MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will continue its nonconference slate of games this week at the NSIC/MIAA Crossover in St. Cloud, Minn. The Mavericks will begin with Central Missouri on Thursday at 10 a.m., before taking on Missouri Western State later that day at 5 p.m. On Friday, MSU will play just one game at 2:30 p.m. against #17 Emporia State. On Saturday, the Mavericks will finish with a double dose of games against Fort Hays State and Nebraska Kearney. Those games scheduled for 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively.

Upcoming Games

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (CT)
2/19	Central Missouri	St. Cloud, Minn	10 a.m.
2/19	Missouri Western State	St. Cloud, Minn.	5 p.m.
2/20	#17 Emporia State	St. Cloud, Minn.	2:30 p.m.
2/21	Fort Hays State	St. Cloud, Minn.	7 p.m.
2/21	Nebraska Kearney	St. Cloud, Minn.	9 p.m.

From Last Week: The Mavericks began the season on a rough patch, as they went winless in four games at the UAM 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. 

MSU opened the season last Friday with a pair of games against Pittsburg State in game one and Northeastern State to finish the day. The Mavericks fell to the Gorillas in the first game of the day by the score of 8-0 in six innings, while MSU dropped its next game against the Riverhawks, by the score of 13-8.

The Purple and Gold finished up their stay last Saturday in Arkansas, with two more games on the slate against #13 Missouri-St. Louis in game one and Arkansas Tech in game two. The Mavericks fell to the Tritons in the first game, by the score of 10-2 in five innings, before MSU lost to Arkansas Tech 11-2 in five innings.

Sophomore Ashley Thell led the Mavericks down in Arkansas, as she batted .417 from the plate and connected on five hits, including one double and one home run. Thell also posted four RBI and two runs scored.

Senior Chelsea Riordan recorded two RBI in three games she played in, while junior Emily Bransky tallied four walks and two stolen bases in four games.

Sophomore Coley Ries went 0-3 this past week in 13.2 innings of work. Ries struck out 18 batters, while junior Katie Koponen made her first appearance in the circle as a Maverick. Koponen appeared in three games and started in one, with four innings of work and two strikeouts.
  
About Central Missouri: The Jennies own a 2-2 record coming into the week, including winners of their last two, as they took part in the UAM 8-State Classic last week. Head coach for UCM is Susan Anderson who is in her ninth season at the helm. So far, Anderson has accumulated a 234-186 record as head coach. 

Thursday's match-up will mark the 13th all-time meeting the two programs, as the Jennies own a 8-4 all-time record over the Mavericks.

Central Missouri has three players hitting at least .400 on the short year. Both sophomore Lauren Mabe and senior Jakki Prater are each hitting .438 and have both posted seven hits on the year. Mabe has accounted for the Jennies lone homer of the year and is tied for team-leading three doubles, while Prater leads the team with four RBI, along with three runs scored. Junior Ali Jo Rogers is the other UCM player batting at least .400, as she is averaging .429 from the plate. Rogers also leads the team with four runs scored, along with six hits and three doubles on the year.

In the circle, Prater owns a 1-1 record with a 1.34 ERA, along with one complete game on the year. She leads the team with 15.2 innings pitched and has posted 16 strikeouts and five walks. Senior Katie Shockley also holds a 1-1 record with a 3.27 ERA, in 15 innings pitched. She has posted two complete games, 17 strikeouts and has given up 12 hits and seven walks.

About Missouri Western State: The Griffons come into the week with a 5-4 overall record, including a pair of losses in their last two. MWSU is coached by Jen Bagley Trotter, who is currently in her 14th season at the job. Trotter has amassed a 454-275 overall record in her 13 seasons at the helm.

Friday's matchup will mark the 17th all-time meeting between the Mavericks and Griffons, as the all-time series remains a dead heat at 8-8.

Senior infielder, Tiffany Gillaspy leads MWSU coming into the week with a .393 batting average and a .786 slugging percentage. Five of her 11 hits have been extra base hits, including three home runs and two doubles. Gillaspy has also posted nine runs and eight RBI. Both sophomore outfielders Morgan Rathmann and Sydney Washington are also hitting over .350, as Rathmann has racked up a team-leading 10 runs scored along with nine hits, while Washington has posted 10 hits, seven runs scored, six RBI and two home runs.

In the circle, the Griffons are led by junior Shyanne Saladino, who comes into the week owning a 3-1 record. Saladino has three complete games, including two shutouts and has pitched 21 innings so far this year. 

About Emporia State: The Hornets opened the season at the UAM 8-State Classic, finishing with a 3-1 record. ESU's head coach is Julie LeMaire, who just began her fourth year at the helm. The Hornets own an 8-5 all-time record over the Mavericks, including three  from last season. ESU got the best of MSU twice last season, while the Mavericks were able to defeat the Hornets, 12-4 in six innings once last season.

ESU has two players batting over .500 this season, with senior Jessie Gragg batting .583 and senior Brenda Novelo is batting. 538. Gragg has recorded seven hits and three RBI, while Novelo leads the team two home runs, four runs scored and four RBI.

In the circle for the Hornets is senior Kaitlyn Caston, who owns a 2-0 record and a 3.00 ERA.  She has pitched 14 innings with three strikeouts and has given up 17 hits, six earned runs and four walks.

About Fort Hays State: The Tigers began their season at UAM 8-State Classic, where they went 1-3, with FHSU's lone win coming over Truman State, 11-1. The Tigers are coached by Adrian Mohr, who just started her first year at the helm. All-time record between the Mavericks and Tigers is 2-2, with FHSU owning the last laugh, as the Tigers beat the Mavericks last season by the score of 11-3 in five innings.

The Tigers currently have three players batting over .400, with junior infielder Tori Beltz leading the way with .500. Beltz has also posted one run home run, three RBI and three runs the scored. The other two players batting over .400 are sophomore Samantha Villarreal and freshman Veronica Knittig. Villareal is batting .455, with five hits and a team leading three walks, while Knitting is averaging .444 from the plate and leads the team with two home runs and five RBI.

Leading the pitching for the Tigers is senior Kelsey Kimminau, who owns a 1-1 record and 1.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched. 

About Nebraska-Kearney: The Lopers opened their season at the UAM 8-State Classic and currently own a 0-4 overall record. UNK is coached by Holley Carnes, who just began her 15th season at the helm. Saturday's matchup will mark the 14th all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Mavericks own a 9-4 record on the Lopers.

Through four games, the Lopers have been led by junior Makenzi Dallas, who leads the team with a .571 batting average, along with two home runs and three RBI.

In the circle, both freshmen Meg Housholder and Morgan Karlberg each own a 0-2 record, and have combined to give up 49 hits and 39 earned runs.

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