Winona, Minn. ---   The Minnesota State softball team split with Winona State on Tuesday afternoon in Winona, Minn. Junior pitcher Coley Ries tallied 24 strikeouts which is a new career-high for her and junior Samantha Buhmann brought in the game-winning run in MSU's ten inning, 1-0 victory over WSU. In game two, the Warriors rebounded with a 3-1 victory over the Mavericks.

Ries [18-5] earned the win in game one as she threw a one-hit, complete game gem and set a new career-high with 24 strikeouts for the Mavericks. Her 24 strikeouts marks the most by a Maverick since Kendra Huettl struckout 20 against Minnesota Duluth on February 22, 2012. It's also the fourth most all-time in a game at the NCAA Division II level and the most in a 10-inning game.

Ries took a no-hit bid into the bottom of the seventh, until WSU's Jaimee Schleis laced a single up the middle to give the Warriors their first and only hit of the game. Ries allowed just six base runners all game and she faced her toughest test from the Warriors in the bottom of the eighth. After striking out WSU's first two batters of the inning, the Warriors managed to load the bases and had the potential game-winning run just 60 feet away from home plate. However, Ries managed to strikeout WSU's next batter looking to send the game to the ninth. 

Hanna Lythberg [15-6] suffered the loss for the Warriors as she pitched all 10 innings while allowing one earned run, six hits and four walks.

Offensively for the Mavericks, they stranded 10 runners on the base paths including three in the top of the first. Freshman McKenzie Paap and senior Tatum Klein began the game with back-to-back singles and Samantha Buhmann earned a walk a few batters later to load the bases. The Mavericks still had two outs left to play with, but they were unable to push any runs across.

Through the second and eighth innings the Mavericks only got two total base runners on.  In the ninth the Mavericks had their biggest scoring threat since the first inning with junior's Dana Mogren and Ashley Thell on second and first, respectively, but MSU was unable to strike a run across.

Finally in the tenth inning the Mavericks pushed their lone run across. Freshman Cori Kennedy began the inning with a lead-off single to left field and sophomore Alyssa Rickels came in for her as a pinch runner. Senior Karli DesLauriers would then move Rickels over to second with a sac bunt. Next up was Paap and she delivered a sharp single to left field and after some nifty base running MSU had runners on third and second with one out. A few batters later Mogren was intentionally walked with two outs which brought Buhmann to the batters box. Buhmann was able to bring in the game-winning run as she drew a four pitch walk that scored Rickels from third.

In the nightcap, MSU was limited to just three hits as WSU's McKenna Larson [7-3] threw a complete game and struckout six Maverick batters. Sophomore Libby Bemis [11-7] suffered the loss for MSU as she tallied nine strikeouts and allowed eight hits and two earned runs in six innings of work.

The Warriors struck early in the game as they recorded two runs in the bottom of the first, when Natalie Kalmes belted a two-run home run to right center that scored Paige Keegan on the play as well.

The Mavericks scored their lone run of the game in the top of the fourth. Dana Mogren laid down a bunt single with one out which marked as MSU's first hit of the game and on the same play she would advance to second after a throwing error from WSU. With two outs and Mogren on second, sophomore Kara Lattery delivered a RBI-double to the left center gap that scored Mogren and cut the Warriors lead to one, 2-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, WSU extended its lead back to two runs when Jaimee Schleis singled to right field to bring Reed Karsten home from third. It looked like WSU was going to score one more run in the inning as pinch runner Mariah Larson was about to cross the plate, until McKenzie Paap threw a perfect throw from left field to MSU's catcher Cori Kennedy and she was able to place the tag on the runner just in time to end the inning.

The Mavericks were never able to get a runner on the base paths in their last two innings of the game.

With the split, the Mavericks overall record stands at 32-11 and 14-5 in NSIC play.

MSU will return home this weekend as it will host Minot State (DH) on Saturday and U-Mary (DH) on Sunday. Saturday's twinbill will mark as "Senior Day" and game times are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Sunday's doubleheader is set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.