MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will be traveling to St. Joseph, Mo. later this week to take part in the Missouri Western State Tournament. This week's action will mark as MSU's final nonconference action of the season.

The Mavericks are set to play six games down in Missouri and all six opponents hail from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). MSU will begin action against the host school in Missouri Western State on Friday at 10 a.m., before setting its sights on Northwest Missouri State later in the day at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the Mavericks will take on Pittsburg State at 12 p.m., and Missouri Southern State at 2 p.m. On the final day, Sunday, MSU will play against a pair of familiar foes from earlier this season in Central Missouri and #20 Emporia State. Those games are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Upcoming Games

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (CT)
3/20	Missouri Western State	St. Joseph, Mo.	10 a.m.
3/20	Northwest Missouri State	St. Joseph, Mo.	4 p.m.
3/21	Pittsburg State	St. Joseph, Mo.	12 p.m.
3/21	Missouri Southern State	St. Joseph, Mo.	2 p.m.
3/22	Central Missouri	St. Joseph, Mo.	11 a.m.
3/22	#20 Emporia State	St. Joseph, Mo.	1 p.m.

From The Last Time Out: MSU was able to go 8-3 down in Florida, which improved its overall record to 12-8 on the season. In five of the eight wins, the Mavericks were able to hold their opponents scoreless. 

In the 11 games in Florida, the Mavericks were able outscore their opponents 62-19. MSU was also able to hit an average of .331 and a slugging percentage of .460. The pitching staff  held opposing batters to .199 hitting average in 78 innings of work. The pitchers also accumulated an impressive 1.44 ERA and 96 strikeouts.

Junior Tatum Klein led the way for the Mavericks, as she led the team with a .537 batting average, 13 runs, 22 hits and 12 stolen bases. Klein was also able to post a .683 slugging percentage, a .548 on-base percentage, three triples and six RBI. Sophomore Samantha Buhmann also had an impressive showing down in Florida. Buhmann tallied a .487 batting average, with  19 totals hits, including two doubles and two triples. She also notched a team-leading 12 RBI, a .641 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Freshman Kara Lattery belted both home runs for MSU on the trip, which accounted for her first two in her career as a Maverick. Lattery also led the team with a .688 slugging percentage, along with nine RBI and two doubles. Freshman Jess Meidl racked up a .564 slugging percentage as she posted three doubles, three triples, five RBI and five stolen bases.

Freshman pitcher Libby Bemis had a couple of outstanding performances in Florida, including a no hitter against Merrimack. Bemis posted a perfect 6-0 record and an incredible 0.38 ERA in those six games. She notched 36.2 innings of work and posted three complete games. The Osceola, Iowa native gave up just two earned runs and held opposing batters to a .163 batting average, while striking out 42 batters. Sophomore Coley Ries, posted a 2-3  record, as she appeared in six games. Ries also recorded three complete games and 37.2 innings of work. She was also able to tally a 2.42 ERA and strike out 51 batters.
  
About Missouri Western State: The Griffons enter the week with an 11-9 overall record and a 4-2 record in the MIAA. MWSU is coached by Jen Bagley Trotter, who is currently in her 14th season at the helm. The Mavericks own a 9-8 all-time record against the Griffons, as the latest game between MSU and MWSU came from earlier this season, at the NSIC/MIAA Crossover in St. Cloud, Minn. The Mavericks defeated the Griffons, 2-1, as sophomore pitcher Coley Ries threw all seven innings in the win and was able to strikeout 10 Griffons batters.
 
Senior Tiffany Gillaspy leads the Griffons this season with a .400 batting average, a .700 slugging percentage, 21 runs scored and six home runs. Freshman Paige Shifflett leads MWSU with a team-high 22 RBI, while sophomore Morgan Rathmann is batting .371 this season and leads the team with 11 stolen bases. 

In the circle, junior pitcher Janie Smith owns a  6-5 record with a 4.64 ERA and a team-leading 58 strikeouts. Junior Shyanne Saladino is 7-4 on the year, with a 5.01 ERA, seven complete games and 26 strikeouts.

About Northwest Missouri State: The Bearcats enter the week with a 7-7 overall record and a 3-3 record in MIAA play. Northwest is coached by Ryan Anderson, who is currently in his ninth season on the job. The Mavericks and Bearcats have squared off 14 times in series history and MSU has been  victorious in 12 of them.

The Bearcats are led by senior Stephanie Mark who leads the team with a .540 batting average and a .960 slugging percentage. She also leads Northwest with 22 RBI, five home runs and 27 hits. Freshman Rebecca Maher  is batting .358 on the year and leads the team with 18 runs scored, along with posting 14 RBI and three doubles. Sophomore Chantel Adams is batting .349 and has recorded 14 RBI and team-leading eight walks.

In the circle, junior pitcher Sarah Baldwin leads the Bearcats with a 5-2 record on the season and has tallied 32 strikeouts on the year. Junior Kendle Schieber owns a 2-2 win-loss record this season and has posted a 3.07 ERA in 27.1 innings of work and 21 strikeouts.  
 
