Mankato, Minn. --- For the third straight season, the Minnesota State softball team will open up its season at the UAM 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. 

The Mavericks will play in a total of six games in the span of three days. On Friday, MSU will take on a pair of teams from the Great American Conference (GAC) in Arkansas Tech at 11:00 p.m., before wrapping up the day with East Central at 3:00 p.m. On day two, the Mavericks will square off with two more GAC teams, as game one will be against Southern Arkansas at 11:00 a.m., before finishing up Saturday with Southeasten Oklahoma State at 3:00 p.m. On the final day, Sunday, MSU will take on a familiar foe from the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) in #16 Missouri Western State at 9:00 a.m., and then close out the tournament with the host school Arkansas at Monticello at 11:00 a.m.
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (CT)
2/12	Arkansas Tech	Bentonville, Ark.	11:00 a.m.
2/12	East Central	Bentonville, Ark.	3:00 p.m.
2/13	Southern Arkansas	Bentonville, Ark.	11:00 a.m.
2/13	Southeastern Oklahoma State	Bentonville, Ark.	3:00 p.m.
2/14	#16 Missouri Western State	Bentonville, Ark.	9:00 a.m.
2/14	Arkansas at Monticello	Bentonville, Ark.	11:00 a.m.

 
Concerning Arkansas Tech: The Golden Suns enter this week with a 4-1 record after participating in the Southeastern Shootout in Durant, Okla., last week. ATU is coached by Kristina McSweeney who is in her fourth season at the helm.

Friday's matchup will mark as the third all-time meeting between MSU and ATU. The Mavericks and Golden Suns are currently tied in series history at 1-1. Last season the two teams met at last year's UAM 8-State Classic, where ATU defeated MSU 11-2.

In  ATU's four wins this season, three have been shutouts and in two games the team has thrown "no-hitters". Freshman Sarah Coronado leads the Golden Suns through five games with eight hits, while sophomore Janie Knowles owns a team-leading two home runs and five walks. Junior Jalisa has already compiled a team-leading eight RBI, three doubles and 15 total bases. Gum is also 1-0 in the circle as she has started twice this season and has totaled 8.2 innings pitched, 17 strikeouts and one complete game. Also pitching for ATU is Morgan Vaughn who has appeared in three games, including two starts. Vaughn owns a 3-0 record in the circle in 16 innings of work and has record two shutouts, 18 strikeouts and eight walks so far this season.

Concerning East Central: The Tigers currently own a 3-4 overall record and have won their last three games. ECU is coached by Destini Anderson who is in her 10th season with the program. 

Friday's matchup will be the second all-time meeting between MSU and ECU. Back in 2014 the Mavericks defeated the Tigers 4-3 at the UAM 8-State Classic.

Through seven games, senior Jordynn VanPelt leads the Tigers with 11 hits, including three doubles and three home runs. She has also added nine runs, six RBI and 25 total bases. Senior Taylor Davis has collected 10 hits and nine runs, while senior Lauren Reeves has added two home runs, two triples and a team-leading 10 RBI.

Senior pitcher Lacey Paulk leads the Tigers with 20 innings pitched, as she owns a 1-2 record and a 8.10 ERA. She has also struck out 11 batters and has tallied 10 walks, while senior Marissa Shaffer owns a 1-1 record in 18.2 innings pitched

Concerning Southern Arkansas: The Muleriders began the season with a perfect 6-0 record after hosting their own softball tournament in Magnolia, Ark. Head coach Jason Anderson is in his second season at SAU.

Saturday's game will mark as the first all-time meeting the Mavericks and Muleriders.

In its first six games, SAU has outscored its opponents 53-3. Senior Darian Harris has seven extra base hits already with four home runs, two triples and one double. She leads the team with 12 RBI and 10 runs scored. For her efforts last week, she took home Great American Conference (GAC) Player of the Week honors. Sophomore Brooke Goad has posted three home runs, seven RBI, seven runs and a team leading nine hits. In the circle, senior pitcher Kimmy Beasley has yet give up a earned run through three games. She currently owns a 3-0 record in 16 innings pitched while striking out 25 batters and walking three. Her teammate Kaylee Garner has posted similar numbers through three games. Garner already posted one perfect game which helped her earn GAC Pitcher of the Week accolades. After three games she owns a 3-0 record in 15 innings pitched. She has posted 21 strikeouts, one earned run and just two walks.

Concerning Southeastern Oklahoma State: The Savage Storm enter the week with a 2-4 overall record after hosting their own tournament in Durant, Okla. SE's two wins came against Missouri Southern State and Central Missouri. The Storm are coached by Ron Faubion who is in his 17th season at the helm.

Saturday's matchup will mark as the fourth all-time meeting between the Mavericks and the Storm. The Mavericks own a 1-2 all-time record against the Storm with the latest meeting happening during the NCAA Regional in 2014. SE won the game 5-3 over MSU.

Through six games senior Jessica Simmons leads the squad with 10 hits, five runs and six stolen bases. Freshman Mykaela Wallace leads the Storm with two home runs, four RBI and three walks. Freshman pitcher Emily Cudd leads the team with 12 innings pitched in four appearances, while senior Jessica Seay leads SE with 10 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched.

