Mankato, Minn. ---   The Minnesota State softball team had its final two home regular season games at the MSU Softball Diamond on Thursday and the Mavericks closed it out in winning fashion. MSU swept Southwest Minnesota State by the scores of 5-0 and 3-2.

With the two wins, the Mavericks overall record improves to 37-12 and 20-5 in NSIC play.

In game one junior pitcher Coley Ries [22-5] started and earned the win for the Mavericks as she pitched a complete game shutout after striking out 14 batters and allowing just one hit. Ries sent the Mustangs down in order in every inning but the fourth. Alex O'Connor [8-14] suffered the loss for the Mustangs as she pitched six innings and allowed four earned runs on 12 hits and a walk. 

MSU didn't wait too long to score some runs as four of its runs came in the first two innings. In the first, freshman McKenzie Paap scored the Mavericks lone run in the inning as she led-off with a triple to left center and would eventually score on the play after a throwing error from SMSU.

In the second, three more runs came across for MSU after it strung together four hits in the inning. Junior Ashley Thell led-off the inning with a single up the middle and sophomore Jess Meidl reached base safely after an infield single to put runners on second and first to begin the inning. A few batters later, Karli DesLauriers was in the batters box with the bases loaded and she delivered an RBI-single through the left side that scored Thell on the play. Paap was next at the plate and she laced a two-RBI single up the middle that scored Meidl and freshman Cori Kennedy to give MSU a 4-0 lead.

In the fourth MSU was threatening to add to its lead as it loaded the bases with no outs but SMSU was able to get out of the jam as the Mavericks were unable to push a run across.

The Mavericks final run of the game came in the sixth. Meidl picked up her second hit of the game to lead-off and she would later score in the inning when Kennedy notched a sacrifice fly to left field.

Paap paced the Maverick offense in game one as she went 4-for-4 from the plate and added two RBI and one run scored. Meidl added two hits of her own and game-high two runs scored, while DesLauriers was also perfect from the plate as she finished 3-for-3.

In the second game of the day, sophomore pitcher Libby Bemis [13-7] got the start and earned the win for the Mavericks as she pitched five innings of work after allowing two earned runs and three hits. Coley Ries came in relief of Bemis in the sixth and she earned her first save of the season as she pitched two scoreless innings and recorded five strikeouts.

Athena Golling [6-7] took the loss for SMSU in game two as she allowed two earned runs and eight hits in six innings.

Similar to game one, the Mavericks scored all of their runs early as they pushed across all three of their runs in the first. McKenzie Paap started the first with a lead-off single through the left side. Senior Tatum Klein was next and she singled to the third baseman to put runners on second and first with no outs. A few batters later was Ashley Thell and she delivered a two-RBI double to right center that scored Paap and Klein on the play. Thell would soon score the Mavericks third run of the game when Jess Meidl tallied an RBI-single through the left side.

Bemis was having her way to start the game as she sent the Mustangs first 11 batters down in order until Sam Flack drilled a solo home run to left center to cut the Mavericks lead to 3-1 after four innings.

The Mustangs kept chipping away in the fifth as Taylor Koloc began the inning with a lead-off triple to right center and she would score on the next play as Taylor Chavez brought her in on a bunt single. SMSU would bunt Chavez over two straight times to third to give the Mustangs the game tying run just 60 feet away with two outs. However, Bemis was able to buckle down and forced SMSU's next batter to line out. 

In the sixth and seventh Ries came in and closed the door on the Mustangs as she struck out five of the seven batters she faced.

Klein finished game two going 2-for-3 from the plate and a run scored, while Meidl added two more hits to her stat line in the win.

The Mavericks will close out their regular season on the road this weekend as they will take on Wayne State and Augustana. MSU will face WSC in Wayne, Neb. on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., before squaring off with Augie in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.