Setting up Shop

Rated 14th in last week's NCBWA DII Top 25 Poll, Minnesota State (25-4, 21-3 NSIC) continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action hosting Augustana (24-8, 20-8 NSIC) for a 7/9-inning doubleheader Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. before taking on Concordia-St. Paul in another doubleheader Saturday at 1:30 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday at noon.


Facing Augustana (April 28)

Minnesota State is 62-20 in an all-time series against Augustana that dates back to the 1970 season. In the last 10 matchups, the Mavericks are 6-4 against the Vikings.

Augustana is second in the NSIC with a 20-8 conference record. The Vikings lead the NSIC in batting average (.327), slugging percentage (.553) and average the most runs per game (8.56). When pitching, AU sports an earned run average of 4.00 and opponent batting average of .232.


Facing Concordia-St. Paul (May 1-2)

The Mavericks hold an all-time record of 35-7 against the Golden Bears in a series the goes back to 2000. In their last 10 games, the Mavericks have come out on top with an 8-2 record.

The Golden Bears sport a conference record of 8-16 for 13th in the NSIC. As a team, CSP is batting .260 this season and owns a 5.60 ERA as a staff. CSP averages 4.93 runs per game this season.


Last Time on the Diamond

Minnesota State baseball is 25-3 overall and 21-3 in conference play, which tops the NSIC this season. Last weekend at Wayne State, the Mavericks swept the series with a 7-1 and 10-2 victories Saturday before winning 13-3 in seven innings Sunday.


Mavericks Ranked 14th in the NCBWA Poll

The Minnesota State baseball team moved up the ranks to a season-best rating of 14th in last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Division II Top 25 Poll. It marked MSU's fourth consecutive week in the poll since breaking into the Top 25 ranking for the first time since Feb. 5, 2020, (No. 25 in 2020 NCBWA DII Preseason Poll).


The Big One

Maverick senior outfielder Joey Werner has been named NSIC Player of the Week twice this season (March 22 & 28). The Hastings, Minn., native batted 14-for-30 (.467) during the hot stretch with a home run in five-straight games that helped him rake in 17 RBI and the back-to-back weekly honors. 

This season, Werner leads the Mavericks in batting average (.427), home runs (8), RBI (36), total bases (73) and slugging percentage (.760). Werner also leads the Mavericks with a 40-game on-base streak and 12 stolen bases on 14 attempts.


Take Two (or Four)

Teddy Petersen leads MSU with 21 free passes this season in the form of 14 walks and seven times being hit by a pitch. A native of Glencoe, Minn., Petersen, sports a .392 batting average, owns the Mavericks' second-most hits (40), home runs (5), RBI (23) and total bases (64).


The Maverick Staff

The MSU pitching staff owns the fourth-best ERA in NCAA DII baseball so far this season at a 2.79 mark. Over 29 games, opponents are batting .224 against MSU. Minnesota State leads the NSIC in both categories.


The MSU Rotation

The Mavericks have had six different starting arms this season. All together, MSU starters have combined for 29 starts and 38 appearances mustering 176 innings pitched. In that span, Maverick starting arms have struck out 214 of 801 opposing batters faced.


Minnesota State Ace

For the second time in his career, senior right-handed pitcher Jon 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 on Feb. 26. Last weekend, Ludwig pitched seven complete innings as part of a Mavericks' 7-1 win over Wayne State. Ludwig allowed one run on three hits, struck out six and did not hand out a free pass.

The Osseo HS product has a team-best 74 strikeouts against 179 batters faced this season. In eight starts, which leads the Mavericks, Ludwig has MSU's most innings pitched (47) while garnering a 2.30 earned run average, .176 opponent batting average and .70 WHIP this season.


You Don't Knoll Me

Junior right-handed pitcher Brendan Knoll garners the Mavericks' best ERA of any starting arm this season at 0.89 which is good for third best in NCAA DII baseball. In 30.1 innings over eight games he's appeared in this season, the Kasson-Mantorville HS product owns MSU's second-best opponent batting average among starting arms at .200.


Dirty Denk

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Collin Denk has the Mavericks' second-best ERA among the MSU starting rotation at 1.26. In the NCAA, Denk's ERA in eighth in the rankings. This season, the Lakeville, Minn., native owns a .227 opponent batting average and a perfect 6-0 record in six starts.


Can You "Zig" It?

Sophomore right-hander Jack Zigan has pitched in 12.1 innings this season over seven games which featured one start (March 25). A product of Eden Prairie HS, Zigan sports a 2.92 ERA and .319 opponent batting average.


Maverick Closer

Senior right-handed reliever Hunter Even is the Mavericks closer. In his last action, the Chanhassen, Minn., native shut the door once in the series at Upper Iowa with one strikeout in one inning to earn his team-high seventh save of the season. Even owns the Mavericks' best ERA having not given up a run in the 2021 season. He has allowed only a pair of hits to lead the Mavericks with a .065 opponent batting average in nine appearances for 10.1 innings.


Fantastic Freshman 

Leading Maverick youngsters this season is freshman infielder Adam Schneider. In 26 games, Schneider has made 22 starts this season and owns the Mavericks fourth-best batting average at .308.


Maverick Two-Way Players

Minnesota State baseball has a pair of two-way players this season in junior Cam Kline and sophomore Nick Altermatt. Kline has five starts on the mound and sports a 4.45 ERA while Altermatt has pitched five  starts on the hill for a 2.16 ERA. With the bat, Altermatt is hitting .280 this season while Kline carries a .238 batting average.


Big-Time Hitters

Among Minnesota State's best extra-base hitters this season are outfielder Teddy Petersen, who leads the Mavericks with seven doubles, catcher Ben Livorsi, who leads Maverick triples with a pair, and outfielder Joey Werner, who leads MSU with eight home runs in 2021. Werner frontruns the slugging percentage effort at a .760 mark.


Maverick Ironmen

Among the Mavericks roster are two players who have appeared in each of MSU's 29 games this season. They are Nick Altermatt and Jack Waletich. Among the two of them, Altermatt is the only Maverick player with starts in each of MSU's 29 games this season.


Career Records

Senior Teddy Petersen is currently the lone Maverick on the career record list. His 30 sacrifice hits stand fifth 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.


2021 Maverick Captains

The Minnesota State Maverick baseball captains for the 2021 season are Petersen and 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 491-155 (.760) record and 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).


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 as 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).


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 1,845-881-7 (.677) all-time record in 2,727 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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