Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond this Thursday as it is set to compete in a nonconference doubleheader against the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State inside the Mavericks All-Sports Dome with first pitches set for 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.

Record Setter: With the Mavericks win over Stonehill College March 10, head coach Lory Meyer earned her 1,300-career win. Meyer, who began her coaching career at MSU in 1985, entered 2022 as the winningest active coach in NCAA Division II. She is only the second coach in the history of NCAA DII softball to win at least 1,300 games, trailing only Gary Bryce, who had 1,340 wins at Wayne State (Mich.) in a career that spanned 1982-2021.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (16-6, 0-0 NSIC) enters the weekend ranked as the #16 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks went 3-2 on last week heading into the doubleheader. Minnesota State started the weekend off with a pair of games against Pittsburg State and #8 Central Oklahoma. The Mavericks fell to the Gorillas of Pittsburg State 9-6 on Saturday morning. The Mavericks rebounded nicely in the second game against the #8 Bronchos of Central Oklahoma. MSU prevailed in a thrilling eight inning victory with a final score of 6-5. On Sunday, the Mavericks had a pair of rematches with the Bronchos and Gorillas. The Mavericks won the first game of the day against Central Oklahoma with a two-hit shutout performance from senior pitcher Mackenzie Ward with a final score of 3-0. Pittsburg State once again got the better of the Mavericks with a 5-2 win. The Mavericks started this week of right with a 7-0 win over the Lions of Missouri Southern with another shutout from Ward. The Mavericks defeated the Lions 7-0.

Stat Pack: Kylie Sullivan leads the Mavericks in hitting with a .369 average and 17 runs batted in and leads the team in on base percentage with .468. Madi Newman and Torey Richards lead the team in RBI's as they have each drove in 24 and 18 runs each. Madi Newman also leads the team in homers with five. In the pitching department, Mackenzie Ward is leading the way with a team best 11-2 record and 0.74 ERA. Ward also has a team high 129 strikeouts to start the season. In the 85.1 innings pitched she has only given up 20 runs on 49 hits. Ward has only walked 19 batters. Sydney Nielsen & Hailey Forshee have the hot hands in the field. Nielsen has 131 put outs with no errors. Nielsen holds a perfect fielding percentage with one double play. Forshee has 146 put outs with only two errors. Forshee also holds a .987 fielding percentage. Forshee has turned four double plays. 

Minnesota State History: The 2022 season will mark as the 49th season for the Maverick softball program. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,420-802-7 (.637) in 2,230 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 Southwest Minnesota: Southwest Minnesota State is located in Marshall, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Mustangs currently own an  8-13 (0-0 NSIC) record. The Mustangs are led by fourth year head coach Bailey Bouman.

Friday's game will be the 95th meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 6-0 win for the Mavericks on May 13, 2021.

Looking Ahead: The Mavericks return to the diamond as they begin NSIC competition at home against the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul on March 29 at the MSU Softball Complex. The doubleheader is set for 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m., respectively.