MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State baseball returns to Bowyer Field on Tuesday afternoon for a midweek doubleheader against the Sioux Falls Cougars, with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and game two set for 3:30 p.m. The Mavericks then head to non-conference Northwestern College on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. first pitch in Orange City, Iowa.

Last Time on the Diamond
The Mavericks (30-3, 23-2 NSIC) are coming off a dominant weekend sweep of Bemidji State, taking all four games in convincing fashion at Bowyer Field. On Saturday, MSU shut out the Beavers 7-0 in game one, followed by a 16-2 route in game two. Sunday's action saw continued success with a 12-0 win in the opener and a 10-6 victory in the finale.

Highlights included a strong performance from Louis Magers, who opened the scoring in Saturday's first game with an RBI groundout. Matthew Fleischhacker tallied a pair of RBI singles, while Lincoln Berry launched a three-run homer. In game two, Ike Mezzenga smashed a three-run shot in the second inning, helping the Mavericks with a total of 14 hits.

Berry stayed hot on Sunday, notching another three-run home run and finishing with four RBIs in game one. Aidan Byrne, Jake Berkland, and Brady Jurgella each contributed RBI hits. Sam George earned the win with six strong innings and four strikeouts. Bemidji State took an early lead in game two, but the Mavericks responded quickly behind Berkland, Berry, and Fleischhacker's contributions.

Ike Mezzenga leads the Mavericks with a .394 batting average, 13 home runs, and 53 RBIs.

Nathan Culley anchors the pitching staff with a 2.02 ERA and an undefeated 8-0 record.

The Mavericks are on a six-game winning streak and sit atop the NSIC standings with a five-game lead over second place Augustana. MSU has the fewest number of losses in NCAA Division II baseball and were ranked No. 8 in last week's NCBWA National Poll.

Scouting the Cougars
Sioux Falls enters the matchup with a 19-20 overall record and a 15-10 mark in NSIC play. Over the weekend, the Cougars swept Minot State in a three-game series.

Under the leadership of ninth-year head coach Grant Hieb (113-190 career record), Sioux Falls reached the NSIC Tournament once in 2016.

Mitch Iliff leads the Cougars at the plate with a .358 average, eight home runs, and 28 RBIs.

Logan Anderson leads the pitching staff with a 5.60 ERA and a 3-5 record.
 
Scouting the Red Raiders
Northwestern holds a 23-13 overall record and plays in the GPAC (NAIA), where they stand at 12-8. The teams also met last season for a single game in Mankato. MSU won 29-4 on April 23. The Mavericks posted an impressive 12 runs in the third inning and added another nine runs in the seventh to finish with 20 hits.

Red Raiders head coach Brian Wede has been at the helm of the program since 2006. He has guided Northwestern to four conference championships, three conference tournament championships and six NAIA postseason qualifiers. The Red Raiders finished 25-27 last season and went 1-2 in postseason play.

Senior Luke Wroblewski (Sussex, Wis.) leads the offense with a .484 batting average, seven doubles and four home runs. Wroblewski and freshman first baseman Grant Guidry (Yantis, Texas) share the team lead with 32 runs batted in apiece. Guidry is hitting .372 with three home runs.