Crookston, Minn.—Willie Nelson had a song titled "On the Road Again", and so far this season, that song rings true for the University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team. After starting non-conference on the road in Omaha, Neb., to play Wayne State College, the Golden Eagles were back on the road for three games with Concordia-St. Paul in Minnetonka, Minn., and now will travel to Mankato, Minn., to take on yet another NSIC power in Minnesota State University, Mankato.
The Golden Eagles will head in to the series with the Mavericks feeling very good about themselves. Minnesota Crookston has yet to lose in the conference and are currently second in the conference at 6-0 and 13-7 overall.
The Mavericks are winners of four out of their last five games, including taking two out of three from last year's regular season NSIC champions, Minot State, with their only loss to the Beavers being in 14 innings.
Minnesota Crookston at Minnesota State University, Mankato
Location: Mankato, Minn.
Franklin Rogers Park
Tues., March 26—10 AM/12 PM
Live Stats-- https://msumavericks.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Minnesota Crookston Preview
Projected Starting Lineup
Jr. LF 6
Bryce Jorgenson, .309, 20 runs, 7 2B, 8 RBIs
Jr. CF 1
Landyn Swenson, .292, 13 runs, 3 2B, 9 RBIs
Sr. 1B 33
Reed Hjelle, .328, 20 runs, 2 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 20 RBIs
So. C 29
Ben Thoma, .309, 13 runs, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBIs
So. RF 20
Brock Reller, .263, 14 runs, 5 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 22 RBIs
R-So. DH 31
Travis Conoryea, .435, 5 runs, 4 RBIs
Jr. 3B 18
Scott Finberg, .224, 9 runs, 4 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBIs
Jr. 2B 21
Mason Ruhlman, .175, 10 runs, 3 HR, 9 RBIs
R-So. SS 9
Griffin Fussy.255, 8 runs, 1 3B, 6 RBIs
Top Starters
Jr. RHP 35
Jayden Grover, 3-2 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 16 K, 17 BB
Sr. LHP 30
Nate Albrecht, 2-1 5.82 ERA, 16.2 IP, 13 K, 4 BB
Sr. LHP 24
Zach Rustad, 3-3 5.85 ERA, 32.1 IP, 19 K, 14 BB
Top Relievers
R-So. LHP 36
Dalton Grose, 1-0 3.46 ERA, 13.0 IP, 5 saves, 16 K, 6 BB
Fr. RHP 17
Conner Richardson, 1-0 2.61 ERA, 10.1 IP, 1 K, 2 BB
The Golden Eagles are off to their best start in conference play since 2016 at 5-0. The Golden Eagles have won back-to-back series to kick off conference play, with a sweep over Wayne State College and two wins over Concordia-St. Paul.
Offensively, Minnesota Crookston is hitting .273 as a team and are led by
Travis Conoryea (R-So., C/OF, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.),
Reed Hjelle (Sr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) and
Bryce Jorgenson (Jr., UT, Thunder Bay, Ontario) who are hitting .368, .339 and .316, respectively.
Ben Thoma (So., C/SS, Clearbrook, Minn) is hitting .297 with one homerun and 14 RBI's on the season. Thoma's 14 RBI's is third on the roster, behind
Brock Reller (So., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.), who leads the team with 22 and Hjelle's 19. The Golden Eagles have found their power as well, as Hjelle, Reller and
Scott Finberg (Jr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.) all have more than two homeruns. Hjelle leads the team with six, including hitting three homeruns in the two game sweep of Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday.
On the hill, the Golden Eagles have been outstanding as of late.
Zach Rustad (Sr., LHP, Blaine, Minn.) has been outstanding in conference play. Last week's Pitcher of the Week, Rustad followed that up with another great outing in the first game against Concordia-St. Paul. Rustad earned the win by going six innings, while allowing three runs on five hits and striking out four and allowing three walks. Rustad's ERA dropped from 6.49 to 5.85 in that victory.
Jayden Grover (Jr., RHP, Cooperstown, N.D.) is also having a solid season on the hill. The typical game two starter, Grover has a 3.52 ERA and a 3-2 win-loss record. Grover is second on the team in innings pitched.
Conner Richardson (Fr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) and
Dalton Grose (R-So., Waterville, Minn.) have been excellent out of the bullpen this season. Grose is tied for the conference lead in saves with five.
Minnesota State University Mankato
Projected Starting Lineup
Jr., 2B 2 Teddy Peterson .268, 21 R, 4 HR, 13 RBI's
Sr., C 1 Tom Imholte .364, 15 R, 8 RBI's
R-Jr., 1B 34 Ty Buck .357, 23 R, 2 HR, 19 RBI's
Sr., RF 16 Jordan Hart .457, 19 R, 6 HR, 26 RBI's
Fr., SS 5 Nick Altermatt .365, 11 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 13 RBI's
R-Fr., 3B 19 Carter Elliott .286, 4 R, 4 2B, 10 RBI's
So., DH 9 Cam Kline .188, 1 R
Sr., CF 26 Tyler Berg .143, 4 R
R-Fr., LF 4 Hunter Frericks .167, 3 R
Top Starters
R-Jr., RHP 29 Jon Ludwig 0.00 ERA, 2-0, 14.0 IP, 18 SO, 2 BB
So., RHP 9 Cam Kline 2.37 ERA, 4-0, 1 CG, 30.1 IP, 47 SO, 7 BB
R-Fr., RHP 36 Jack Zigan 2.45 ERA, 2-0, 18.1 IP, 2 CG, 22 SO
R-So., RHP 20 Trevor Divinski 4.32 ERA, 1-0, 25.0 IP, 24 SO
Top Relievers
R-So., RHP 32 Jimmy Larson 4.32 ERA, 2-2, 34 SO, 7 BB
Fr., RHP 15 Collin Denk 4.70 ERA, 1-1, 15.1 IP, 15 SO, 4 BB
The Mavericks have been one of the most consistent programs in the NSIC since Matt Magers took over the head job in 2009. MSU-Mankato has six 40 win seasons, including winning 42 in 2013 where they were the national runner up, losing to Tampa in the title game. This season, the Mavericks are 13-6 overall and have won four out of their last five games in conference play.
Offensively, the Mavericks have one of the top players in Jordan Hart. The senior from Lyle, Minn., is hitting .457 on the year, while collecting 37 hits, seven doubles, six homeruns and 26 RBI's. Hart leads the NSIC in batting average, is second in slugging percentage and is second in hits. Nick Altermatt, Tom Imholte and Ty Buck are also having good years for the Mavericks, as they are all hitting greater than .350.
The Mavericks have been good on the hill as well. Jon Ludwig leads the starting rotation, as he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Cam Kline and Jack Zigan have pitched well this season. Kline is 4-0 with a 2.37 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched. Kline has a whopping 47 strikeouts compared to just seven walks this season. Zigan meanwhile, is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched and has 22 strikeouts compared to just two walks on the season.
