Continuing NSIC Action
Minnesota State (20-5, 13-3 NSIC) continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action this week with ballgames vs. Minnesota Crookston (12-19, 4-8 NSIC), Tuesday as well as at Winona State (7-12, 5-3 NSIC), Saturday and Sunday.
MSU takes on the Golden Eagles as the road team in a site-reversed doubleheader at Bowyer Field, Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., before playing the Warriors in a four-game series at Loughrey Field, Saturday and Sunday. The weekend series begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with a seven and nine-inning NSIC doubleheader. The series continues Sunday with one nine-inning league game at noon before a seven-inning non-conference finale.
Last Time in the Lot
MSU set a new season-high by establishing a nine-game winning streak last week. After the Mavericks swept a doubleheader against Southwest Minnesota State by final scores of 13-1 and 6-2 down in Sioux City, Iowa, they won two more games by shutting out Northern State 8-0 and 5-0 before having their streak snapped with an 11-7 loss in the finale.
After the fourth week of conference play, the Mavericks remain second in the NSIC with a 13-3 league record, while Augustana leads the NSIC with a 15-3 conference record. Also in the conference standings, Minnesota Crookston checks in at 12th while Winona State stands at 10th.
A Look Back at the RussMatt
The Mavericks opened the new campaign with a 7-2 record at the RussMatt Central Florida Baseball Invitational. After opening their week-long trip with a 2-2 record, which featured victories over Gannon and Findlay before taking losses to Findlay and Tiffin, before rattling off five-straight wins over Northwood, D'Youville, USciences, Notre Dame College and Seton Hill to close out the early-season schedule. MSU outscored opponents 92-39 in the nine games.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Minnesota State wrapped up the 2021 season with a 39-10 overall record and finished 28-6 in conference play. The Mavericks were the NSIC regular season and tournament champions before finishing third in the NCAA DII Central Regional with a 2-2 record in the tournament.
Altermatt Does it All!
Junior infielder and right-handed pitcher Nick Altermatt was noted as MSU's player to watch by the NSIC following a season where he was named a D2CCA Third Team All-American selection as a utility player/pitcher. Altermatt saw action in 48 of MSU's 49 games in 2021. On the hill, the Wabasso High School product had the Maverick pitching staff's best ERA at 1.90 (12th in NCAA). Opponents batted .188 vs. Altermatt in nine appearances that saw him pitch 52 innings over the course of nine starts for a 5-2 record in 2021. Altermatt finished the season with MSU's second-best WHIP (0.88) which was good for 13th in the nation. With the bat, Altermatt was .278 hitter with a .444 slugging percentage. In 124 at bats, the right-handed batter mustered six triples, a double and four home runs. Last season marked Altermatt's first All-American honor.
This season, Altermatt is leading the way for MSU on the offensive in batting average (.449), hits (40), runs batted in (42), home runs (10), total bases (84) and slugging percentage (.944). He was named NSIC Player of the Week four weeks ago (March 14) following the RussMatt Invitational. Last week, Altermatt led the team in batting average (.500) with 11 hits in 22 at bats. Additionally, Altermatt had one home run and three doubles before pitching seven shutout innings in game two against the Wolves, where he allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five others.
Got Hits?
Junior infielder Mikey Gottschalk jumped up to second on the Mavericks' batting average rankings with a .383 mark in 60 at bats this season after going 7-for-12 two weeks ago in the series against UMD (April 2-3). Gottschalk led the Mavericks offensively and was named NSIC Player of the Week after he hit his first four career home runs in the series.
Wickman the Whackman
Junior outfielder Ryan Wickman is a new face for Maverick baseball this season and is off to a hot start by making an immediate impact. The Iowa Central CC (NJCAA) transfer is third on the Mavericks in terms of batting average (.366) and on-base percentage (.496) and is the only Maverick to see action in each game this season while making 25 starts in centerfield. Wickman leads the Mavericks in hit by pitch this season (13) after he was hit eight times three weeks ago in a series against UMary (March 26-27). He matched a single-game record set by Cole Kwiatkowski (Findlay vs. Ohio Valley on March 5, 2021) when he was plunked five times in the Mavericks first game against UMary (March 26).
