Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will close out its regular season schedule with six more games this week. The Mavericks will host their final doubleheader of the season as Southwest Minnesota State comes to town on Wednesday with games times set for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. This weekend, MSU will hit the road as it will travel to Wayne State College on Saturday and Augustana University on Sunday. Game times for Saturday's doubleheader against WSC is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and Sunday's twinbill against Augie is set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Last Time Out: This past week the Mavericks went 5-1 which pushes their overall record to 35-12 and to 18-5 in NSIC play. MSU split with Winona State in a weekday doubleheader, before sweeping both Minot State and U-Mary at home on the weekend.

Junior pitcher Coley Ries had another outstanding week for MSU as she went 4-0 and compiled a 0.30 ERA in 23 innings pitched. She allowed just one earned run and six hits over the week and struck out 45 batters. Twenty-four of those strikeouts came in a ten inning win over Winona State. Those 24 strikeouts are the fourth most in a Division II game and its the most ever in a 10 inning game.

Freshman McKenzie Paap led MSU offensively over the week as she finished with team-high's of a .478 batting average, 11 total hits and 12 RBI. In Saturday's  doubleheader against Minot State, Paap went 4-for-6 from the plate and totaled seven RBI, before displaying similar numbers in Sunday's twinbill against U-Mary, as she went 5-for-7 from the plate and added five RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Jess Meidl finished the week with a .438 batting average, along with five runs scored and five RBI. Junior Ashley Thell ended the week with team-high's of a .647 slugging percentage, six runs scored and three doubles. Senior Karli DesLauriers accumulated a .313 batting average and collected five runs scored, four RBI and a team-high two triples.

Concerning Southwest Minnesota State: The Mustangs currently own a 15-26 overall record and an 11-13 NSIC record after splitting with Minnesota Crookston on Monday. SMSU is coached by Jamie Dunn who is in her third season at the helm.

The Mavericks own a 59-22 all-time record against the Mustangs, including three wins over SMSU last season. MSU swept the Mustangs on the road and later defeated them at the NSIC Tournament.

SMSU owns a .261 batting average and a .364 slugging percentage, both of which rank 14th in the NSIC. The Mustangs have scored 143 runs this season and rank tied for sixth in the conference with seven triples.

From the circle, the Mustangs boast a 3.63 team ERA which places ninth in the NSIC. Opponents are batting .302 against SMSU and the Mustangs have struck out the sixth most batters in the NSIC with 196.

Sophomore Sam Flack leads the Mustangs offense with a .357 batting average, .504 slugging percentage, 41 total hits, 23 runs scored and 20 RBI. Sophomore Mackenzie Clouse owns a team-high eight doubles and has also added 15 RBI, eight runs scored and seven walks. Junior Taylor Koloc leads the team with six home runs and 12 stolen bases, along with 17 runs scored and 16 RBI.

Junior Alex O'Connor leads the Mustangs pitching staff with a 2.92 ERA and an 8-13 win-loss record. In 136.2 innings, she has tallied 143 strikeouts and is holding opposing batters to a .273 average. Freshman Athena Golling is 6-6 on the season as she has pitched in 77.1 innings and has compiled a 3.44 ERA.

Concerning Wayne State:  The Wildcats enter the week with a 25-20 overall record and sit a top of the NSIC standings with a 19-5 record. Last weekend, WSC went 3-1 as it split with Minnesota Duluth and swept St. Cloud State. The Wildcats are coached by Shelli Manson who is in her second season with the program.

The Mavericks own a 27-7 all-time record against the Wildcats, as the two teams split last season in Mankato.

The Wildcats currently own a .333 team batting average which ranks second in the NSIC and have the third best slugging percentage in the conference with a .472. WSC has recorded the second most total hits and doubles in the NSIC with 433 and 71, respectively. The Wildcats have also scored 249 runs on the season which places them fourth in the NSIC and rank sixth in home runs with 32.

