What’s On Tap: Seventh-ranked Minnesota State (41-8, 23-3 NSIC) heads to the NSIC Tournament in Rochester this weekend as the No. 1 seed. First on the slate for MSU is the eighth-seedth Wayne State (27-21, 13-13 NSIC) at 1 p.m., on Thursday afternoon at Rochester Community and Technical College. With a win against the Wildcats, MSU would play the winner of UMD and U-Mary Friday at 11 a.m. With a loss, the Mavericks would face the loser between the Bulldogs and the Marauders at 3 p.m., on Thursday.

MSU Team Notes:   Minnesota State is batting .301 as a team while its opponents are hitting .192…As a team, MSU has scored 265 runs while yielding just 77…MSU has as many home runs (43) as its opponents do extra base hits (43)…The Mavericks have swiped 92 bases this season while its opponents have stolen just 19…As a pitching staff, MSU has struck out 353 batters while its batters have struck out just 173 times…Maverick pitchers have worked 25 complete games this year and tossed 25 shutouts, combining for five…The Maverick pitchers tied an NSIC record for wins this year with 23, a feat they share with Augustana who did so in 2010…To lead off an inning, MSU is hitting .431, while it is hitting .478 with runners on third and less than two outs…MSU has successfully advanced runners 49.5 percent of the time this year and have driven in 85 runners with two outs…Minnesota State has seen 139 runners advance without an out this year…MSU has scored 25 or more runs in every inning of regulation this year, with a season-high 50 runs scored in the fourth inning and 48 in the third…MSU has also scored 42 runs in the first inning…Opponents have scored ten or less runs in the second (6), third (8), fourth (6), fifth (9) and seventh (4) innings this year…MSU is 16-1 when scoring in the first inning and 34-0 when leading after the fourth inning…MSU has struck out four times or less in 36 games this year…MSU has had multiple doubles in 20 games this year, including a season-high six doubles against MSU Moorhead on March 31…The Mavericks have coaxed five or more walks in 11 games this year, including a season-high eight walks against St. Cloud State (3/17)…MSU has struck out five batters or more in 42 games this season…MSU’s pitching staff hasn’t allowed a home run since April 6th at Upper Iowa…In neutral site games, MSU is 18-5 with a .267 batting average…Sophomore catcher Lindsay Erickson leads the team in batting in neutral site games with a .377 average while junior pitcher Courtney McKelvogueis 6-2 with a 1.30 ERA and 60 strikeouts and senior pitcher Kendra Huettl is 9-3 with a 1.49 ERA and 98 strikeouts…In games won, MSU is batting .312, scoring 242 runs and hitting 104 extra base hits – 57 doubles, nine triples and 38 home runs…Lindsay Erickson is batting .432 in victories while senior centerfielder Chelsea Erickson is hitting .336…In MSU’s wins, McKelvogue is 19-0 with a 0.58 ERA and Huettl is 20-0 with a 0.76 earned run average…In MSU’s eight losses junior shortstop Abby Sonner leads the team with a .296 batting average.

Against the Field: The Mavericks compile a 16-3 record against the seven other teams in the tournament. In those 19 games, MSU hit .281 and held opponents to a .204 batting average while collaborating a .984 fielding percentage. The three Maverick losses came against Winona State (7-4), U-Mary (1-0) and Minnesota Duluth (5-4) in nine innings.
The Mavericks will face Wayne State in the first round of the tournament on Thursday. MSU swept the Wildcats earlier this season in Wayne, Neb. In those two games sophomore Kelly Wood was 5-for-6 and fellow sophomore Lindsay Erickson was 5-for-7 with two home runs. MSU leads the all-time series between the schools 20-6, including taking the past four games.
    In game two, Minnesota State faces the winner/loser of the Minnesota Duluth and U-Mary in its second game of the tournament which will be determined by the outcome of its game. MSU is 3-1 against UMD this season with the only loss coming in extra innings. The Mavericks have outscored the Bulldogs 14-6 in the four games.
    Against U-Mary, MSU tallies a 6-6 all-time record. The two teams split a series in Mankato last weekend as MSU won 8-0 then lost 1-0 to the Marauders. MSU's Chelsea Erickson was 2-for-5 against U-Mary. Kendra Huettl threw a four-hitter against the Marauders in game one of the twinbill.
    Other teams that the Mavericks could face is Concordia, #12 Winona State, #17 Augustana and Northern State.
    Minnesota State is 4-0 this season and 43-14-2 overall against Concordia University. MSU is batting .313 the four games against the Golden Bears this season as Kelly Wood is 6-for-12 from the plate. The MSU pitching staff is holding CU to a .168 batting average as Courtney McKelvogue has two complete game shutouts.
    Going 2-1 in the three games this season against the Warriors, MSU owns a 43-33 all-time record against Winona State. In games this season, Melanie Upchurch is batting .545 (6-for-11). Huettl is 2-0 as she has two complete game shutouts over 12th-ranked WSU. MSU is batting .302 against them and has held the Warriors to a .247 batting average this season.
    Sevententh-ranked Augustana owns the edge over the Mavericks with an all-time record of  59-41 but MSU swept Augustana earlier this season. MSU's Chelsea Erickson went 3-for-6 with three RBI in the two games. Abby Sonner crushed a grand slam to seal the victory over the Vikings in the second game of the doubleheader. Kendra Huettl threw six innings and gave up just three hits in her performance against Augie.
    The Mavericks swept Northern State at home in its regular season finale. Collectively, MSU hit to a .333 batting average with a .444 on base percentage. McKelvogue pitched a complete game doubleheader for earn the win in the second game of the doubleheader. Upchurch was 3-for-4 with four walks in the two games. The Mavericks are now 11-1 all-time against the Wolves.

