Time for the Tournament

Rated No. 14 in last week's edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Top 25 poll (May 4), Minnesota State (35-7, 28-5 NSIC) opens postseason play this week at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Mavericks are the third seed in the bracket and will take on sixth-seeded Minnesota Duluth (22-23, 16-16 NSIC) in their first game, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D.


A Walk Down Memory Lane

The Mavericks wrapped up last season with a 39-10 overall record and finished 28-6 in NSIC action. They were the NSIC regular season and tournament champions before finishing third in the NCAA DII Central Regional. MSU opened the last NSIC Tournament with a pair of victories over Sioux Falls (10-4 and 10-6) at Bowyer Field in Mankato. After claiming a 15-9 win over Minnesota Crookston in Sioux Falls, the Mavericks defeated Augustana 8-5 in the semis to advance to the NSIC Championship. After losing to the Vikings in game one, 9-2, MSU eliminated Augie in the finale, 11-9, to claim their sixth NSIC Tournament Championship.


Last Time in the Lot

MSU saw its longest winning streak of the season improve to 15 games last weekend at Bowyer Field when the Mavericks defeated the Vikings 6-2 in the first game of the series Friday. However, the streak ended when Augie picked up a win in game two, 7-6, and three, 7-2, to clinch the NSIC title in the final series of the regular season.


Mavericks in the NCBWA Poll

The Mavericks were ranked #14  in the last edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Division II Top 25 Poll (May 4), marking their third-straight week ranked. MSU has appeared in all but four of this season's 13 releases by the NCBWA.


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.

This season, Altermatt is leading the way for MSU on the offensive in batting average (.390), hits (60), runs batted in (59), home runs (11), total bases (113) and slugging percentage (.734). Additionally, Altermatt has carved up the opposition with his arm on the mound. In nine starts and 49 innings pitched this season, Altermatt owns a perfect 9-0 record and leads the Mavericks with 68 strikeouts.


Steady Inkline

Another two-way threat this season is senior right-handed pitcher and outfielder Cam Kline. He is second on the Mavericks with a .370 batting average and .471 on-base percentage. On the bump, Kline has made eight starts and owns an 8-0 record. He owns MSU's second-lowest ERA (1.76) and the third opponent batting average (.194).


Wickman the Whackman

Junior outfielder Ryan Wickman is the Mavericks' top newcomer this season. The Iowa Central CC (NJCAA) transfer is third on the Mavericks in terms of batting average (.368) and leads MSU in on-base percentage (.497). He is the only Maverick to see action in each game this season while making 42 starts in centerfield. Wickman also leads the Mavericks in hit by pitch this season (17). He was hit eight times in a series against UMary (March 26-27). He matched a single-game NCAA DII 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 around .350 through 42 games this season. Hauge leads the way ranking fourth among Maverick hitters with a .352 average while Byrne stands .342, which ranks sixth on the squad.


The Maverick Staff

The MSU pitching staff is among the best in NCAA DII again this season. The Mavericks rank fourth in the country and second in the NSIC with a 3.04 earned run average in 42 games. Additionally, MSU arms rank third in NCAA DII and second in the NSIC in terms of WHIP (1.15) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.58).


The Mighty MavPen

Senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Uner has been dominant during the 2022 campaign. The Stillwater, Minn., native owns the lowest ERA of any Maverick bullpen arm this season at a 2.63 clip. In 13.2 innings on the hill, he owns a .184 opponent batting average, which is lowest among any other pitchers on the Maverick staff this season.


You Don't Knoll Me

After making his ninth start of the season at Wayne State (May 3) and his 10th appearance against Augustana (May 7), Knoll saw his ERA fall back to fourth-best (2.44). He owns an 8-2 record and the Mavericks' second-best opponent batting average (.191).


Spelling Culley with a K

Sophomore southpaw Nathan Culley owns the Mavericks' lowest ERA at a 1.04 mark. He also ranks fourth on the team with a .202 opponent batting average. Culley is 4-1 this season with a 1.18 WHIP.


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). 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.

This season, Denk owns a 2.74 ERA with five starts and nine appearances under his belt. In 46 innings pitched, Denk sports a .246 opponent batting average.


Got Hits?

Junior infielder Mikey Gottschalk stands fifth in the Mavericks' batting average rankings with a .352 mark in 122 at bats this season. After going 7-for-12 six weeks ago in the series against UMD (April 2-3), Gottschalk was named NSIC Player of the Week. He hit his first four career home runs in the series, including three the opposite way.


Ross the Boss

Senior first baseman Ross Indlecoffer sits at seventh on the Mavericks roster with a .336 batting average. He ranks fourth on the team with a .595 slugging percentage.


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 third with eight home runs and a .608 slugging percentage. He owns a .993 fielding percentage behind the dish for MSU.


2022 Maverick Captains

The Minnesota State Maverick baseball captains for this season are Jack Friedges, Ross Indlecoffer and Brendan Knoll.


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 540-168 (.763) 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 1,909-918-7 (.675) in 2,834 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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