Continuing NSIC Action

The Minnesota State Mavericks (16-4, 9-2 NSIC) continue Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action this week with ballgames against Southwest Minnesota State (8-13, 1-8 NSIC), Wednesday and Northern State (9-11, 4-3 NSIC), Saturday and Sunday.

Due to forecasted rain, MSU's weekday doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State will be played at Bishop Mueller Field at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa at 1:00 p.m. This weekend, MSU is scheduled to take on Northern State. The series begins at noon on Saturday with a seven and nine-inning doubleheader before the finale at noon on Sunday.


Last Time in the Lot

MSU is riding a five-game winning streak following last weekend's three-game sweep over Minnesota Duluth. The Mavericks opened the series with an explosive 18-0 victory on Saturday in game one over the Bulldogs before winning 13-1 in game one and two of the series to secure the sweep.

After week three of conference play, the Mavericks remain in second in the NSIC with a 9-2 league record. Augustana leads the NSIC with a 12-1 conference record. Also in the conference standings, Southwest Minnesota State is 14th in the NSIC while Northern State is tied for sixth.


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 (.433), hits (29), runs batted in (35), home runs (nine), total bases (67) and slugging percentage (1.000). He was named NSIC Player of the Week three weeks ago (March 14) following the RussMatt Invitational. Last series, Altermatt tied for the team-lead in batting average (.583) with seven hits in 12 at bats. Additionally, Altermatt had three home runs in the series and pitched five innings in game two against the Bulldogs where he surrendered just one run.


Got Hits?

Junior infielder Mikey Gottschalk jumped to second on the Mavericks' batting average rankings with a .381 mark in 42 at bats this season after also going 7-for-12 in the last series against UMD. Gottschalk led the Mavericks in round trippers when he hit his first four career home runs in the series against the Bulldogs.


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 (.375) and is the only Maverick to see action in each game this season while making 20 starts. Wickman leads MSU with .511 on-base percentage this season. In addition, Wickman also leads the Mavericks in hit by pitch this season (11) after he was hit eight times two weeks ago in a series against UMary. 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

Additionally, 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 20 games of the season. Byrne leads the way ranking fourth among Maverick hitters with a .367 average while Hauge stands .344, which ranks seventh 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 second in the NSIC with a 3.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 20 games. Additionally, the MSU arms rank second in NCAA DII and first in the conference for WHIP at a 1.03 clip.


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 fifth start of the season against UMD last Saturday to open the series, Knoll maintained the lowest ERA (0.86) of any Maverick arm on the roster. He is off to a 4-1 start and owns MSU's second-best opponent batting average (.155).


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). While facing 282 batters last season, Denk struck out 77 batters 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 2.17 ERA (second on the Mavericks) with three starts and five appearances under his belt this season. In 29 innings pitched, Denk sports a .190 opponent batting average that ranks second among MSU starting arms and eighth on the staff.


Putting the "Bull" in Bullpen

Senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Uner and sophomore southpaw Nathan Culley are off to dominant starts in 2022, with both allowing just one earned run this season. In six appearances and eight innings pitched, Uner owns a team-best .148 opponent batting average and the third-lowest ERA (1.12). Culley possesses the second-lowest ERA at a 1.04 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 .608 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 received votes again in last week's edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Division II Top 25 Poll (March 30). It marked the Mavericks third straight week appearing in the poll after a month-long hiatus.


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 521-165 (.759) 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 1,875-891-7 (.677) in 2,773 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.
 

-30-