Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will trek north this weekend to take on MSU Moorhead and Northern State. The Mavericks will first take on MSUM in Moorhead, Minn. on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., before turning their attention to NSU on Sunday in Aberdeen, S.D., with game times set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Last Time Out: The Mavericks earned their 11th win in NSIC play after defeating Upper Iowa on Tuesday at the MSU Softball Diamond. The Mavericks were able to erase a pair of two-run deficits in the win before junior Dana Mogren's eighth inning sacrifice fly lifted the Mavericks to a 5-4 win over Upper Iowa. Game two of the doubleheader was cancelled due to deteriorating weather conditions.

Junior pitcher Coley Ries [16-4] earned her 16th win of the season as she pitched all eight innings and struckout 11 batters, after allowing four earned runs, five hits and five walks.  Senior Jacqueline Flood [11-7] suffered the hard fought loss for the Peacocks as she pitched all eight innings and allowed four earned runs off 13 hits and one walk.

The Peacocks pushed across two runs in the top of third, but the Mavericks quickly answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Senior Karli DesLauriers and freshman McKenzie Paap started the inning with back-to-back singles and then senior Tatum Klein reached base safely after a fielding error from UIU. With the bases loaded, junior Samantha Buhmann hit a two-RBI single up the middle that scored DesLauriers and Paap to tie the game up at 2-2.

After a scoreless fourth inning from both teams, UIU struck again in the fifth for two more runs. Riley Kruel for the Peacocks delivered an RBI-single and Flood laid down a sacrifice bunt later in the inning that scored Kruel from third.

In the bottom of the fifth, MSU threatened to score some runs as it loaded the bases but nothing ever materialized. In he sixth the Mavericks never got a runner on base so it all came down to the seventh for MSU.

Paap began the seventh with a lead-off, stand up-triple to right field to get the Mavericks rally started. She wouldn't last too long on third as Klein brought her home as she recorded an RBI-single up the middle. A few batters later with one out, Buhmann delivered another clutch hit that put her on second and Klein at third. Sophomore Kara Lattery was next in the batters box and she forced a four pitch walk that brought sophomore Jess Meidl to the plate with the base loaded. After a hard fought at-bat, Meidl was able to bring in the game-tying run to force extras as she tallied a sac fly to center field that scored Klein from third.

In extras, Ries sent the Peacocks down in order as she struckout two of them in the process. In the bottom of the eighth, senior Emily Bransky led-off with an infield single and was able to reach second base after a throwing error from the first baseman. Bransky then made it to third after DesLauriers laid down a perfect sac bunt. A few batters later, Mogren stepped into the batters box and delivered the late game heroics to give the Mavericks the 5-4 win over the Peacocks.

With the win, MSU improves its overall record to 28-9 and puts the Mavericks in a tie for first in NSIC play with an 11-2 record.

Concerning MSU Moorhead: The Dragons enter the weekend with a 9-19 overall record and a 2-10 record in NSIC play. MSUM is coached by Kelsey Fehl who is in her sixth at the helm. 

MSU owns a 31-7 all-time record against MSU Moorhead. Last season, the Mavericks swept the Dragons in Mankato by the scores of 10-2 and 10-0. In the 10-0 victory, Coley Ries notched her second career "no-hitter' at the time as she  struckout eight batters.

So far this season Kristy Bruni leads the team with a .321 batting average, 27 total hits, 15 RBI, 12 runs scored and seven doubles. Kristen Nordby is batting .310 from the plate and has recorded nine runs scored, eight walks and seven RBI this season. Lauren Meeker ranks second on the team with 12 RBI and six doubles, along with eight walks and five run scored.

In the circle, Morgen Nybo leads the Dragons pitching staff with a 3.94 ERA in 76.1 innings pitched. She owns a 3-11 win-loss record and has struckout 59 batters. Nordby has pitched in 72.1 innings and has compiled a 4.35 ERA. She has collected 45 strikeouts and owns a 5-7 record this season.

Concerning Northern State:  The Wolves currently sit with a 12-22 overall record and a 2-8 record in NSIC play after losing six straight games. NSU is coached by Kristi Villar who is in her sixth season at the helm.

The Mavericks own a 16-2 all-time record over the Wolves. Last season, MSU and NSU split its doubleheader as the Wolves won game one 3-0 and Mavericks won game two, 8-0. In MSU's lone victory over NSU, Coley Ries earned her first career "no-hitter' at the time as she struckout five batters.

Kelsey Gale is leading the team this season with a .371 batting average, 19 runs scored, 15 stolen bases and nine doubles. She has also racked up 13 RBI and eight walks on the season. Kalie Maden is second on the team with 12 stolen bases, while also registering 32 total hits, 13 runs scored and nine walks this season. Macey Engel owns a team-high 22 RBI, while Brittany Lash has belted a team-high five homer runs along with 15 RBI.

In the circle, Jamie Fisher leads the Wolves pitching staff with a 3.21 ERA and 53 strikeouts. She holds a 3-10 record in 85 innings pitched and opposing batters are swinging at a .290 success rate. Missy Elkins has accumulated a 3.54 ERA, 40 strikeouts and a 7-10 record this season. She owns a team-high's of 15 complete games and a 106.2 innings pitched. 

Player of the Week Honors: On Tuesday, Dana Mogren received NSIC Player of the Week honors after her play from March 29 thru April 4. She played in six games in that time span and she compiled a .632 batting average, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .682 on-base percentage.

She finished the week with a team-leading 12 hits, 10 runs scored 10 RBI and four extra base hits. She also added five stolen bases and three walks to her statline.

Some notable games from Mogren from the six games include a 2-of-4 performance from the plate in MSU's 8-2 win over USF on March 29. In the game she recorded three RBI and two runs scored that was a highlighted by a two-run home run by the shortstop. One other noteworthy game was in the Mavericks 13-0 win over Bemidji State on April 3. Mogren went 3-of-4 from the plate with four RBI, two runs scored and one stolen base that was showcased with a bases clearing triple from the junior.

Mogren currently owns a .404 batting average and a .632 slugging percentage so far this season. She has racked up a total of 30 runs scored and 35 RBI, which currently ranks sixth and fifth in the NSIC, respectively. Her 46 hits rank eighth in the conference as well. She has also notched 14 multi hit games so far this season and eight games with multiple RBI.

New Personal Best: Coley Ries struckout 19 batters in MSU's 5-4 win over Sioux Falls on March 29. This marks as a new career-high for the Eagle Lake, Minn. native and is just one strikeout away from tying MSU's most strikeouts in a single-game. Kendra Huettl currently holds the title as she fanned 20 batters against Minnesota Duluth back on February 22, 2012.

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 1,192-731-7 (.617) in 1,930 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.