Baseball takes on Bemidji and UMary in weekend bouts

The Minnesota State University, Mankato baseball team is set to take on Bemidji State on Mar. 24 for a double-header, before returning to the mound this weekend for games against the University of Mary. The Mavericks come into this week’s series with a 9-3 overall record and 2-1 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The Beavers come into today’s games with a 3-14 overall record and 0-3 in the NSIC. Minnesota State owns the all-time record against Bemidji State with 39 wins and 4 losses, including a perfect 13-0 home record. 

Junior outfielder Ryan Wickman leads the Mavericks’ bats this season with a .400 batting average including 18 hits and 15 runs. Junior pitcher and infielder Nick Altermatt has also proven to be dominant at the plate so far with a .342 average with 13 hits and 10 runs.

On the mound, senior pitcher Brendan Knoll leads the Mavs with a 1.29 earned run average (ERA) and a clean 3-0 record this season. Altermatt has also made a name for himself on the mound with a 4.85 ERA and a 3-0 record so far.

The Mavericks’ fielding is led by junior catcher Mikey Fredrickson, who has accumulated 28 catches and 25 putouts with 0 errors. Wickman has also been consistent in the field with 24 catches and 24 putouts with 0 errors.

For the Beavers, senior infielder Sam Kalberer owns the highest batting average at .383 and has seven runs off 18 hits. Freshman outfielder Hunter Daymond follows closely behind Kalberer with a .361 average and has nine runs off 13 hits. 

The Bemidji pitching crew is led by junior Logan Barrick, who’s struck out 27 batters this season and owns the third lowest opposing batting average on the team at .244. Freshman Isaiah Biehn has also proven to be successful leading the team with a 1.93 ERA and .182 opposing batting average through 9.1 innings pitched. 

The University of Mary enters this weekend’s series with an 8-7 overall record and has yet to play any conference games. MSU also dominates the all-time record against UMary at 34-4 with an 11-0 home record.

For the Marauders, sophomore infielder Calvin James leads the team in batting so far this season with a .414 average and has 23 runs off 24 hits. Sophomore infielder Kyle Jameson follows closely behind with a .386 average and has tallied 18 runs off 14 hits. 

Junior Austin Wagner leads the UMary pitching squad this season with a 2-0 overall record and owns a 3.86 era and 29 strikeouts this season. Junior Jonathan Draheim owns an 0-2 overall record this season with a 4.87 ERA and 14 strikeouts. 

Minnesota State will play host to Bemidji State Mar. 24 for a double-header in Sioux Falls starting at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. MSU will then return to action Mar. 26 for a double-header against UMary at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The Mavs and Marauders will then finish things off in a series-finale Mar. 27 at 12 p.m.

Header Photo: Senior catcher Ben Livorsi taking a swing. (Maddie Behrens/The Reporter)

Write to Karson Buelow at karson.buelow@mnsu.edu.