MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team is set to begin its conference slate of games on the schedule this weekend. The Mavericks will travel north to Minnesota Duluth on Friday and St. Cloud State on Saturday. Each day will consist of a doubleheader of games and first pitches for those games are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. 

MSU's scheduled home doubleheader vs. Concordia-St. Paul for Tuesday has been postponed, due to inclement weather. Those games have been rescheduled for April 1 in Mankato, Minn.

Upcoming Games
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (CST)
3/28	Minnesota Duluth (DH)	Duluth, Minn.	1 p.m./3 p.m.
3/29	St. Cloud State (DH)	St. Cloud, Minn.	1 p.m./3 p.m.

From The Last Time Out: MSU competed in the Apple Market Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. last weekend. The the Mavericks took on six MIAA teams and ended up finishing with a 3-3 record when it was all said and done. MSU defeated Northwest Missouri State, Pittsburg State and Central Missouri, while falling to Missouri Western State, Missouri Southern State and #11 Emporia State.

After the weekend of games, MSU owns a 15-11 overall record.

Junior Emily Bransky had a good showing this past weekend, as she led the Mavericks with a .500 (8-16) batting average and four stolen bases, along with two runs scored, one RBI, one double and one triple. Freshman Jess Meidl displayed an impressive performance from the plate and the base paths this past weekend. She posted a .450 batting average and an outstanding slugging percentage with .800, along with notching two more stolen bases to her stat sheet. Meidl also recorded six runs scored, three RBI, one walk, two doubles, one triple and  her first career home run. 

Junior Tatum Klein and sophomore Samantha Buhmann had a couple more solid performances this past week. Klein was able to bat .304 from the plate, with seven hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases, while Buhmann notched a .318 batting average, to go along with seven hits, three runs scored, three RBI and one RBI.

From the pitching circle, sophomore pitcher Coley Ries went 2-2, as she was able to post a 1.78 ERA in 19.2 innings of work. Ries fanned 23 batters and held her opponents to just a .183 batting average and gave up only five earned runs in her four appearances. Freshman Libby Bemis tallied a 1-1 record this past weekend in four appearances. Bemis pitched in 14.1 innings and recorded a 2.30 ERA. She was also able to hold opposing batters to a .204 batting average and struck out 16 batters.

About Minnesota Duluth: The Bulldogs enter the week with a 16-7 overall record. UMD is coached by Jen Banford, who is currently in her 10th season at the helm. The Mavericks own a 40-34 all-time record against the Bulldogs, as MSU and UMD have split their last four meetings, 2-2, from the past two seasons.

The Bulldogs rank second in the NSIC in an array of offensive categories including: runs scored (147), hits (243), RBI (133) and home runs (29). To add on to that, UMD places third in batting average (.330) and slugging percentage (.503) and top the conference in total bases with 370.

From the circle, UMD's pitching staff owns a 3.01 ERA in 170 innings of work. The Bulldogs have struck out 167 batters and are holding opposing batters to a .235 batting average, both of which rank third in the NSIC.

Freshman Becky Smith leads the Bulldogs with a .427 batting average, a .787 slugging percentage and 31 RBI on the year. Smith has also notched six home runs, nine doubles and eight walks on the year, while freshman Hannah Schmoll is batting .423 and leads the team with 20 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. Junior Sami Schnyder is also batting over .400, with .406, while senior Jordan Rice has belted six home runs and 20 RBI this season.

In the circle, sophomore pitcher Sam Hartmann leads the way, as she holds a 10-2 win-loss record and a 2.89 ERA. Hartmann has pitched in 75 innings, and is holding her opponents to a .219 batting average and has struck out 83 batters. Junior Cayli Sadler owns a 6-5 record this season in 75 innings of work and has accumulated a 3.27 ERA so far this season.

About St. Cloud State: The Huskies enter the week with a 14-10 record this season. SCSU is coached by Paula U'Ren, who is currently in her 18th season on the job. MSU owns a 71-51 record over the Huskies in series history, as the Mavericks have been winners in the last six meetings between the two programs.

Sophomore Jessica Goerger leads the Huskies this season with .431 batting average, a .722 slugging percentage, 31 hits, seven doubles and four triples. Sophomore Megan Hedstrom is batting .404 from the plate and has accumulated 12 RBI, five doubles and 13 runs scored. Sophomore Abby Bunnel leads SCSU with 14 stolen bases on 17 attempts, while sophomore Alyssa Coletto leads the Huskies with 21 RBI.

In the circle, senior pitcher Kelly Franks owns a 3.37 ERA in 45.2 innings of work and leads the team with 45 strikeouts. Hedstrom holds a 5-1 win-loss record in 37.1 innings of work and is holding her opponents to a .228 batting average.

How We Stack Up: As a team, the Mavericks   offensively sit first in the NSIC in triples (15) and sac flies (12), second in stolen bases (74), third in the NSIC in hits (223) and fourth in doubles (34) and in walks (64).

Pitching wise, MSU ranks first in the conference in innings pitched (185.1) and strikeouts (219) and place second in the NSIC in opposing batting average (.234). 

Individually Speaking: Junior Tatum Klein places in the top-ten in a variety of categories in the NSIC. She ranks second in stolen bases (22), fourth in hits (42) and runs scored (24), tied for fifth in triples (3), eighth in batting average (.436) and finally tied for ninth in total bases (48).

Sophomore Samantha Buhmann places tied for fifth in the NSIC in triples (3), sixth in hits (36) and ninth in RBI (22).

Freshman Jess Meidl finds herself ranked first in triples (5), tied for sixth in stolen bases (14) and tied for seventh in walks (10).  

Sophomore Dana Mogren ranks tied for ninth in doubles with seven.

Sophomore Molly Sager sits in fifth in the NSIC in walks with 11.

Junior Emily Bransky places ninth in the NSIC in stolen bases with 12.

Sophomore Coley Ries finds herself in the top-ten of a number of categories. Ries ranks first in strikeouts (139), second in innings pitched (100.2), fourth in opposing batting average (.227), tied for eighth in wins (8) and tenth in ERA (2.64).


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