Crookston in the NSIC Tournament on May 10, Roach moved into first-place in program history for strikeouts in a single season, passing the previous high of 113 — set by Jason Hoppe (2011-14).  Roach also ranks second in career strikeouts with 278, which is 17 behind Hoppe's mark of 295.
 
Four Strong: The Mavericks have a starting rotation with little drop off from top-to-bottom. The Mavericks' rotation is made up by junior right-hander Dalton Roach (9-1, 1.74 ERA), junior southpaw Brody Rodning (6-3, 3.00 ERA), senior right-hander Mitchell Bauer (8-0, 2.78 ERA) and junior right-hander NIck Belzer (6-1, 3.64 ERA).     
 
Going Yard: Minnesota State has hit 58 home runs in 2017. The top five Mavericks in home runs are: junior first baseman Dylan Dresel (12), sophomore right fielder Jordan Hart (10), junior center fielder Josh Wenzel (10), senior third baseman Eric Peterson (8) and senior designated hitter Hunter Walsh (5).
 
All-Time Maverick: Senior third baseman Eric Peterson is the Mavericks' all-time leader in career runs scored with 224. Peterson is the only Maverick to have eclipsed 200 runs scored. He also ranks in the top five all-time in six additional categories: stolen bases (T-4th, 56), doubles (3rd, 47), triples (T-3rd, 10), at-bats (2nd, 720), hits (2nd, 250) and games played (4th, 206).

Peterson enters the week ranked 16th in NCAA DII with a .517 on-base percentage and tied for fourth in hit by pitch (24).

Scouting Central Oklahoma: The seventh-seeded Bronchos (33-19-1) earned an at-large berth in the Central Region after making it to the championship game of the Mid America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Baseball Tournament, where they lost to Lindenwood 12-8 on Sunday.
 
At the plate, the Bronchos have six student-athletes batting at least .300: Anthony Alvarez (.333), Jake Dyer (.332), Korey Floyd (.320), Dayne Sommer (.320), Jon Kamies (.310) and Kyle Miskovsky (.307).
 
The Central Oklahoma pitching staff has a 4.95 ERA on the season. Holden Capps (8-4, 4.30 ERA) is leading the team in innings pitched (88) and wins.
 
Facing Central Oklahoma: The Mavericks are 4-2 all-time against the Bronchos.
 

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