What Lies Ahead: The fourteenth-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks (51-13) meet the  seventh-ranked Augustana College Vikings (49-9) in a best-of-three series which begins Friday at 2:00 p.m. Game two and game three are scheduled for Saturday, with game one slated for 1:00 and game three (if necessary) targeted for 3:30 p.m. All games will be played at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D. The winner of this NCAA Division II Super Regional advances to the NCAA Championships, May 26-30, in Salem, Va.

Last Weekend: Minnesota State reached a milestone last weekend as it collected its 1,000th career win which turned out to be a big one. With the win, the Mavericks rolled past Winona State 6-2 in the subregional championship,earning MSU a berth into this weekends Super Regional. The win Sunday puts the Mavericks a top the charts as it now has the most wins in program history. MSU went 3-1 in the regional as it beat Metro State 1-0, Wayne State 6-0, lost Winona State 6-3 and beat the Warriors 6-2 in the final game  of the subregional tournament.

Coverage for the Mavericks at Bowden Field: All the NCAA Central Regional Championsip  information can be found at msumavericks.com. Live stats, postgame stats and video's will be available at msumavericks.com, as well as graduate assistant Brady Mithun's live in-game blog from Sioux Falls.

Head Coach Lori Meyer:  One of the most respected coaches in all of NCAA  Division II softball, Lori Meyer  is in her 26th year as the head coach of the Minnesota State softball team.  Meyer owns a career record of 875-564-3 (.608) in 1,442 games.  A seven-time NCC Coach of the Year, Meyer has guided the Mavericks to three North Central Conference titles (1987, 1989 and 2007), and guided the ‘87 Mavericks to a third-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Minnesota State History:  The 2011 season is the 37th for Maverick softball.  MSU owns an all-time record of 1,000-661-7 (.602) in 1,668 games, and have four North Central Conference titles (1984, 1987, 1989, 2007) and ten appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament (1984, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011) to its credit.

In the Ranks: In the latest NFCA/NCAA Division II Coaches Poll, which was released Wednesday, the Mavericks were ranked #14. The Mavericks are ranked #2 in the NCAA Central Region rankings which were released last Wednesday. The Vikings are seventh in the NFCA poll and first in the NCAA Central Region rankings.

Championship Drive: If MSU was to win this weekend, it would advance to the championship series for the second time in school history, joining the 1987 squad which finished third.

Up Until Now:  Minnesota State own a 51-13  record, marking the fourth 40-win season in program history and first 50-win season.  In NSIC play, MSU was 20-6. The Mavericks were runners-up in the NSIC tournament and took fourth in the regular season.

Scouting the Vikings: The Vikings won the NSIC regular season, the NSIC Tournament and took the NCAA Central Subregion-1 last weekend, beating UMD twice last Satuday to avoid elimination. A large part of the win was Kelsey Kalkmann's bottom of the sixth inning three-run shot to jump to a 3-1 as they held the Bulldogs in the seventh. The Vikings are hitting .335 from the plate this season and hold and on base percentage of .395. Augustana averages 6.34 runs, 9.26 hits and 1.2 home runs per game this season. The pitching staff owns a 1.64 earned run average this season, allowing opponents to hit .236 against them. The Vikings are 8-2 in their last ten games, including five shutout victories.
    In the leadoff spot, Jenny Brown marks a league-leadng .435 batting average and has 11 stolen bases this season. Senior Traci Fransen leads the team in runs batted in with 61 and is hitting .378 from the dish. Sophomore Theresa McMahon has 16 home runs and 46 runs batted in 2011.From the mound, junior Ashley Meyer comes into Friday with a 29-5 record and a 1.25 earned run average on the season. Fellow junior Chelsey Durland owns a 1.76 earned run average and is 14-3 this season. The Vikings are coached by Gretta Melsted, who is in her fifth year at Augustana.

Inside the Series: Augustana holds a 58-37 record over Minnesota State and is 4-1 this season over MSU. As a team, the Mavericks are batting .308 against Augustana this season, while the Vikings are batting .320 against the Mavericks. Minnesota State sophomore Lauryn Morris is batting 9-of-15 (.600) with two walks in the five games this season. Maverick sophomore shortstop Abby Sonner tallies three doubles and a .353 batting average against Augustana. Leadoff batter Melanie Upchurch is 8-of-19 (.421) from the batters box against AC. The Mavericks compute a 4.67 earned run average over the five games as junior Kendra Huettl owns the lone win over the Vikings.
    On the other hand, senior third baseman Traci Fransen is 8-of-15 (.533) from the plate and a owns a .632 on base percentage. Fransen also has three walks and a perfect fielding percentage with ten assists. Freshman Lindsay Spanton has six runs batted in against MSU and is 6-of-17 with three walks in the five games. Pitcher Ashley Meyer is 3-1 against Minnesota State with a 1.44 earned run average.

Lead Me: MSU freshman designated player/catcher Linsday Erickson leads the team in batting average (.426), hits (83), doubles (19), slugging percentage (.641) and total bases (125).  Senior first baseman Natalie Spicer leads MSU in on base percentage (.477), runs scored (49), home runs (11), walks (40) and is tied for first in runs batted in (51).  Fellow senior, Julie O'Neal, also has 51 runs batted in. Junior outfielder Melanie Upchurch leads MSU in stolen bases with 32.  Junior pitcher Kendra Huettl leads MSU in win-loss percentage (.806), wins (29), saves (2), innings pitched (211), batters struck out (235), appearances (45) and games started (36).  Sophomore slinger Courtney McKelvogue leads MSU in earned run average (1.86) and opposing batting average (.208).


For this week's full notes click HERE