What's Lies Ahead: Sixth-ranked Minnesota State (31-8, 8-4 NSIC)  plays its final regular season home games this weekend at the Diamond at Gage Towers. Saturday the Mavericks will take on Upper Iowa in a doubleheader scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. Minnesota State will host Winona State Sunday in the strikeout against cancer game, which is dedicated to raise money for cancer awareness. The doubleheader is set to launch at 1 p.m.

In the Ranks: The Mavericks are ranked #1 in the third NCAA Central Region rankings that were released Wednesday. MSU is followed by Winona State and Augustana, while seven of the ten teams in the regional poll are NSIC schools. In the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, Minnesota State dropped from fifth to sixth in the country this week as Winona State stayed steady at #8.

Up Until Now:  Minnesota State enters Saturday owners of a 31-8 record are coming off two losses to Augustana Wednesday. The Mavericks are batting .344 as a team with an .403 on-base percentage.  The Mavericks have stolen 77 bases and knocked in 228 RBI this season. Eight of the nine MSU starters are hitting above .312. Minnesota State owns a .968 fielding percentage on the season.

Lead Me: MSU freshman Linsday Erickson holds a team-leading .445 batting average. Erickson is leading the team in hits (53), extra base hits (19) and total bases (76). Senior Natalie Spicer has a .657 slugging percentage and 22 walks, while freshman Kelly Wood and Spicer each tally seven home runs this season. Wood holds a .787 slugging percentage on the season and is batting .427 overall. Senior Julie O'Neal is batting .422 this season, compiling a .642 slugging percentage and has 35 runs batted in. Junior Melanie Upchurch and sophomore Lauryn Morris have each stolen 24 bases on the season.
    Sophomore pitcher Courtney McKelvogue gathers a 15-4 record on the season, including a 1.45 earned run average. McKelvogue has given up 16 extra base hits in her 115.2 innings pitched, with batters hitting .181 against her. Junior pitcher Kendra Huettl is 14-4 on the season with a 2.58 earned run average.

Plucking the Peacocks: Upper Iowa (5-28, 1-9 NSIC) is currently on a seven game losing streak coming into the weekend. UIU is batting .245 this season, including a .343 slugging percentage. On the road,  the Peacocks are 0-10 and average 2.82 runs per game. Senior Erin Bennek is batting .374 on the season with a .593 slugging percentage. The Peacock pitching staff currently owns a 5.83 earned run average with 104 strikeouts and opponents batting .334 against it.

Removing the Warriors Shield: Winona State (25-4, 9-1 NSIC) comes into the weekend 11-1 in its past 12 games. On Wednesday, WSU split with Concordia as it lost 2-10 and won 7-0  in the doubleheader. Junior Kathy Crudo is leading the team in batting hitting .462 from the plate and collecting a .802 slugging percentage. Crudo has batted in 37 runs, owning a .490 on-base percentage. Junior Molly Link is averaging .396 from the plate with 13 doubles on the season.
    The pitching staff holds opposing batters to a .203 average from the plate, which keeps WSU to a 2.19 ERA.  Senior pitcher Courtney Strang holds a 13-3 record in 97.1 games on the season. Senior  Stacey Struzynski is 7-1 on the season and manages a 1.67 earned run averages.

For the Record Books: Senior Natalie Spicer sits first in career walks (97) at Minnesota State. Spicer  stands in second in runs batted in (135) and home runs (26), being eight RBI away and three home runs away from the top spot. Sophomore Lauryn Morris and junior Melanie Upchurch rank number one in stolen bases in a season, as each has captured 24 this year. Pitchers Kendra Huettl and Courtney McKelvogue both have 53 careers win, notching them into fifth place all-time.

Tidbits About the Mavericks: Minnesota State is 29-0 when they out-hit opponents and 0-5 when out-hit... MSU has scored 21 percent of its total runs in the third inning... When hitting two home runs or more, MSU is 12-0... Minnesota State is 26-1 when leading after four innings... The Mavericks are 17-2 when scoring in the first inning... Senior Julie O'Neal is on a 14-game hitting streak and is 5-of-5 with the bases loaded this season... Junior Chelsea Erickson is batting .404 with runners in scoring position... Freshman Lindsay Erickson is batting 17-of-22 (.773) when leading off and inning and has 20 two-out runs batted in... Lindsay Erickson and Melanie Upchurch have had 15 multiple hit games.