MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will open the 2020 season with a home tournament featuring four other programs, Northwest Missouri State, Emporia State, Lewis University and Concordia-St. Paul, to be played in the Maverick All-Sports Dome this weekend.  The Mavericks will play a pair of games Friday evening against Northwest Missouri State and Emporia State before having a re-match Saturday with the same pair of programs.  Sunday, Minnesota State will take on the Lewis University Flyers to wrap up the event.

NSIC Preseason Poll: The Minnesota State softball team was picked to finish third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Coaches' Poll.  The Mavericks garnered 186 total points to be slotted third. Augustana was picked to finish first in the poll with 13 first-place and 223 total votes. Winona State was slotted second with three first-place votes and 213 total votes. 

Preseason Accolades: Senior Carly Esselman was named MSU's Player to Watch, while junior Mackenzie Ward was named MSU's Pitcher to Watch. 

Last season, Esselman batted .286 with 14 extra base hits, including three home runs. Esselman also drove in 23 runs and scored 21 in 34 games played. She recorded at least two hits in nine games, including a season-best three hits against the University of Mary. Against Southern Indiana, she drove in a season-high four runs.

Ward made 41 appearances in the circle for the Mavericks during the 2019 season as she put together a 20-12 record, to go along with a 1.83 ERA and four shutouts. She struck out 254 batters over the course of 203 innings and held opposing batters to a .206 batting average. Against Pittsburg State, she threw a no-hitter as she struck out 14 batters in seven innings.

Returning Mavericks: Minnesota State returns 10 letterwinners from last season's team including six starters: Carly Esselman, Lexi Schoper, Hailey Forshee, Kayla Moky, Courtney Potter, Hannah McCarville, Emma Schifferle, Mackenzie Ward, Torey Richards and Hannah Hastings.

New Mavericks: Minnesota State will have six new faces on the roster this season including six freshmen. The six freshmen are: Courtney Baxter, Madi Newman, Katie Bracken, McKayla Armbruster, Sydney Nelson, and Sydney Nielsen.

Minnesota State History: The 2020 season will mark as the 45th season for the Maverick softball program. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,345-784-7 (.631) in 2,136 games, and has four North Central Conference (NCC) titles (1984, 1987, 1989, 2007), five  NSIC titles (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and 17 appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament (1984, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) to its credit. The Mavericks claimed their first National Championship in 2017 after defeating No. 1 Angelo State, 5-1, on May 29, 2017 in Salem, Va. 

Scouting Northwest Missouri State: Northwest Missouri State is located in Maryville, Mo., and is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The Bearcats finished last season with a record of 11-28 (6-20 MIAA) and are led by 14th year head coach Ryan Anderson.

Friday and Saturday's games will be the 22nd and 23rd between these two programs, the most recent of which was an 8-7 walk-off win for the Mavericks last season in the Arkansas-Monticello Classic.

Scouting Emporia State: Emporia State is located in Emporia, Kan., and is a member of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). The Hornets finished last season with a record of 28-28 (14-12 MIAA) and are led by fifth year head coach April Rosales.

Friday and Saturday's games will be the 20th and 21st between these two programs, the most recent of which was an 2-1 win for the Mavericks last season in the Emporia State Softball Classic.

Scouting Lewis University: Lewis University is located in Romeoville, Ill., and is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The Flyers finished last season with a record of 22-33 (12-14 GLVC) and are led by sixth year head coach Becky Pearl.
Sunday's game will be the third between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 5-2 win for the Mavericks during the 2017 season.

Looking Ahead: After this weekend's slate of games, the Mavericks will take a week off before traveling to Emporia, Kan., to participate in the Emporia State Softball Classic.  Minnesota State will play two games each day over the three day tournament which is scheduled to take place from Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23.