What's on Tap: Minnesota State baseball will begin its 2020 campaign with a four-game road series in St. Louis, Mo. Two doubleheaders are scheduled against Maryville with the first one on Friday beginning at 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. The second doubleheader will follow on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m., at Weber Baseball Field.

Last Time on the Diamond: Minnesota State's 2019 season came to an end after going 0-2 in the NCAA Central Region Baseball Tournament on May 16-17 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Minnesota State lost to Arkansas-Monticello 13-2 before being eliminated by Oklahoma Baptist 8-5. The Mavericks finished their season with a 39-15 record, including a 28-8 mark in NSIC play.

Preseason Watchlist: Junior right-handed pitcher/outfielder Cam Kline and sophomore infielder Nick Altermatt were named to the 2020 NSIC Players to Watch List.

Kline hails from Stacy, Minn., and comes off a season where he earned D2CCA All-American First Team honors, getting it done on the mound and at the plate. Kline went 10-2 on the hill in 13 starts, collecting a 2.47 ERA, 112 strikeouts and 16 walks in 80 innings pitched. He had double digit strikeout games in five instances, including a career high 14 against Minot State on March 22. In the box, he hit a team high .386 with a .486 on-base percentage and .719 slugging percentage in 48 games in 2019. Kline hit 22 extra base hits (12 doubles, four triples and six home runs) helping to rack up 36 runs batted in and 21 runs scored. He had 14 multi-hit games in 2019.

Altermatt, hailing from Wanda, Minn., went on to be named NSIC Freshman of the Year and to the 2019 All-NSIC First Team in his first season with the Mavericks. Altermatt hit a .372 with a .446 on-base percentage and .488 slugging percentage, while starting all 54 games at shortstop. He hit a team leading 16 doubles to go along with a triple and two home runs for 19 total extra base hits, driving in 42 RBI and scoring 49 runs. On the base path, Altermatt was nine-for-ten in stolen base attempts, good for second on the team. In the field, he finished with a .926 fielding percentage with 63 putouts and 137 assists. His first collegiate home run came against SCSU on March 18, 2019, when he launched a three-run shot over the left field fence.

Pitching Staff: The Mavericks return 12 of the 13 pitchers that were in the starting rotation or in the bullpen last season. Two-way player Cam Kline will return as the teams top starter after an All-American season with senior Jon Ludwig, junior Jimmy Larson and junior Trevor Divinski also looking to start some games for MSU. Last year's staff that compiled a 39-15 record, 3.42 ERA, a .246 batting average against, 494 strikeouts, and 140 walks in 444.1 innings pitched. The Maverick pitching staff was second in NCAA DII in strikeout-to-walk ration (3.53:1), seventh in ERA (3.42), ranked eighth in WHIP (1.26), ninth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.74), 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.0), and tied for 11th in shutouts (6) in 2019.

Potent Lineup: Minnesota State also returns six of eight regular starters in the field from the previous season. Seniors Ty Buck and Teddy Petersen and sophomore Nick Altermatt figure to be key bats in the lineup after returning from stellar seasons. As a team, the Mavericks batted .327 with a .405 on-base percentage, .480 slugging percentage, 591 hits, 111 doubles, 16 triples, 45 home runs and 181 walks in 2019. The Maverick lineup had the eighth best batting average in NCAA DII and the 16th most hits.

Scouting Maryville: The Saints (29-22, 22-11 GLVC in 2019) finished in a three way tie for first in the Great Lakes Valley Conference last season, but went 2-2 in the conference tournament and were eliminated by Illinois-Springfield. With the 29-22 record, Maryville failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Saints are currently 3-2 on the season with wins over Union (Tenn.), Northwest Missouri State and Washburn.

The Saints lost six of their eight regular starters last year from a lineup that hit .275 with 98 doubles, 49 home runs and 314 RBI. Junior Wyatt Elbe and sophomore Dominic Connolly are the two returners from last season. Connolly hit .313 with 10 doubles and 34 RBI, while Elbe hit .278 with 13 doubles and 28 RBI.

The Maryville pitching staff only returns four major contributors from the 2019 season. As a team, the staff had 5.46 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 418 strikeouts and 185 walks. The .287 batting average against led to 93 doubles, 11 triples, 43 home runs and 276 RBI.

Facing Maryville: This will be the first time that Minnesota State and Maryville have faced each other.

Up Next: Minnesota State will continue its season going on the annual spring break Florida trip from March 5-12. The Mavericks will take on Gannon, Cedarville, Wilmington, St. Cloud State, Ashland (twice), Sioux Falls, Florida Tech and Wayne State (Mich.) during the trip.