Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will have its home opener on Tuesday afternoon at the MSU Softball Diamond as the University of Sioux Falls Cougars come to town. Game times are set for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. This weekend MSU will take a weekend road trip up to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. The Mavericks will first take on BSU on Saturday with game times scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The following day MSU will close out the weekend with UMC at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Last Time Out: This past weekend the Mavericks had a pair of doubleheaders in St. Cloud, Minn., as they took on SCSU and UMD. MSU took on the Huskies on Friday and split with them as the Mavericks lost game one 3-1, before rebounding with a 1-0 victory in game two. On Saturday, the Mavericks split with the Bulldogs as well with MSU winning game one 2-1, before falling in game two 10-0 in five innings.

Junior pitcher Coley Ries went 1-1 in her two starts as she fell to SCSU 3-1, before picking up her 13th win of the season against UMD. Ries posted a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings as she struckout 32 batters and allowed just eight hits and three earned runs. It was also a milestone day for Ries against the Bulldogs as she became MSU's new career strikeout leader with 774. Coming into the weekend Ries was 30 strikeouts away from tying Kendra Huettl's 772 career strikeouts.

Sophomore pitcher Libby Bemis started the two other games on the weekend for the Mavericks and she went 1-1 as well. She pitched 11.1 innings and accumulated a 3.09 ERA as she struckout six batters.

Offensively, freshman McKenzie Paap led the way over the weekend as she finished with team-highs of five hits, three stolen bases and two RBI. Senior Karli DesLauriers concluded the weekend with a team-high .444 batting average, while senior Tatum Klein also recorded three stolen bases.

Concerning Sioux Falls: The Cougars enter the week sitting on top of the NSIC standings with a 22-7 overall record and a perfect 6-0 record in NSIC play. The Cougars have scored seven or more runs in four of their conference wins.

USF is coached by Kelsey Thompson who is in her third season with the program. The Mavericks own an unblemished 7-0 all-time record against the Cougars. Last season, MSU and USF met three times and the Mavericks swept the Cougars in Sioux Falls, S.D. and later  defeated them in the NSIC tournament.

This season USF leads the NSIC in number of offensive categories such as batting average (.342), slugging percentage (.512), runs batted in (152) and home runs (30). Pitching wise, the Cougars rank fifth in the NSIC in team ERA with 2.38, sixth in strikeouts with 116 and seventh in opposing batting average at .262.

Senior Brooke Stetzler not only leads the Cougars but the conference with an impressive .472 batting average, 31 runs scored and 50 50 hits. She also places second in the NSIC in on-base percentage with .504 and has stolen 17 bases. Her teammate Shannon Daly is batting .400 from the plate and she leads the team with 27 RBI and 11 doubles, along with five home runs. Senior Danielle Walker is batting .386 and ranks second on the team with 27 runs scored, 25 RBI, seven doubles and six stolen bases. Senior Alyson Netty leads the NSIC with eight home runs, while also recording 24 RBI and 16 runs scored.

Sophomore Breanna Black leads USF's pitching staff with an 11-3 record and a 2.21 ERA. She has pitched in 85.1 innings and has struckout 23 batters. Freshman Kerrigan Hoshaw owns an 11-4 record and a 2.55 ERA, while striking out 79 batters.

Concerning Bemidji State:  The Beavers currently own an 18-8 overall record and a 1-2 record in NSIC play after being swept by Upper Iowa on Saturday.

Rick Supinski is BSU's head coach and is in his fourth season at the helm. MSU holds a 22-1 all-time record versus BSU. Last season, the Mavericks swept the Beavers in Mankato by scores of 5-1 and 5-4.

The Beavers pitching staff ranks second in the NSIC in strikeouts with 260 and opposing batting average with .191. BSU also sits third in the NSIC in team ERA with 2.16.

Freshman Kelsey McAllister leads the Beavers so far this season with a .443 batting average which ranks fourth in the conference. She also leads the BSU squad with seven home runs and nine doubles, while also collecting 17 runs scored and 14 RBI. Junior Jessica Yost is batting .385 and leads the Beavers with 30 hits and 19 runs scored. She has also recorded 18 RBI, six home runs and five doubles. Senior Lyndsey Peterson leads BSU with 23 RBI and 10 walks, while also adding 24 hits, and 18 runs scored.

From the pitching circle, Yost leads the way for the Beavers. She has accumulated a 1.30 ERA and 12-2 win-loss record in 91.2 innings pitched. She has accumulated the second most strikeouts in the NSIC with 156 and opposing batters are batting .147 against her, which is a conference best. Senior Jenna Massingill is 4-3 on the season and has compiled a 2.36 ERA in 50.1 innings. She has tallied 87 strikeouts and is holding opposing batters to a .185 average.

Concerning Minnesota Crookston: The Golden Eagles own a 6-18 overall record and a 0-4 record in NSIC play. UMC has lost four straight contests coming into the week.

Don Stopa coaches the Golden Eagles team and is in his second season at the helm. MSU owns a perfect 14-0 all-time record against UMC. Last season the Mavericks swept the Golden Eagles in Mankato by scores of 3-1 and 7-4.

Sophomore Gabriel Antolak leads UMC this season with a .388 batting average and a .456 on-base percentage. She has accumulated 26 total hits, 12 runs scored, 12 RBI and four doubles. Senior Allsion Foley owns a .385 batting average and leads the team with a .654 slugging percentage. Foley has tallied a team-high 30 hits, including eight doubles. She has also added 19 runs scored and 17 RBI, while senior Alexis Khoshaba leads UMC with 19 RBI and four home runs.

From the circle, junior Bailey Braatz has appeared in 11 games and has pitched in 48 innings. She owns a 7.58 ERA and has struckout 24 batters. Sophomore Heather Cunningham holds a 3-5 record in 53.1 innings pitched and has struckout 21 batters.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season will mark as the 42nd season for the Maverick softball program. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,185-731-7 (.617) in 1,916 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.