Concerning #16 Missouri Western State: The Griffons own a 2-2 overall record after competing in the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational in Arkadelphia, Ark., last weekend. Jen Bagley coaches MWSU and is in her 15th year at the program.

The Mavericks and Griffons are 9-9 in their all-time series against each other. Last season MSU and MWSU met once as the Mavericks came out on top with a 2-1 victory.

Through four games freshman Taylor Hamilton is batting .455 from the plate as she has tallied five hits, two runs, three RBI and three walks. Sophomore Shelbie Atwell has recorded five hits, three runs and a team-leading seven RBI. Senior pitcher Shyanne Saladino leads the squad with a 1-1 record and 0.45 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched. She has completed both games she started in and has collected 15 strikeouts, three walks and just one earned run given up.

Concerning Arkansas At Monticello:  The Cotton Blossoms enter the week with a 1-3 overall record after playing in the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational in Arkadephia, Ark. last weekend. The Blossoms lone win came against Missouri Western State with a 9-6 win. UAM is coached by Alvy Early  who is in his 19th season at the helm.

Sunday's matchup will mark as the first ever meeting between the Mavericks and Blossoms.

After four game senior Holly Wilmarth leads  the team with three home runs, five RBI and five runs scored. Junior McKenzie Rice has added five total hits, three runs and two RBI. Senior pitcher Elizabeth Delafield has started in two games this season and has collected a 0-1 record. She has pitched in seven innings of work and has notched a 2.00 ERA.

All-Conference: Four Mavericks garnered praise from the NSIC for their efforts during the 2015 season. Senior Emily Bransky [Solon, Iowa] received first team honors, while senior Tatum Klein [Iowa City, Iowa] , junior Coley Ries [Mankato, Minn.] and sophomore Libby Bemis [Osceola, Iowa] each received second team honors.

Not One, Not Two, but Three!: The Purple and Gold were responsible for throwing three "no-hitters" last season. Sophomore Libby Bemis threw the first one last season down in Florida against Merrimack. In the game, Bemis threw a six inning gem where she struck out eight batters in the process. Junior Coley Ries posted the two other "no-hitters" for the Mavericks last season and just so happened to be in consecutive days. MSU hosted a pair of NSIC teams in Northern State and MSU Moorhead back on April 10 and 11 and Ries threw a pair of five inning "no-hitters" against each team. Against NSU, the Mankato East product tallied five strikeouts and bested her total with eight strikeouts the next day versus MSUM.

Stealing Machine: Senior Tatum Klein had quite the career season in 2015 for the Mavericks, earning Second-Team All-NSIC honors, as she led MSU with a .418 batting average. However, Klein did a lot of her damage on the base paths last season, where she became the all-time stolen base leader at MSU and the single-season record holder as well. Klein leads the all-time list with 76 swipes and 49 just last season. Those 49 steals placed her first in NSIC and 12th in the all of DII. The Iowa City, Iowa native posted 27 total stolen bases in her first two years combined at MSU.

Not only did Klein vault into the list for most single-season stolen bases at MSU. Sophomore Jess Meidl [Lakeville, Minn.] and senior Emily Bransky made the list as well. Meidl swiped 30 stolen bases in her first year in Purple and Gold, which places her third on the single-season list. Bransky ended the season right behind Meidl with 28 of her own, which places her in a tie for fourth with former MSU player Lauryn Morris.

Flame Thrower: Junior pitcher Coley Ries broke the single-season strikeout record last season, as she fanned 297 batters which is 50 better than the next closest player on the list. Ries finished first in the NSIC in total strikeouts and ended the season seventh in all of DII. For her career, Ries has 571 strikeouts which places her third on the list on career strikeouts at MSU.

Speed Kills: As a team, the Purple and Gold had quite the year on the base paths last season, finishing with 161 stolen bases. That is the most stolen bases  in program history dating back to 2003. MSU finished first in the NSIC for most stolen bases and ended the season fifth in the all of DII in stolen bases per game with 2.59 a game.

Look Who's Back: A total of 13 players from MSU's 2015 season return, including seniors Tatum Klein, Karli DesLauriers , Emily Bransky and Katie Koponen , juniors Coley Ries, Dana Mogren ,   Ashley Thell and Samantha Buhmann , sophomore's Alyssa Rickels , Libby Bemis, Kelly Grove , Kara Lattery and Jess Meidl. 

Fresh Faces: MSU added two new players onto its 2016 roster in freshmen McKenzie Paap and Cori Kennedy .

Preseason Prognostications: Minnesota State was picked to finish third in the NSIC Preseason Poll. MSU received 198 total points, including three first place votes. Picked to finish first in the NSIC is #10 Winona State. WSU received 219 total points and nine first place votes. Voted second is #20 Augustana after receiving 208 total points and four first place votes. Both Tatum Klein and Coley Ries for MSU were selected as  NSIC Players to Watch this season.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season will mark as the 42nd season for the Maverick softball program. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,164-722-7 (.617) in 1,893 games, and has four North Central Conference titles (1984, 1987, 1989, 2007), three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title (2012, 2013, 2014) and 13 appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament (1984, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014) to its credit.