Setting up Shop

Minnesota State baseball embarks on its 81st season when they take the field at Missouri - St. Louis this weekend to start the season off with a four-game series. The Mavericks take on the Tritons at 2:00 p.m. Friday, noon and 2:00 p.m. Saturday and at noon Sunday.


Facing Missouri - St. Louis

This marks the first time the Mavericks and Tritons will matchup. Both teams have yet to compete in a game this year.


Last Time on the Diamond

Minnesota State went 6-3 on its annual trip down to Florida before the sudden conclusion to last season. The Mavericks started the trip with two consecutive extra inning games, dropping the first one in 10 innings 6-5 to Gannon and picking up a 5-4 win in 11 innings against Cedarville. Senior outfielder Joey Werner's infield single plated freshman outfielder Hunter Ranweiler for the walk-off win. The walk-off win sparked a five-game winning streak that included wins against Wilmington (4-2), in-state rival St. Cloud State (7-1), then-#6 Ashland in 11 innings (5-4) and against Sioux Falls (11-8). Junior catcher Ben Livorsi launched a solo home run over the right field fence to break the tie against Ashland. MSU saw its winning streak get snapped against Florida Tech by a score of 4-3. The Mavericks bounced back with a 13-8 win over Wayne State (Mich.) after scoring five runs in the seventh inning. Minnesota State finished the trip with a loss to then-#6 Ashland by a score of 13-0.


Looking Back at 2020 

Minnesota State finished the 2020 season with an 8-5 record after the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 virus. All of the Mavericks' games were nonconference games after the season stopped right before NSIC play began.


Returning Player Breakdown

The 2021 Minnesota State baseball roster features 34 previous letterwinners. The Mavericks return 15 pitchers from last year's staff and in the field they return 19 position players (10 infielders, six outfielders and three catchers).


2020 Returning Leaders

Senior right-handed pitcher Jon Ludwig pitched a team high 18.2 innings in three starts for the Mavericks, collecting a team high 24 strikeouts. Junior right hander Jimmy Larson (12 innings) and sophomore right hander Jack Zigan (9.1 innings) both did not allow an earned run, while Larson held opponents to a team-low .056 batting average against. 

Junior outfielder Cam Kline led the Mavericks in many offensive categories including batting average (.340), triples (3), RBI (11), total bases (26) and walks (11). Kline also tied for the team lead for hits with 16 with sophomore infielder Nick Altermatt, while Altermatt also led the team with five doubles and four stolen bases. Junior catcher Ben Livorsi had a team high two home runs, a .667 slugging percentage and a .500 on base percentage. Senior infielder Teddy Petersen scored a team high 10 runs, while also stealing four bags.


NSIC Player of the Week

Junior Cam Kline picked up the lone NSIC Player of the Week for the Mavericks for the week of March 9-15. In three games, he totaled eight hits for a .500 batting average, a .529 on base percentage and a .875 slugging percentage for a combined 1.404 OPS. Kline had two doubles, two triples, six RBI and five runs scored. Recorded multi-hit and a multi-RBI games each time out.


NSIC Pitcher of the Week

Sophomore Jack Zigan picked of the lone NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the Mavericks for the week of March 2-8. In his lone start of the week on March 8 against in-state rival St. Cloud State, Zigan pitched a complete game and allowed one unearned run. Allowing only two hits, he collected 12 strikeouts and did not allow a walk on 113 pitches in the 7-1 win.


Career Records

Senior Teddy Petersen is currently the lone Maverick on a career record list. His 27 career sacrifice hits are sixth all-time at MSU.

Junior Cam Kline is approaching the top-10 list for career triples. After hitting three last season, Kline now has seven for his career which is one behind Patrick Dockendorf (2008-12) and Josh Wenzel (2014-18) for tenth on the list with eight.


Going Streaking

Senior Teddy Petersen ended the season with a team-high eight-game hitting streak. He collected 12 hits, including two doubles, and had five RBI in those last eight games.

Senior Joey Werner holds the longest active on-base streak by reaching once in each of MSU's 12 games last season. Werner had 14 hits, three walks and was hit by a pitch five times in 13 games for the Mavericks.


2020 Returning Seniors

The Mavericks return five of nine seniors from their 2020 roster thanks to an extra year of eligibility that the NCAA granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic that ended last season prematurely.

Ty Denzer played as a switch hitting outfielder in his last two seasons with MSU after transferring from Kansas. Denzer had 31 hits and 24 RBI in 55 games.

Hunter Even is a right-handed pitcher that transferred from South Dakota State and pitched his last three season for the Mavericks. As a reliever, Even made 21 appearances with a 2-3 record and three saves.

Jon Ludwig is a right-handed pitcher who was in his sixth season after redshirting his first season and receiving a medical redshirt in his sophomore season. Ludwig made 29 appearances (17 starts) with a 9-5 record, 2.78 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 123 innings.

Teddy Petersen is a four-year starter in the infield for MSU. Petersen hit .316 with 39 extra base hits and 74 RBI in 155 games played. 

Joey Werner played his first season at MSU last year after previously playing at North Iowa Area CC and Texas A&M- Corpus Christi. In his lone season, Werner hit .292 with 14 hits, a triple and seven RBI.


2021 Maverick Captains

The Minnesota State Maverick baseball captains for the 2021 season are Teddy Petersen and Jack Waletich.


Preseason Prognostications

Minnesota State, which garnered 2 first-place votes and 181 voting points, was selected to finish second in the 2021 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. 


Sensational Skipper

Head coach Matt Magers is in his 13th season at the helm of the Mavericks. Magers has produced a 466-151 (.755) record and now sits in second place for all-time wins at Minnesota State behind his predecessor Dean Boyer (1977-2008 / 990 wins). Magers is 1-of-3 coaches at MSU who has passed the 200-win mark (Jean McCarthy: 1964-76 / 250 wins).


40-Win Club

Minnesota State has recorded nine 40-or-more-win seasons in its 80 previous seasons of competition. Seven of those seasons have come under current head coach Matt Magers. 


Minnesota State History

The 2021 season marks the 81st for Maverick baseball. MSU owns an 1,819-877-7 (.673) all-time record in 2,701 total games. Minnesota State has five Northern Intercollegiate Conference titles (1968, 1969, 1979, 1980, 1981), 19 North Central Conference championships (1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007) and five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament crowns (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017). The program has made 37 appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019) and eight in the NCAA Division II World Series (1971, 1979, 1980, 1986, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) including third-place finishes in 2012 and 2014 and a national runner-up performance in 2013. Additionally, the Mavericks have earned All-American selections 19 times.


Looking Ahead

The Mavericks will return to Mankato and take a month from games off after their trip to St. Louis, Mo. Their next scheduled action features a three-game home-opener series against Bemidji State to start NSIC conference play, March 20-21.

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