Setting up Shop
Minnesota State opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action heading to Bemidji State for three games this weekend, with a 7/9-inning doubleheader Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m. before one nine-inning game on Sunday at noon.
Facing Bemidji State
The Mavericks are 62-9 against the Beavers in the all-time series that dates back to 1964 when Minnesota State's baseball program broke onto the scene. MSU is currently riding a 22-game winning streak against BSU that dates back to the 2013 season.
Last Time on the Diamond
Minnesota State baseball is off to a 3-1 start after defeating Bethany Lutheran 11-4 at ISG Field in Mankato last weekend. Making his second start of the season, senior right-handed pitcher Jon Ludwig pitched three innings of one-run baseball. The Osseo HS product struck out eight of the 10 Vikings batters he face while earning his second win of the season. With the bat, senior infielder Mitch Frederick brought the noise in the form of a 2-for-2 afternoon that featured a home run, double and walk for a pair of RBI and runs.
NSIC Pitcher of the Week
For the second time in his career, Ludwig was named NSIC Pitcher of the Week (Week One - March 8) after allowing one run to Missouri-St. Louis in his Opening Day start, Feb. 26. The Mavericks opened the season with a win behind Ludwig's 15 strikeouts against 26 batters faced. The Osseo HS product allowed three hits and a run while earning the 11-1 win over UMSL
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.Â
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.
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 saw his team-high hit streak of 11 games come to an end March 13 vs. BLC. The senior infielder owns a .333 average in 15 at bats this season with three runs and five RBI.
Senior Joey Werner holds the longest active on-base streak for the Mavericks by reaching once in each of MSU's last 17 games. Werner had a pair of hits, including a triple, and tallied three RBI against BLC, March 13.
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.Â
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.Â
Looking Back at 2020Â
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.
Sensational Skipper
Head coach Matt Magers is in his 13th season at the helm of the Mavericks. Magers has produced a 469-152 (.756) 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.Â
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.
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