MANKATO, Minn.--- Minnesota State (9-9, 5-3 NSIC) will move its weekend series against St. Cloud State (10-8, 6-2 NSIC) south due to inclement weather. The Mavericks will now play a doubleheader on Thursday in Sioux City, Iowa at Bishop Mueller Field starting at 1:30 p.m. while then traveling to Wakefield, Nebraska on Friday for another doubleheader at Graves Park starting at noon.

Last Time on the Diamond
MSU traveled to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on the NSU Wolves, going 3-1 on the series. The Mavericks offense dominated the series outscoring Northern State 43-18. Twelve different Mavericks registered a run scored while nine Mavericks recorded at least one RBI on the series.

Juniors Zach Stroh, Nick Baker, Aidan Byrne, and sophomore Matthew Fleischhacker led the Mavericks offense as each recorded batting averages north of .300 while all registering multiple runs and RBI against NSU.

The Mavericks showed off their speed going 11-11 in stolen base attempts while legging out three triples and nine doubles. Senior Ryan Wickman lead the the Mavericks on the base path stealing four bags. Wickman leads the team in stolen bases with twelve through 18 games.

Behind the dish, junior catcher Nick Baker recorded productive outings offensively and defensively. The junior catcher registered a .313 batting average in four games while scoring three runs and driving in eight. He also registered the Mavericks' only homer of the series- his first on the season.

On the mound, junior Jake Matthaidess and sophomore Louis Magers led the Mavericks' pitching staff combining for eleven innings while allowing two earned runs and accumulating seven strikeouts.

Taking on SCSU
Offensively, the Huskies are led by senior Cal James and junior Sawyer Smith who are both averaging a run and RBI per game. Smith comes into this season against MSU leading the Huskies in hits (25) and extra base hits (10). James leads the Huskies in almost every other offensive category registering a 1.140 OPS, 21 runs, five homers, and 21 RBI through 18 games. James earned the NSIC Player of the Week award on Feb. 27th.  

SCSU pitching staff is headlined by junior LHP Luke Tupy who owns a 3-0 record and a team-best 2.57 ERA through 28 innings of work this season. The Wolves RHP owns a 1.14 WHIP while compiling an NSIC-leading 41 strikeouts.

As a staff, SCSU is ranked fifth in the NSIC in batting average against (.276), strikeouts (134), and runs allowed (107).

The Maverick Staff
The Maverick staff went 3-1 with a 4.94 ERA last weekend against NSU. Junior Spencer Wright, sophomore Louis Magers, and freshman Cale Haugen led MSU starting pitching in innings as each completed five in their respective games.

Haugen secured his first collegiate win on March 11th as the Mavericks dominated NSU 15-3. The Mavericks freshman standout went five innings allowing three runs on five hits and accumulated four strikeouts.