Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond  Tuesday to start its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference portion of the schedule. Action begins with a doubleheader against Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday March 29 with first pitches set for 10:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. inside the Maverick All-Sport Dome. On Saturday, Minnesota State hosts #8 Augustana in another home doubleheader with first pitches slated for 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m., at the MSU Softball Complex. On Sunday, the Mavericks wrap up the week of NSIC competition with a doubleheader against Wayne State with first pitches set for 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. at the MSU Softball Complex, respectively.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (18-6, 0-0 NSIC) enters the weekend ranked as the #16 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks went 2-0  last week heading into the first week of NSIC play. The Mavericks hosted Southwest Minnesota State in a nonconference doubleheader which saw the Mavericks defeat the Mustangs 15-2 in five innings in game one. The Mavericks won a much closer affair 4-2 in the second game of the doubleheader.

Scouting Concordia-St. Paul: Concordia-St. Paul is located in St. Paul, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Bears currently own an 17-2-1 (0-0 NSIC) record. CSP is led by head coach Bob Bartel (18th season).

Tuesday's games mark the 79th and 80th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 7-4 win for the Mavericks on April 15, 2021.

Scouting Augustana: Augustana University is located in Sioux Falls, S.D., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Vikings currently own an  16-5 (0-0 NSIC) record. The Vikings are led by head coach Gretta Melsted (16th season).

Saturday's games mark the 134th and 135th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 7-0 win for the Vikings on May 22, 2021.

Scouting Wayne State: Wayne State College is located in Wayne, Neb., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Wildcats currently own an 3-18 (0-0 NSIC) record. The Wildcats are led by head coach Shelli Manson (8th season).

Sunday's games will be the 46th and 47th meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 11-5 win for the Mavericks on April 10, 2021.

K's For Days: Mackenzie Ward is currently 11th in the nation and is second in  the NSIC with 132 strikeouts in 17 appearances. Ward is 10th in the country and first in the NSIC in earned run average with 0.86, allowing just 11 earned runs in 89.1 innings pitched. Ward has held opposing batters to an average of .168 which leads the NSIC. Her 12 wins is leading the conference and tied for 14th in the NCAA. In addition to Ward's performances in the circle, she is just 88 strikeouts from eclipsing the 1,000 career strikeouts as a Maverick. Ward has also been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week the last four consecutive weeks. 

Stat Pack: Kylie Sullivan leads the Mavericks in hitting with a .371 average and 12 runs batted in and leads the team in on-base percentage with .476. Madi Newman and Torey Richards lead the team in RBI as they have each drove in 27 and 20 runs, respectively. Madi Newman also leads the team in homers with five. Richards is seven hits away (217) from cracking into the top 10 in career hits. Richards trails Kelly Wood (2011-14) who had 224 career hits. In the pitching department, Mackenzie Ward is leading the way with a team best 12-2 record and 0.86 ERA. Ward owns a team high 132 strikeouts thus far. In the 89.1 innings pitched she has only given up 22 runs (11 earned) on 53 hits. Ward has only walked 21 batters. Sydney Nielsen & Hailey Forshee have the hot hands in the field. Nielsen has 136 put outs with no errors for a perfect fielding percentage with one double play. Forshee has 160 put outs with only two errors for  a .988 fielding percentage. She has turned five double plays. 

Record Setter: With the Mavericks win over Stonehill College March 10, head coach Lori Meyer (1,305) 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.

Minnesota State History: The 2022 season marks the 49th season of Maverick softball. MSU owns an all-time record of 1,422-802-7 (.637) in 2,232 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. 

Looking Ahead: Up next,  the Mavericks they hit the road for another trio of NSIC doubleheaders starting with a matchup against Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minn., with first pitches set for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., on Wednesday April 6. On Saturday April 9, the Mavericks head to Minnesota Duluth for a pair of games against the Bulldogs with first pitches set for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively. Minnesota State finishes the week up against St. Cloud State on Sunday April 10 in St. Cloud, Minn., with first pitches commencing at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.