MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team will open the 2021 season with a home tournament featuring three other programs, Minnesota Duluth, 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 morning against Lewis State with first pitch at 9:30 a.m. before having a pair of games Saturday with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs with first pitch at 2:30 p.m.. 

Attendance and Media Coverage: Due to the fluid nature of COVID-19 in our region and around the country, fans will not be allowed to attend the Minnesota State DII Softball Classic at the Maverick All-Sports Dome. There will be video broadcast within the dome streamed for free with play by play and available at https://nsicnetwork.com/msumavericks/ as well as live stats at https://msumavericks.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary.

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 194 total points to be slotted third. Augustana was picked to finish first in the poll with 12 first-place and 222 total votes. Winona State was slotted second with three first-place votes and 210 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 .474 and drove in 24 runs, scored 26 runs, hit six homers and recorded eight doubles in 20 games played. She recorded at least two hits in 12 games, including a season-best four hits against the Emporia State. 

Ward made 12 appearances in the circle for the Mavericks during the 2020 season as she put together a 7-2 record, to go along with a 0.99 ERA and three shutouts. She struck out 88 batters and threw six complete games.

Returning Mavericks: Minnesota State returns 11 letterwinners from last season's team including six starters in the field: Carly Esselman, Hannah McCarville, Hailey Forshee, Sydney Nielsen, Torey Richards and Hannah Hastings. Also returning are three pitchers that recorded starts for the Mavericks: Mackenzie Ward, Katie Bracken and McKayla Armbruster.

New Mavericks: Minnesota State will have seven new faces on the roster this season including seven freshmen. The seven incoming freshmen are: Ellie Tallman, Kacy Nickerson, Madi Newman, Carly Briggs, Kylie Sullivan, Emma Dennison and Brianne Stone.

Minnesota State History: The 2021 season will mark as the 46th season for the Maverick softball program. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,362-787-7 (.633) in 2,156 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 Lewis State: Lewis State 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 13-6 (0-0 GLVC) and are led by sixth year head coach Becky Pearl.

Friday's games will be the fourth and fifth between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 6-4 win for the Mavericks last season in the Minnesota State DII Softball Classic.

Scouting Minnesota Duluth: Minnesota Duluth is located in Duluth, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Bulldogs finished last season with a record of 7-8 (0-0 NSIC) and are led by sixth year head coach Jen Walters.

Saturday's games will be the 87th and 88th between these two programs, the most recent of which was an 4-0 loss for the Mavericks during the 2019 NSIC softball season.

Looking Ahead: After this weekend's slate of games, the Mavericks travel to Emporia, Kan., to participate in the Emporia State Softball Classic.  Minnesota State will play two games the first two days and will finish the weekend with a single game scheduled for Sunday.