What's on Tap: Minnesota State baseball continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with a doubleheader at Sioux Falls on Thursday at Sioux Falls Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D., and a four-game home series against Bemidji State on Saturday and Sunday at Bowyer Field. Thursday's doubleheader with Sioux Falls begins at 1:30 p.m. Minnesota State's doubleheaders with Bemidji State on Saturday and Sunday are slated for 1:30 p.m., and 12:00 p.m., respectively.
 
Last Time on the Diamond: The Mavericks (20-7, 15-3 NSIC) went 4-0 in NSIC play last week to extend their season-long winning streak to 10 games. The Mavericks swept doubleheaders against Concordia-St. Paul (13-2, 5-1) and Minnesota Duluth (3-1, 12-0) on Thursday and Monday, respectively. Both series were played at neutral sites.
 
Winning Streak: Minnesota State has been playing its best baseball of the season during its current 10-game winning streak. During the streak, the pitching staff has garnered a 2.34 ERA, four complete games, two shutouts, 74 strikeouts, 19 walks, a 3.89:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .215 batting average against over 73 innings. The offense has also been performing at a high level — batting .323 with a .406 on-base percentage, .469 slugging percentage, 95 hits, 40 walks, 21 doubles, five triples, four home runs, 12 stolen bases and 81 runs scored.    
 
NSIC Player of the Week: Sophomore infielder Ty Buck is the reigning NSIC Player of the Week. Buck batted .563 (9-of-16) with a .588 on-base percentage, an .813 slugging percentage, 13 total bases, one walk, one double, one home run, six RBI and four runs scored as Minnesota State (20-7, 15-3 NSIC) swept Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth. Buck hit his first home run as a Maverick in game two against Concordia-St. Paul on Thursday. In addition, he reached base in all four Maverick wins and tallied three multi-hit games, including four hits in game two against Concordia-St. Paul on Thursday and three hits in game one against Minnesota Duluth on Monday. With his performance last week, Buck raised his season batting average from .338 to .383. He drove in at least one run in each game and had one three-RBI game. In the field, Buck garnered 28 put-outs and one assist for a 1.000 fielding percentage at first base.
 
NCAA Rankings: The Mavericks rank in the top 20 of NCAA Division II in six pitching statistics: strikeout-to-walk ratio (1st, 4.71:1), walks allowed per nine innings (1st, 2.19), WHIP (3rd, 1.14), shutouts (T-10th, 5), ERA (12th, 3.28) and hits allowed per nine innings (17th, 8.07). Senior right-hander Quinn Ahern (3-1) ranks sixth in NCAA Division II in WHIP (0.81), 10th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.50:1), and 12th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.00). Senior left-hander Aaron Rozek is ranked 22nd in NCAA Division II in ERA (1.58) and tied for 26th in strikeouts per nine innings (12.15). 

Aces All-Around: The Mavericks' starting rotation has been rounding into form. Senior right-hander Dalton Roach (6-0, 2.61 ERA), senior left-hander Aaron Rozek (4-1, 1.58), senior right-hander Quinn Ahern (3-1, 2.00) and redshirt freshman Trevor Divinski (3-0, 2.25) have combined four eight wins during Minnesota State's 10-game winning streak.
 
.300: Minnesota State enters the week ranked second in the NSIC with a .313 batting average. Six Mavericks are batting over .300 on the season: sophomore infielder Ty Buck (.383), senior center fielder Josh Wenzel (.382), senior catcher Noah Bluth (.345), sophomore infielder Tommy McDonald (.344), sophomore infielder Teddy Petersen (.333) and senior shortstop Luke Waldek (.309). 
 
Scouting Sioux Falls: The Cougars (8-18, 8-8 NSIC) enter the week on a four-game winning streak, including a doubleheader sweep against Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. The scores were 3-1 and 7-3.

Last season, the Mavericks swept a doubleheader at home against the Cougars — winning the first game 2-1 and the second game 4-0.

Scouting Bemidji State: The Beavers (4-18, 2-8 NSIC), who are on a six-game losing streak, have had their last six scheduled games cancelled. Bemidji State was last swept in a series at Augustana on March 29-30. The scores were: 10-1, 8-1, 14-0 and 9-3.

Last season, the Mavericks swept a four-game series at the Beavers (2-1, 11-6, 7-6 and 4-3).

Up Next: Minnesota State continues NSIC play with a doubleheader at Northern State on April 18.