What’s On Tap: Sixth-ranked Minnesota State (47-8) takes the No.1 seed in the NCAA Central Region as it hosts fourth-seeded Fort Lewis (30-24) Friday at 1:30. Second-seeded Minnesota Duluth (37-20) and third-seeded Concordia-St.Paul (30-21) also join the Mavericks and the Skyhawks in the subregion. The Bulldogs and Golden Bears are scheduled for a 11 a.m. start on Friday. All games will be held at the Diamond at Gage Towers in Mankato, Minn. The regional is a double-elimination tournament as the winner advances to NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.
MSU Team Notes: Minnesota State is batting .303 as a team while its opponents are hitting .196…As a team, MSU has scored 285 runs while yielding just 92…MSU has nearly as many home runs (44) as its opponents do extra base hits (49)…The Mavericks have swiped 93 bases this season while its opponents have stolen 21…As a pitching staff, MSU has struck out 383 batters while its batters have struck out just 190 times…Maverick pitchers have worked 26 complete games this year and tossed 26 shutouts, combing 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 .433, while it is hitting .496 with runners on third and less than two outs…MSU has successfully advanced runners 49.9 percent of the time this year and have driven in 90 runners with two outs…Minnesota State has seen 159 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 53 runs scored in the fourth inning and 50 in the third…MSU has also scored 43 runs in the first inning…Opponents have scored ten or less runs in the second (7), fourth (6), and seventh (9) innings this year…MSU is 17-1 in the first inning and 36-0 when leading after the fourth inning…MSU has struck out four times or less in 38 games this year…MSU has had multiple doubles in 23 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 or batters in 45 games this season…In games won, MSU is batting .313, scoring 262 runs and hitting 114 extra base hits – 65 doubles, ten triples and 39 home runs…Sophomore catcher Lindsay Erickson is batting .431 in victories while senior centerfielder Chelsea Erickson is hitting .349…In MSU’s wins, junior Courtney McKelvogue is 20-0 with a 0.71 ERA and senior pitcher Kendra Huettl is 23-0 with a 1.01 earned run average…In home games this year, Lindsay Erickson led MSU with a .425 average, while McKelvogue was 6-1 with a 0.33 ERA and Huettl was 6-0 with a 0.33 ERA…MSU is hitting .334 at home this year while opponents are hitting just .141.
Against the Field: The Mavericks opens NCAA action against Fort Lewis for the fourth game between the teams in program history. MSU owns a 3-0 record against Fort Lewis with the latest meeting in 2009 when the Mavericks won 3-1. MSU has outscored the Skyhawks 20-4 in the three games against eachother.
In game two, Minnesota State faces the winner/loser of the Minnesota Duluth and Concordia in its second game of the tournament which will be determined by the outcome of its game. MSU is 4-1 against UMD this season with the only loss coming in extra innings. The Mavericks have outscored the Bulldogs 17-8 in the five games, including a 3-2 victory in the second round of the NSIC tournament last weekend. MSU leads the all-time series 37-32 over UMD. The last time the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament was in 2007 as the Mavericks prevailed 4-1. Junior shortstop Abby Sonner is batting .471 with two doubles and a home run against the Bulldogs this season. The pitching staff combines for a 0.89 ERA against UMD in 2011.
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 against CU. The MSU pitching staff is holding CU to a .168 batting average as junior Courtney McKelvogue has two complete game shutouts. The two schools have never met in NCAA history.
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 924-572-3 (.618) in 1,497 games. A seven-time NCC Coach of the Year, Meyer has guided the Mavericks to three North Central Conference titles (1987, 1989 and 2007), a NSIC title (2012) 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). This season Meyer was named the 2012 NSIC Coach of the Year as MSU won its first regular season NSIC title and the NSIC Tournament Championship. 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 1,047-670-7 (.609) in 1,724 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.
Moving On Up the Ranks: Minnesota State moved to sixth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Poll released wednesday. The Mavericks are the highest ranked team in the NSIC as Winona State stands at 16th and Augustana lands 17th. MSU has moved up at least one spot in the national rankings in the past five polls.
Home Sweet Home: The Mavericks are 13-1 at home this season. 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 (744), second in wins (91), second in shutouts (25), tied for third in saves (8), second in games started (121), fourth in complete games (71), second in innings pitched (768), second for appearances (149).
Junior pitcher Courtney McKelvogue is ninth in appearances (105), seventh in wins (62), fifth in strikeouts (463), eighth in inning pitched (521.2) and sixth in shutouts (18).
Senior outfielder Chelsea Erickson ranks third in career home runs with 28 while junior outfielder Lauryn Morris is third in career stolen bases with 47. Senior Melanie Upchurch sits 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 sacrifice bunts (58), caught stealing (29), stolen base attempts (122), earned run average (1.36), opposing batting average (.196), batters struck out (383), wins (47), hits allowed (272), runs allowed (92), earned run allowed (74) and doubles allowed (30)…MSU is second in the league in stolen bases (93), innings pitched (380.1), batters struck out looking (125) and home runs allowed (14)…MSU is tied for second in saves (7)…The Mavericks are third league stats in batting average (.303), slugging percentage (.454), on base percentage (.373), runs scored (285), runs batted in (247), doubles (77), home runs (44), total bases (673), total plate appearances (1,703), at bats (1,466) and walks (148).
How Mavericks Rank in the NSIC: Lindsay Erickson leads the league in doubles with 22, is second in total bases (123) and hit by pitch (8), landing third in slugging perentage (.711). Chelsea Erickson ranked second in walks (32). Kendra Huettl ranks second in ERA (1.28), opponents batting average (.177), wins (23) and innings pitched (180.1) while standing third in batters struck out (189). Courtney McKelvogue stands second in opponent batting average (.177) third in ERA (1.32) and is tied for third in saves (3).
Nationally Speaking: As a team, Minnesota State ranks in the top-30 in four different statistical categories.
The Mavericks rank fourth in fielding percentage (0.979), sixth in earned run average (1.36) and 24th in stolen bases per game (1.82) and sixth in win/loss percentage (.855).
Individually, seven Mavericks rank in the top-100 in the nation. In the circle, senior pitcher Kendra Huettl ranked 18th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.5), 21st in earned run average (1.32), 13th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.35), 21st in strikeouts (219) and 13th in shutouts (10). Junior righthander Courtney McKelvogue is 22nd in earned run average (1.32), 13th in shutouts (9) and 62nd in hits allowed per seven innings (5.49).
Senior outfielder Chelsea Erickson is 42th in walks per game (0.58), junior outfielder Lauryn Morris is 64th in walks (0.57). Sophomore catcher Lindsay Erickson ranks 8th in doubles per game (0.42), 74th in slugging percentage (.711). Sophomore Kelly Wood sits 65th in sac flies (3).
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