What's on Tap: Minnesota State will face Wayne State in a three-game series at Bowyer Field on Friday and Saturday. Games on Friday will begin at 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m., with a single game following on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. 

Last Time on the Diamond: Minnesota State went 5-0 last week to extend its winning streak to nine games in a row. The Mavericks swept Northern State in a mid-week series 7-1 and 14-1. The Mavericks then swept the weekend series against Upper Iowa by the scores of 16-6, 7-1 and 10-3.

All-Time RBI Leader: Along with being the all-time leader in career home runs at Minnesota State, senior outfielder Jordan Hart is now the all-time leader in career runs batted in at MSU. Hart passed the former leader Nolan Johnson (2012-15) with his 169th career RBI last Friday against Upper Iowa with an RBI single in the second inning.

NSIC Players of the Week: The Mavericks have claimed the NSIC Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks. Junior infielder Ty Buck was honored last week for the games on April 2-7 and Hart took home the honor this week for the games on April 9-14. 

The week Buck was honored, he had a slashline of .500/.619/1.375 with an OPS of 1.994 against Minnesota Duluth and U-Mary. His eight hits included two doubles, four home runs, eight runs scored, nine RBI with three walks and being hit by a pitch twice. Buck had two separate four-RBI games against U-Mary with having two home runs in one game and a grand slam in the other.

Last week, Hart ht .429/.500/1.286 with an OPS of 1.786 against Northern State and Upper Iowa. Seven of his nine hits went for extra bases as he hit one double, one triple and five home runs. Hart drove in 12 runs in his record breaking week, while also scoring eight time, being walked twice and being hit by a pitch once. In game two against NSU, Hart hit his triple and two home runs with one being a grand slam and drove in a season high seven in the game.

Going 2-0: Sophomore right-hander Jimmy Larson made two starts on the mound for the Mavericks last week and won both decisions to improve his record to 5-3 on the season. In total, Larson pitched 13 innings and allowed one run on nine hits and two walks. His 0.69 ERA on the week lowered his season ERA to 2.57 and the 18 strikeouts raised his season total to 67, both of which are second on the team.

Scouting Wayne State: The Wildcats currently sit with a 27-9 record including being tied for third with the Mavericks in the NSIC with an 18-5 mark. Most recently, WSC swept Sioux Falls in a three game series by the scores of 3-2, 7-3 and 4-2. The Wildcats are facing Winona State on April 16 in a mid-week doubleheader. As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .292, slugging .479 with 127 extra base hits and have an on-base percentage of .373 through 36 games. As a pitching staff, WSC has a 3.65 earned-run average with 273 strikeouts and allowing 131 walks.

Senior infielder Kyle Thompson leads the way offensively by batting .388 with 10 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 41 RBI. Junior right-hander Hunter Wienhoff (8-1) has made nine starts for the pitching staff, sits with a 1.80 ERA and leads the NSIC with eight wins. In 60.0 innings of work, he has 56 strikeouts and 25 walks.

Facing Wayne State: MSU leads the all-time series versus WSC with a 27-7 record. The last time the two teams faced off was in 2016 when the Mavericks swept a doubleheader over the Wildcats. MSU won both games by a single run on May 4 by the scores of 8-7 and 5-4.

Up Next: Minnesota State is scheduled to continue NSIC play with a pair of road series' against Augustana and Concordia-St. Paul. A doubleheader will be played in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 24 against Augie with games beginning at 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. A three-game set will be played on April 27-28 in St. Paul, Minn., with games beginning at 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m., on Saturday and a single game beginning at 12:00 p.m., on Sunday.