What's on Tap: Minnesota State baseball will spend its spring break playing down in Florida with eight games scheduled in eight days. The Mavericks will face UT Tyler (March 1), Walsh (March 2), Grand Valley State (March 3), Florida Southern (March 4), Gannon (March 5), Findlay (March 6), West Virginia Wesleyan (March 7) and Ashland (March 8).

Last Time on the Diamond: Minnesota State's 2019 season began with a non-conference road series with Arkansas-Monticello on Feb. 9-10. The Mavericks swept the double header on Feb. 9, winning 5-0 and 11-1. The Weevils came back and defeated MSU on Feb. 10 by a score of 9-7.

Buck's Hot Start: Junior infielder Ty Buck came out swinging a hot bat to open the season against Arkansas-Monticello. Buck went 7-11 (.636) with five runs scored, one triple, two home runs, five runs batted in, two walks and one hit by pitch.

Both of Buck's home runs came in the double header on Feb. 9. In the 5-0 win in the first game, Buck hit a towering solo shot out to dead center field to give MSU a 4-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. He hit another moon shot in the top of the third inning of the 11-1 win in the second game. Buck also added a two RBI triple to open up the scoring in the top of the first inning in the second game.

The Long Ball: The Mavericks launched four home runs in the series against Arkansas-Monticello. Buck (2), senior outfielder Jordan Hart (1) and junior infielder Teddy Petersen (1) all left the yard against the Weevils. 

Hart got the ball rolling in the top of the fourth inning of game one, hitting a three-run rocket out to left center field. That now gives Hart 26 career home runs, three away from the record of 29 is held by Josh Smith (1996-99).

Buck hit his two home runs in games one and two of the series, being being solo shots. Petersen hit a two-run home run in an attempted comeback of the 9-7 loss on Feb. 10. The left field shot came in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 8-6 in favor of the Weevils.

Shutout Baseball: The Mavericks combined for 14 scoreless innings against the Weevils to open the 2019 season. Junior right-hander Jon Ludwig started game one and tossed six innings, giving up no runs with nine strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Jimmy Larson completed the shutout by going three innings, striking out six and earning the save. Sophomore right-hander Cam Kline kept the shutout streak going in game two by going five innings and striking out seven. 

Scouting UT-Tyler: The Patriots have started 5-2 this season, most recently defeating East Central University 10-0 on Feb. 26. As a team, UT-Tyler is hitting .291, slugging .409 with 21 extra base hits and have an on-base percentage of .401. As a pitching staff, the Patriots have a 1.58 earned run average, 1.11 WHIP, 73 strikeouts, allowing 30 walks and collecting four shutouts.

Scouting Walsh: The Cavaliers have played one series against California (Pa.) and went 1-3, dropping the first three games 9-8, 5-2 and 7-3 before winning the final game 11-8 on Feb. 22-23. Walsh hit .317 in the series with 38 hits, nine for extra bases, and 20 runs batted in. The pitching staff currently has an 8.54 ERA, giving 32 hit and seven over the fence. They have collected 21 stikeouts, while giving up 11 walks.

Scouting Grand Valley State: The Lakers started the season 1-3, while competing at the Dunn Hospitality Classic in Evansville, Ind. GVSU lost to Ohio Dominican 10-6 and defeated Truman State 13-1 on Feb. 24, then lost to Southern Indiana twice, 6-2 and 5-0, on Feb. 25. Collectively, the Lakers hit .314, with a total of 43 hits that turned into 21 runs and added seven extra base hits. The pitching staff had a 3.48 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 23 walks given up.

Scouting Florida Southern: The Mocs are currently 6-5 and dropped out of the most recent NCBWA DII Top 25 rankings after being swept by Barry in a three game series on Feb. 22-23. The Mocs were defeated 8-5, 8-0 and 11-2. Through 11 games, Florida Southern has a batting average of .263, collecting 18 doubles, seven home runs and 49 RBI so far. Pitching wise, the Mocs staff currently has a 4.64 ERA and 95 strikeouts, while allowing 55 walks.

Scouting Gannon: The Golden Knights are 2-1 on the season after defeating Glenville State 4-2 (12 inn.) and Northwood 8-3 on Feb. 22, then falling to Northwood 10-7 on Feb. 23. Gannon hit .224 on the weekend, but had a slugging percentage of .517 after racking up 10 home runs and four doubles. The pitching staff had an ERA of 3.60 with 38 strikeouts and 18 walks in 30 innings.

Scouting Findlay: The Oilers have yet to play a game yet. Their doubleheader will be against Northern State on March 3.

Scouting West Virginia Wesleyan: The Bobcats went 1-3 in a four game series against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown on Feb. 8-9. WVWU lost the first three games 20-8, 1-0 and 3-2 before winning the finale 7-6. The offense hit .222 with three doubles, a triple and two home runs. The pitching staff finished the weekend with 5.92 ERA, collecting 31 strikeouts and 25 walks.

Scouting Ashland: The Eagles started the 2019 season 3-0 with two wins over Rockhurst 5-2 and 7-5, then another win over Trevecca Nazerene 6-0 on Feb. 24-25. The offense hit .239 with six doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI. The pitching staff had an ERA of 2.00 with 29 strikeouts and eight walks.

Up Next: Minnesota State will begin NSIC play against St. Cloud State in a three game weekend series at Bowyer Field. The doubleheader on March 16 will begin at 1:30 p.m., with a single game following on March 17 at 12:00 p.m., respectively.