What's on Tap: Minnesota State baseball welcomes No. 1 Augustana to Bowyer Field for a four-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series this weekend. The two teams are scheduled to play doubleheaders on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Minnesota State is celebrating Senior Day on Sunday.
 
Last Time on the Diamond: The Mavericks (27-10, 22-6 NSIC) went 3-3 in NSIC play last week — splitting a doubleheader at Northern State (5-4, 0-2) on April 19 and a four-game neutral-site series with St. Cloud State (5-3, 6-9, 1-2, 8-2) on Sunday and Monday night in Bemidji, Minn.
 
Senior Day: The Mavericks are recognizing their graduating student-athletes in an on-field ceremony prior to Sunday's doubleheader. The student-athletes being honored are: Quinn Ahern, Nick Belzer, Noah Bluth, Dylan Dresel, Ricky Digrugilliers, Ryan Moffett, Dalton Roach, Aaron Rozek, Luke Waldek and Josh Wenzel.   
 
Coming Home: After playing their first 37 games of the season on the road or at neutral sites because of weather and field conditions, the Mavericks return to Bowyer Field for their lone home series of 2018. The Mavericks played to a 16-2 home record in 2017.

Record Watch: Senior right-hander Dalton Roach (8-0) has thrown 263 2/3 innings in his collegiate career, which ranks third in program history. Roach trails only Aaron Heitzman (1999-02, 266 IP) and Jason Hoppe (2011-14, 275 1/3 IP) in innings pitched. Earlier this season, Roach became the Mavericks' program leader in career strikeouts in a 10-3 win over Lewis on March 6. He now has 352 career strikeouts. In addition, Roach became the winningest pitcher in program history when he won the 30th game of his collegiate career in game one at Northern State on April 19 — breaking a tie with Hoppe. 

Power Surge: Jordan Hart, a junior right fielder who recently returned from injury, hit two solo homers in the Mavericks' four-game series with St. Cloud State on Sunday and Monday. Hart is tied for the seventh-most home runs in program history with 22.

NSIC and Regional Implications: Minnesota State's series with No. 1 Augustana could have major implications on the NSIC standings and NCAA Division II Central Region rankings. Minnesota State enters the series second in the NSIC and seventh in the region, while Augustana sits in first in the NSIC and second in the region.
 
NCAA Rankings: The Mavericks rank in the top 10 of NCAA Division II in six pitching statistics: strikeout-to-walk ratio (1st, 4.38:1), walks allowed per nine innings (1st, 2.39), WHIP (3rd, 1.15), ERA (8th, 3.17), hits allowed per nine innings (7.98) and shutouts (T-10th, 6).
 
Senior right-hander Quinn Ahern (4-1) ranks 13th in NCAA Division II in WHIP (0.90). Senior left-hander Aaron Rozek (5-1) is ranked 16th in NCAA Division II in ERA (1.68), while senior right-hander Dalton Roach ranks tied for 13th in wins (8).
 
Looking Back at the Winning Streak:  Minnesota State's season-long 15-game winning streak came to an end with a 2-0 defeat in game two with Northern State on April 19. The streak was the seventh longest in program history. The six-longest winning streaks in program history are: 27 games (2011), 23 games (2015), 19 games (2007), 19 games (1970), 17 games (2017) and 17 games (2014).  
 
Scouting Augustana: The No. 1 Vikings (37-3, 23-3 NSIC) sit atop the NSIC and have had three winning streaks of 12 games in 2018. The Vikings are coming off of a doubleheader split at Sioux Falls on Wednesday — losing the first game 4-2 and winning the second game 5-2.
 
Last season, the Mavericks and Viking split a four-game series (0-1, 4-3, 5-6, 8-3) in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Up Next: Minnesota State concludes the NSIC regular season with a four-game series at Upper Iowa on May 4-5.