Head Coach Lori Meyer: One of the most respected coaches in all of NCAA Division II softball, Lori Meyer is in her 28th year as the head coach of the Minnesota State softball team. Meyer owns a career record of 918-572-3 (.616) in 1,493 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 and has made nine trips to the NCAA postseason and two trips to the NCAA Championships (1987, 2011). Meyer is the 35th coach in collegiate softball to mark 900 wins and the seventh NCAA Division II coach to accomplish the feat.

Minnesota State History: The 2012 season marks the 38th for Maverick softball. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,043-670-7 (.608) in 1,720 games, and have a NSIC title (2012) 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.

Home Sweet Home: The Mavericks are perfect at home this season with an 13-1 record. At the Diamond at Gage Towers, MSU has outscored opponents 76-4 and combine for a .334 batting average. Sophomore catcher Lindsay Erickson is batting an impressive .425 at home, including nine doubles and two home runs.

Record Book: Several Mavericks are also making a dent in the record book.
      Senior pitcher Kendra Huettl is first in career strikeouts (722), second in wins (88), second in shutouts (24), tied for third in saves (8), second in games started (118), fourth in complete games (70), second in innings pitched (747.1), tied in second for appearances (145).
      Junior pitcher Courtney McKelvogue is ninth in appearances (102), seventh in wins (61), fifth in strikeouts (455), eighth in inning pitched (514.1) and sixth in shutouts (18). 
      Senior outfielder Chelsea Erickson ranks third in career home runs with 28 while junior outfielder Lauryn Morris is tied for third in career stolen bases with 46.  Senior Melanie Upchurchsits fifth in steals with 45 and junior shortstop Abby Sonner is eighth with 28.

Inside Team League Stats: MSU ranks first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in stolen bases (92), caught stealing (28), stolen base attempts (120), earned run average (1.25), opponent batting average  (.192), batters struck out (353), runs allowed (77), earned runs allowed (63), doubles allowed (27), home runs allowed (11) and fielding percentage (.981)…The Mavericks are second in the league in batters struck out looking (as a pitching staff) (101), wins (43) and hits allowed (244)…MSU is third in batting average (.301), slugging percentage (.459), on base percentage (.372), runs scored (265), hits (411), doubles (69), home runs (43), walks (140), sacrifice bunts (53), innings pitched (352.1), saves (7) and putouts (1,057).

How Mavericks Rank in the NSIC: Lindsay Erickson leads the league in doubles with 18, is second in slugging perentage (.719) and hit by pitch (8) and sits in third for batting average (.399), on base percentage (.453) and total bases (110). Chelsea Erickson ranked second in walks (29). Kendra Huettl ranks second in ERA (1.15) and opponents batting average (.169) while standing third in batters struck out (189). Courtney McKelvogue stands third in ERA and is tied in saves (3).

Nationally Speaking:  As a team, Minnesota State ranks in the top-30 in four different statistical categories.
      The Mavericks rank first in fielding percentage (0.980), sixth in earned run average (1.28) and 21st in stolen bases per game (1.82) and 11th in win/loss percentage (.837).
       Individually, seven Mavericks rank in the top-100 in the nation.  In the circle, senior pitcher Kendra Huettl ranked 19th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.7), 15th in earned run average (1.15), ninth in hits allowed per seven innings (4.08), 25th in strikeouts (189) and 17th in shutouts (9).  Junior righthander Courtney McKelvogueis 24th in earned run average (1.30), 17th in shutouts (9) and 66th in hits allowed per seven innings (5.46).
       Senior outfielder Chelsea Erickson is 40th in walks per game (0.59), junior outfielder Lauryn Morris is 53rd walks (0.57). Sophomore catcher Lindsay Erickson ranks 20th in doubles per game (0.38), 76th in slugging percentage (.719). Sophomore Kelly Wood sits 59th in sac flies (3).


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