Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State travels to Joplin, Missouri for the NCAA central regional portion of the NCAA tournament. The Mavericks (39-15) will face Southern Arkansas (39-16) in the first round of the tournament at 2:00 p.m. on Warren Turner Field in Joplin, Mo.

Facing SAU
Minnesota State is 2-2 in its all-time series vs. Southern Arkansas University. The Mavericks' last matchup with the Muleriders came in the NCAA regional semi-finals in Warrensburg, Mo. on May 30th, 2021 when they fell 5-1 to be eliminated from playoff contention. SAU will come into the tournament as the third seed owning a 39-16 overall record to go along with a 24-9 (GAC) conference record.

They own a team batting average of .300 and a .492 slugging percentage. When pitching, SAU sports a team earned a run average of 4.80 and an opponent batting average of .258.

The Muleriders won the automatic bid in the Great American Conference by virtue of their 7-6 win over Oklahoma Baptist Saturday.