Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond this weekend after the Emporia State Softball  Classic was canceled due to inclement weather and field conditions in Emporia, Kan., The Mavericks now travel to Maryville, Mo., to take on the host Northwest Missouri State and Central Missouri in back-to-back days. Minnesota State takes on the Bearcats on Sunday Feb. 20 with first pitch set for 9:00 a.m., Then, the Mavericks wrap-up day one against the Jennies of Central Missouri with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m., Minnesota State starts off day two taking on Central Missouri for the second time this weekend. First pitch for this game is slated for  1:00 p.m., The Mavericks will wrap-up the weekends action against Northwest Missouri State for the third time this season. FIrst pitch for this game is set for 3:00 p.m.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (4-1, 0-0 NSIC) enters the weekend ranked as the #6 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks are coming off a season opening tournament that saw them go 4-1 on the weekend.  Minnesota State defeated Norwest Missouri 8-0 followed up by a win over Washburn 3-1 on day one of the MSU Softball Invitational. The Mavericks dropped the first game of day two against Missouri Western 8-5 but, rebounded in a big way with a 15-3 win over Washburn. On the final day of the tournament the Mavericks defeated Lewis 6-5.

Stat Pack: Torey Richards leads the Mavericks in hitting with a .412 average and 11 runs batted in. Kylie Sullivan leads the team in on base percentage with .588 and one homer. In the pitching department, Katie Bracken is 2-0 and boast a team best 0.84 ERA and only one walk. Senior Mackenzie Ward  leads the team in strikeouts with 30 and four walks. Ward owns a 2-1 record and has a 1.65 ERA after the first weekend of competition. Hailey Forshee has the hot hand in the field as she has 39 put outs and no errors. Forshee also holds a perfect fielding percentage.

Returning Mavericks: Minnesota State returns 13 letterwinners from last season's team including eight starters in the field: Hailey Forshee, Torey Richards, Courtney Baxter, Ellie Tallman, Madi Newman, Sydney Nelson, Carly Briggs, Kylie Sullivan, Sydney Nielson, Brianne Stone, Emma Dennison. Also returning are three pitchers that recorded starts for the Mavericks: Mackenzie Ward, Katie Bracken, Kacy Nickerson and McKayla Armbruster.

New Mavericks: Minnesota State will have four new team members for the 2022 campaign with the addition of freshmen: Cheyenne Behrends of Clarksville, Iowa., Marina Carter of Ankeny, Iowa., Alyse Harvey of Atkins, Iowa and Ella Schulz of Ankeny, Iowa.

Minnesota State History: The 2022 season will mark as the 49th season for the Maverick softball program. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,404-797-7 (.637) in 2,208 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: Northwest Missouri State is located in Maryville, Mo., and is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The Bearcats currently own a 1-8 (0-0 MIAA) record. The Bearcats are led by first year head coach Naomi Tellez.

Sunday and Monday's games will be the 30th and 31st meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 8-0 win for the Mavericks on Feb. 4, 2022.

Scouting Central Missouri: Central Missouri is located in Warrensburg, Mo., and is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association  (MIAA). The Jennies hold a  0-4 (0-0 MIAA) and are led by 15th year head coach Susan Anderson.

Sunday and Monday's games will be the 23rd and 24th meeting between the two programs with the most recent meeting being a 3-0 victory for the Mavericks on May 21, 2021.

Looking Ahead: Next up for the Mavericks is the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. Minnesota State competes in 10 games over six days. First, the Mavericks take on Tiffin and Southern Indiana on Saturday Mar. 5 with first pitches set for 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., On Mar. 6 Minnesota State sqaures off against Edinboro and Shippensburg with first pitches slated for 1:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., On day three of the NTC Spring Games the Mavericks compete against Northwood and Saginaw Valley State on Mar. 7 with first pitches set for 10:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., The Mavericks then take on Bloomfield College on Mar. 9 with first pitche scheduled for 2:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with Clarion University set for 4:45 p.m., The Mavericks wrap-up the week of action with a pair of games against Concord with first pitches for the games set for 10:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.