Pittsburg State: The Gorillas enter the week with a 12-4 overall record and a perfect 6-0 record in MIAA play. PSU's head coach is Elizabath Economon, who is currently in her fourth season at the helm. 

The Mavericks and Gorillas met earlier this season at the UAM 8-State Classic. In the game, the Gorillas defeated the Mavericks 8-0 in six innings. 

 So far this season, senior McKenzie Rynard leads PSU with a .417 batting average, a .813 slugging percentage and 12 walks. She has also collected 17 runs scored, 14 RBI, seven doubles and four home runs. Sophomore Nicole Nease is batting .400 on the year and is tied for a team-leading five home runs. She has also accumalated 22 hits, 12 RBI and seven walks this season. Sophomore Kylie Guthier leads the Gorillas with a team-leading 21 RBI, and she has added five home runs, five doubles with a .393 batting average to her stat sheet.

In the circle, freshman pitcher Emmie Robertson anchors the Gorillas pitching staff with a 7-2 record in 55.2 innings of work. She leads the team with a 2.01 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Earlier this season, Robertson picked up the win over the Mavericks as she gave up only two hits and struck out six batters. 

About Missouri Southern State: The Lions enter the week with a 2-14 overall record and  a 1-3 record in MIAA action. MSSU is coached by Bill Gray, who is currently in his sixth season at the helm. The all-time series record between the Mavericks and Lions stands at 3-3, as MSU won the last meeting between the two schools by the score of 5-2 last season.

Freshman Abi Corbett leads the Lions with a .372 batting average, while collecting 16 hits on the year and posting five RBI and four walks. Junior Michala Wood leads the team with 12 RBI, while junior Dru Coleman leads the Lions with two home runs on the year.

 In the circle, junior pitcher Ashley Lutz leads the Lions with a 2-6 win-loss record and has collected a 4.06 ERA in 41.1 innings thrown, with 33 strikeouts. 

About Central Missouri: The Jennies enter the week with a 15-6 overall record and a perfect 4-0 record in conference play so far this season. UCM is coached by Susan Anderson, who is in her ninth at the job. 

The Mavericks and Jennies met earlier this season at the NSIC/MIAA Crossover in St. Cloud, Minn. MSU won the game, 6-0 over the UCM, as sophomore pitcher Coley Ries led the Mavericks, finishing the game with 15 strikeouts and gave up just one hit in the win.

This season, sophomore Lauren Mabe leads UCM with a .464 batting average and eight doubles, along with collecting 11 RBI and seven walks. Sophomore Ali Jo Rogers is batting .403 this season and leads the team with 23 runs, 29 hits and 17 stolen bases. Sophomore Lindsey Dawson leads the Jennies with 17 RBI and is batting .356 from the plate.

In the circle, senior pitcher Jakki Prater leads UCM with a 7-2 record and a 1.99 ERA. She has pitched 67 innings so far this year and has fanned 54 batters. Senior Jessica Wilkes also owns a perfect 4-0 record this season, with a 2.33 ERA in 30 innings of work.
 
About  #20 Emporia State: The Hornets enter the week, owners of a 17-5 overall record and a perfect 6-0 record in MIAA action. ESU's head coach is Julie LeMaire, who is currently in her fourth season at the helm. 

The Mavericks and Hornets met earlier this season at the NSIC/MIAA Crossover in St. Cloud, Minn. ESU came out victorious in a nine inning affair, 2-1 over MSU. Despite picking up the loss, sophomore pitcher Coley Ries pitched eight innings of work, while giving up zero earned runs and striking out 10 Hornets batters.

The Hornets are led by senior Taylor Zordell, as she leads the way with a .447 average from the plate. She also leads the team with 25 runs, 38 hits and 19 stolen bases on the year. Senior Stephanie Goodwin is batting .444 and leads ESU with a .694 slugging percentage, nine doubles and 32 RBI this season. Seniors Jessica Gragg and Brenda Novelo have eached posted five home runs on the year.

In the circle, sophomore pitcher Eryn Stockman owns a 7-3 win-loss record and a 2.14 ERA, while senior pitcher Kaitlyn Caston holds a 6-1 record this season with a 3.41 ERA. Caston picked up the win over the Mavericks from earlier this season.

Sweeping Honors: After their impressive performances this past week in Florida, junior Tatum Klein and freshman Libby Bemis garnered NSIC Softball Player of the Week honors. The last time MSU swept both honors was last season, when Lindsey Erickson earned Player of the Week and current Mavericks pitcher Coley Ries earned Pitcher of the Week.

Klein took home Player of the Week honors, after posting an outstanding .615 batting average last week in seven games. The Iowa City native,  amassed 16 hits, eight runs and eight stolen bases. Bemis earned Pitcher of the Week honors after a couple of impressive outings. The Osceola, Iowa native recorded her first career no-hitter against Merrimack. Overall, Bemis went 4-0 last, as she tallied an outstanding 0.57 ERA. She also managed to strikeout 30 batters and only gave up two earned runs in those four games.


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