MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team has a busy schedule this week, as the Mavericks will play four different NSIC opponents. 

MSU will begin with a doubleheader against Sioux Falls on Tuesady in Sioux Falls, S.D., with game times starting at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. On the next day, the Mavericks will have their home opener against Concordia-St. Paul at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. To finish out the week, MSU will host Minnesota Crookston on Friday and Bemidji State on Saturday. Friday's games are set to begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., while Saturday's twinbill is set for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Upcoming Games
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
3/31	Sioux Falls (DH)	Sioux Falls, S.D.	3 p.m./5 p.m.
4/1	Concordia-St. Paul (DH)	Mankato, Minn.	2 p.m./4 p.m.
4/3	Minnesota Crookston (DH)	Mankato, Minn.	1 p.m./3 p.m.
4/4	Bemidji State (DH)	Mankato, Minn.	12 p.m./2 p.m.

From The Last Time Out: The Mavericks began thier NSIC schedule last week, as they traveled up to Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State for a pair of doubleheaders. MSU split both twinbill's, as the Mavericks defeated UMD on Friday in game one, 3-0, before falling to the Bulldogs in game two by the score of 3-2. On Saturday, MSU fell to SCSU in game one in eight innings, 2-1, before defeating the Huskies in the later game, 6-3.

The Mavericks now stand at 17-13 overall and 2-2 in NSIC play.

Sophomore Dana Mogren led the way for the Mavericks as she batted .462 from the plate and connected on her first career home run as a Maverick. Mogren also accumulated a .769 slugging percentage, while adding three RBI, one double, two runs, one walk and one stolen base to her stat sheet.

Junior Emily Bransky batted .364, as she was able to collect four hits, inlcuding one double and three RBI. Freshman Jess Meidl led MSU this past weekend with two stolen bases, along with a .308 average from the plate. Meidl also collected three RBI and one walk this past week. Sophomore Ashley Thell added another home run to her stat sheet this past week, while freshman Kara Lattery belted two doubles of her own.

Sophomore Coley Ries had another impressive showing this past week, as she posted a 1-1 record with a 1.00 ERA. In her two starts, she threw all 14 innings, while giving up just two earned runs. Ries was also able to fan 19 batters and hold her opponents to a .212 batting average. Freshman Libby Bemis notched a 1-1 record this past week, as she pitched in 13 innings and gave up just four earned runs. She accumulated a 2.15 ERA and struck out three batters.

About Sioux Falls: The Cougars enter the week with a 16-8 overall record and a 2-2 NSIC record, as they most recently got swept by Northern State. USF is coached by former Maverick Kelsey Thompson, who is currently in her second season at the helm. The Mavericks own a perfect 4-0 all-time record against the Cougars.

USF is led by junior Danielle Walker, as she leads the team with a .408 batting average and has also collected 12 walks, 10 RBI, six doubles, four home runs and six stolen bases.  Junior Betsy Thomas leads the Cougars with 28 RBI, 16 walks and nine home runs, while junior Shannon Daly has collected a team-leading 22 runs scored and has recorded 21 RBI, six home runs, six doubles and eight walks.

From the circle, junior Alyson Netty owns a 9-4 record, with a 4.42 ERA in 77.1 innings of work. Netty has struck out 80 batters this year and is holding opposing batters to a .274 batting average. Freshman Breanna Black leads the pitching staff with a 1.88 ERA, as she owns a 6-4 record and has pitched in 62.1 innings.

About Concordia-St. Paul: The Golden Bears enter the week with a 6-19 overall record and a 0-2 conference record, as they were most recently swept by St. Cloud State. CSP is coached by Bob Bartel, who is currently in his 11th season on the job. The Mavericks own a 46-17-2 record against the Golden Bears, including a 3-1 record in the team's last four meetings.

Freshman Nicole Thompson leads the team with a .430 batting average, 16 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. Junior Jamie Fleischhaker  is batting .319 from the plate and leads the Golden Bears with 21 RBI, 15 walks and five doubles.

About Minnesota Crookston: The Golden Eagles enter the week with a 4-20 overall record and a 0-6 record in NSIC action. UMC is coached by Don Stopa, who is currently in his first season at the helm. The Mavericks own a perfect 12-0 record against the Golden Eagles, including a pair of shut out victories from last season, 10-0 and 5-0.

Freshman Victoria Bayliss leads UMC with a .405 batting average and nine doubles, while junior Allison Foley is batting .373 from the plate and has recorded 16 runs scored, 10 RBI, five doubles and six stolen bases.  Senior Shelby Hollinger leads the Golden Eagles with six home runs, while junior Alexis Khoshaba leads the team with 21 RBI.

Sophomore Bailey Braatz leads UMC with 62.1 innings pitched and 26 strikeouts and holds a 5.50 ERA. Senior Brooke Vatthauer leads the team with 17 appearances and holds a 0-5 record, with a 7.08 ERA.

About Bemidji State: The Beavers enter the week with a 12-10 overall record and a 3-3 NSIC record. BSU is coached by Rick Supinski, who is in his third season on the job. The Mavericks own a 20-1 all-time record against the Beavers. 

Junior Lyndsey Peterson owns a .403 batting  average and has accumulated 15 runs scored, nine walks, seven RBI, six doubles and three home runs. Sophomore Jessica Yost and freshman Lexi Ripka have each collected 14 RBI, while sophomore Alayna Krejci leads the team with 10 walks.

From the circle, Yost leads the pitching staff with a 9-3 record and a 2.17 ERA. She also leads the team with 67.2 innings thrown and 100 strikeouts and she is holding her opponents to a .236 batting average.
 
How We Stack Up: As a team, the Mavericks   offensively sit first in the NSIC in triples (15), second in stolen bases (79) and sac flies (12), fourth in walks (78) and fifth in hits (249) and doubles (39) .

Pitching wise, MSU ranks first in the conference in innings pitched (212.1) and strikeouts (241), second in the NSIC in opposing batting average (.236) and fifth in earned run average (2.84). 

Individually Speaking: Junior Tatum Klein places in the top-ten in a variety of categories in the NSIC. She ranks tied for second in stolen bases (22), tied for fourth in hits (45) and runs scored (27), and tied for fifth in triples (3).

Sophomore Samantha Buhmann places tied for fifth in the NSIC in triples (3).

Freshman Jess Meidl finds herself ranked tied for first in triples (5) and seventh in stolen bases (16). 

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

Junior Emily Bransky places tied for 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 (158), third in innings pitched (114.2), fourth in opposing batting average (.225), tied for seventh in wins (9) and eigth in ERA (2.44).

Freshman pitcher Libby Bemis ranks ninth in opposing batting average (.237) and tenth in ERA (2.60) and innings pitched (89.0).

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