New Bats on the Block
Some other new everyday faces for the Mavericks' include sophomores Jackson Hauge and Aidan Byrne. In terms of batting average, both Mavericks are batting at least .300 through the first 25 games of the season. Hauge leads the way ranking fourth among Maverick hitters with a .351 average while Byrne stands .349, which ranks fifth on the squad.
The Maverick Staff
Among NCAA DII ranks a season ago, the MSU pitching staff owned the nation's best ERA at a 3.11 mark while also leading in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.99), WHIP (1.13) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.11). Over the course of 49 games, opponents batted .235 against the Mavericks.
This season, the Mavericks stand fourth in the country and first in the NSIC with a 2.69 earned run average through 25 games. Additionally, MSU arms rank second in NCAA DII and first in the conference for strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.22) and WHIP (1.02) as well as hits allowed per nine innings (6.46).
You Don't Knoll Me
Junior right-handed pitcher Brendan Knoll had an 8-1 record in eight starts and 13 appearances last season with a 2.64 ERA. In 61.1 innings, the product of Kasson-Mantorville High School tied for MSU's third-best opponent batting average at .200. Knoll was a member of the All-NSIC Second Team.
After making his sixth start of the season against NSU last Saturday to open the series, Knoll maintained the lowest ERA (0.70) of any Maverick arm on the roster this season. He is off to a 5-1 start and owns MSU's best opponent batting average (.153).
Dirty Denk
Denk, a right-handed pitcher from Lakeville, Minn., was honored as NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year in January after he was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Year a season ago. Last season, he was also named a D2CCA Third Team All-American after finishing among the best in national ranks for NCAA Division II pitchers. He held the 27th-lowest earned run average in the nation at 2.22. In 11 starts, Denk owned a 10-0 record which came in at fourth in terms of wins. He was efficient in his outings with an 15.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio (second in NCAA DII). While facing 282 batters, Denk struck out 77 opponents and issued five walks to ride the nation's best walks per nine innings rating (0.65). Denk was named honorable mention for NCBWA All-American honors while being named to the 2021 NCBWA All-Central Region First Team and All-NSIC First Team.
Denk owns a 2.38 ERA (third-best among Maverick starters) with four starts and six appearances under his belt this season. In 34 innings pitched, Denk sports a .211 opponent batting average that ranks third among MSU starting arms and fifth on the staff.
The Mighty MavPen
Senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Uner, junior right-handed pitcher Derek Lilledahl and sophomore southpaw Nathan Culley are off to dominant starts in 2022, with each owning a sub-2.00 ERA this season. In seven appearances for 8.1 innings pitched, Uner owns the second-best opponent batting average (.172) and the second-lowest ERA (1.08). Lilledahl checks in at third in terms of ERA at 1.13 and Culley possesses the fourth-lowest ERA at a 1.98 mark.
Liv to See Another Season
Among Minnesota State's best extra-base hitters last season was junior catcher Ben Livorsi, who led the Mavericks with three triples. Additionally, Livorsi led Maverick catchers with a .995 fielding percentage, which saw him make just a pair of errors on 371 chances.
This season, Livorsi ranks fifth on the Mavericks with four home runs and a .538 slugging percentage.
2022 Maverick Captains
The Minnesota State Maverick baseball captains for this season are Jack Friedges, Ross Indlecoffer and Brendan Knoll.
Mavericks in the NCBWA Poll
The Minnesota State baseball team dropped out of last week's edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Division II Top 25 Poll (April 6). It marked the Mavericks first time not appearing in the poll since March 9.
The Skipper
Now with 13 seasons under his belt as the MSU skipper, head coach Matt Magers hit the 500-win plateau last season following a Mavericks' 10-6 win over Sioux Falls, May 14, 2021. Magers was named the NCBWA Central Region and NSIC Coach of the Year last season. He has produced a 525-166 (.760) record and sits in second place for all-time wins at Minnesota State behind his predecessor Dean Bowyer (1977-2008 / 990 wins). Magers is 1-of-3 coaches at MSU who has eclipsed the 200-win mark (Jean McCarthy: 1964-76 / 250 wins).
Minnesota State History
The 2022 season marks the 82nd for Maverick baseball. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,879-892-7 (.678) in 2,778 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), six Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2021) and six NSIC Tournament crowns (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2021). The program has made 38 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, 2019 and 2021) 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 30 times.
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