WSC owns a 4.62 team ERA which ranks 12th in the NSIC and opposing batters are swinging at a .290 rate which places the Wildcats ninth in the conference. The Wildcats have thrown the fourth most strikeouts in the NSIC with 227 and have given up second most walks in the conference at 137.

The Wildcats have one of the top offensive players in the NSIC this season in senior Lexie Loos. She currently leads the NSIC in batting average (.485), on-base percentage (.522), runs scored (52) and total hits (82). Loos has also added 17 stolen bases, 10 walks and 10 RBI.

Freshman Emily Chandler ranks high in a number of offensive categories as well in the NSIC. She ranks first in slugging percentage (.726), second in on-base percentage (.503), RBI (47), third in batting average (.444) and fourth in doubles (12). Chandler also leads the team with eight home runs and 14 walks.

From the circle, senior Cassy Miller leads the Wildcats pitching staff this season. She leads the NSIC with 195 innings pitched, ranks second in wins (19) and third in strikeouts (193). Miller is also holding opposing batters to a .245 batting average which places her ninth in the NSIC.

Concerning Augustana: The Vikings come into the week with a 31-14 overall record and sit in a tie for second with Minnesota State as they own an 18-5 NSIC record as well. Last weekend, Augie went 1-3 as it split with St. Cloud State and was swept by Minnesota Duluth. The Vikings head coach is Gretta Melsted who is in her 10th season at the helm.

The Mavericks own a 57-64 all-time record against Augustana, including three losses against the Vikings last season. MSU was swept by Augie earlier in the season in Mankato and the Vikings ended the Mavericks  season at the NSIC Tournament.

The Vikings are entering the week as the NSIC's top offensive team as they lead the conference in batting average (.344), slugging percentage (.515), on-base percentage (.412), runs scored (285), total hits (449), RBI (254) and doubles (76). Augie also has belted 48 home runs this season which ranks second in the NSIC and have struck out the second least amount of times this season in the conference.

From the circle, Augie ranks fifth in the NISC in ERA (2.45) and innings pitched (297.1). The Vikings rank sixth in opposing batting average (.264) and seventh in strikeouts (195).

Four players for the Vikings rank in the top-10 in batting average in the NSIC and leading the way is senior Carley Pickett as she boasts a .418 average. Junior Sarah Kennedy owns a .418 average and leads the team with 47 RBI and 18 walks. Senior Carly Peterson leads Augie 18 doubles and 51 runs scored, while also recording a .399 batting average, 26 RBI and 15 walks. Sophomore Maggie Kadrlik leads the squad with 12 home runs and second with 46 RBI, while freshman Shannon Peterson has chipped in with 11 homers and 41 RBI.

Pickett is also one of Augie's top pitchers as she leads the team with a 19-7 record in 33 appearances. She has struck out 119 batters in 167.1 innings pitched and has compiled a 2.38 ERA. Junior Karlee Koopman is the Vikings other main pitcher and she has accumulated a 2.30 ERA in 122 innings pitched. She boasts an 11-7 win-loss record and has tallied 74 strikeouts so far this season.

Pitcher of the Week Accolades: For the fourth time this season Minnesota State softball player Coley Ries has been recognized as NSIC Pitcher of the Week. Ries had another outstanding week for the Mavericks as she boasted a perfect 4-0 win-loss record with a 0.30 ERA this past week against Winona State, Minot State and the University of Mary

Speed Kills: For the second straight season the Mavericks are leading the NSIC in stolen bases. MSU has swiped 124 bases so far this which puts the Mavericks third in Division II in stolen bases per game (2.64).  The Purple and Gold have five players this season with 10 or more stolen bases in: Tatum Klein (25), Jess Meidl (23), McKenzie Paap (22), Dana Mogren (16) and Emily Bransky (11).

Fielding Percentage: The Purple and Gold currently rank as the NSIC's top fielding team this season as they own a impressive .976. That mark ranks third in Division II right now.

Minnesota State History: The 2016 season will mark as the 42nd season for the Maverick softball program. MSU currently owns an all-time record of 1,199-734-7 (.617) in 1,940 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.