MSSU baseball to open NCAA play today

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The 15th ranked Missouri Southern baseball team will open up the 2015 NCAA Tournament when they take on No. 5 Minnesota State on Thursday at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota. 

Game Information

Teams: #15 Missouri Southern (40-12) vs. #5 Minnesota State (41-7)

Date: Thursday, May 14
First Pitch: 3 pm
Location: St. Cloud, Minn.
Site: Joe Faber Field (2,000)
Series Record:Minnesota State leads 2-0
Coaches: Bryce Darnell (236-183 overall/at MSSU). Matt Magers (381-270 overall/at MSU)

Media Coverage

MSSU Radio: AM 1560 - ESPN - Ron Fauss - Play-by-play, Justin Maskus - Color Commentary
Internet Audio: www.mssulions.com
Live Stats: www.mssulions.com
Live Video: www.mssulions.com 
Lions on Facebook:  Facebook.com/missourisouthernlions
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssubaseball

About the Lions:  In Bryce Darnell's eighth season at the helm of the Lions, Southern is in the NCAA Tournament for the second time. They've made the MIAA Tournament in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015, winning it in 2013 and 2015. The Lions made the NCAA Tournament last in 2013.The Lions are the MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Champions and are ranked 15th nationally by the baseball writers and 16th by the coaches. The MSSU pitching staff is one of the best in Division II this year. The Lions rank in the top ten nationally in three different pitching categories including shutouts (9th), k/bb ratio (3rd) and walks/9 innings (6th). The team also ranks 9th nationally in fielding percentage and 10th in walks. Individually, Cody Hutchinson ranks 8th nationally in wins (10), while Hutchinson and Payton Walker rank 7th in complete games. Jesse Rall ranks 16th and 17th in home runs and slugging. 

About the Mavericks:  The Mavericks are the top hitting team in Division II coming into the matchup with the Lions, posting a team batting average of .364 on the season. The Mavs went 1-2 at the NSIC Tournament last week, but have been ranked in the top ten nationally most of the season. They have won the last three Central Region Tournaments and four of the last five. Max Waletich leads the team with a .444 batting average, 9 HR and 52 RBIs. Dalton Roach is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA, while Brody Rodning is 8-0 with a 2.98 ERA. The team boasts a 3.92 ERA.  

Last time vs. MSU:  The Lions and Mavs met up in the opening round of the 2013 Central Region Tournament. In what would be an epic pitchers duel that saw both starters pitch into the 11th, the Mavs won 1-0 in 14 innings.    

Series history:  These two teams have met just twice in their history, both coming in NCAA Tournament Play. MSU has won both meetings, 9-5 in 2001 and 1-0 in 2013 

Next up:  The winner of this game will play the winner of the Emporia State/Southern Ark. game at 7 pm Friday, while the loser will play at 11 am against the loser of the St. Cloud/Henderson State game. 

Fielding Numbers: The Lions are on pace to break the school record for fielding percentage this year as Southern leads the MIAA and is 9th in D-2 with a .973 mark.

Pitching Prowess: The Lions lead the MIAA in walks allowed per nine innings (fewest), win/loss percentage, WHIP, strikeouts per nine innings, strikeout to walk ratio, and shutouts. The team ranks 6th nationally in walks per nine, while ranking 3rd in k/bb ratio and 9th in shutouts.     

Winning Streaks: The Lions started the season on an 11-game winning streak that ranks as the sixth-longest winning streak in Southern baseball history. Southern won 22 games in a row in 1989 and 20-straight in 1994. The 1991 and 95 teams each had 19-game winning streaks, while the 1992 team won 16-straight. 

Strike Em Out: The Lions are on pace to break the school record for strikeouts per nine innings this year as the team is averaging 8.6 this season to rank 20th nationally. The 396 total strikeouts is 12 from the single-season record in that category.  

Tino Martinez Semi-Finalist: Missouri Southern center fielder Chris Hoffman is a semi-finalist for the Division II Player of the Year Award - the Tino Martinez Award. Hoffman is currently hitting .431 with 8 home runs and 39 RBIs. He leads the team with 51 runs, 74 hits 3 triples and 14 doubles.  

MIAA Leaders: The Lions lead the MIAA in six different pitching categories, as well as most walks (offensively) on base percentage and fielding percentage. Southern ranks second in ERA and hits allowed per nine innings (fewest). 

Individual MIAA Hitting Leaders: Tee Helsel is second in the MIAA in walks, while Hoffman leads the league in batting average. Hoffman ranks second in hits, while Jesse Rall ranks third in home runs and home runs per game as well as RBIs per game. He is second in slugging, while Hoffman ranks second in on base percentage. 

Individual MIAA Pitching Leaders: Cody Hutchinson leads the MIAA in wins, while he and Payton Walker are third and fifth in ERA. The duo lead the league in complete games. Walker is 2nd in WHIP, while Hutchinson ranks 6th. Walker, Tyler Burgess and Hutchinson rank 3-4-5 in strikeouts.  

NCAA Team Leaders: As a team, the Lions rank third in strikeouts to walk ratio, while ranking sixth in walks allowed per nine innings, and ninth in both fielding percentage and shutouts. The Lions rank tenth in walks (most), while also ranking 12th in win/loss percentage, 16th in on base percentage, and 20th in both WHIP and strikeouts per nine. They rank 24th in home runs, 31st in batting average and 28th in slugging. 

NCAA Individual Leaders: Individually, Cody Hutchinson is 8th nationally in wins. He and Payton Walker rank 7th in complete games, while Jesse Rall ranks 17th in home runs per game, 15th in home runs, 27th in RBIs and 17th in slugging. Chris Hoffman ranks 22nd in hits and 20th in batting average, while Tee Helsel ranks 35th in walks.

Southern At The NCAA Tournament: The Lions have played in the NCAA Tournament six times and have an overall record of 10-12 in the playoffs. The team made the College World Series in both 91 and 92, making the national championship game in 1991. Below is the record for the Lions in each year they were in the NCAA D-2 Tournament.

1990 - 0-2

1991 - 6-2 (National Runners Up)

1992 - 4-2

1995 - 0-2

2001 - 0-2

2013 - 0-2

Lions vs. 2015 Central Region Opponents: The Lions have played each of their opponents in this region at some point in the program's history. Below are the records against each of their possible opponents. 

vs. Minnesota State - 0-2 (last met 2013)

vs. Emporia State - 25-56 (last met 2015)

vs. Henderson State - 5-2 (last met 2000)

vs. Southern Arkansas - 1-5 (last met 2008)

vs. St. Cloud State - 2-2 (last met 2009)

Closing It Out: The Lions' pitching staff has been outstanding late in games this year, allowing just 15 runs in the final two innings of all games in 2015. The staff has a record of 34-2 leading after six, 17-0 leading after seven and 20-1 leading after eight. 

Scoring Early: This season, the Lions have had huge success when they score early. The Lions are 22-4 when scoring in the first inning and 30-4 when scoring first. 

Keeping offenses quiet: This season, the Lions are 20-1 when teams score two or fewer runs and the team is 10-1 when they hold opponents to 3-5 runs scored. 

Reaching Base Streaks: Jesse Rall has a 26-game streak in reaching base this season, while Richie Gorski has reached base in 24-straight games.