Mankato, Minn. --- The #18 ranked Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond Tuesday as they prepare for another trio of NSIC opponents. The Mavericks begin the week against the Peacocks of Upper Iowa as they travel to Fayette, Iowa for a doubleheader at the Eischeid Softball Complex with first pitches slated for 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m., Then, MSU returns home to the friendly confides of the MSU Softball Complex with a pair of doubleheaders against Minnesota Crookston with first pitches set for 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. on Friday and on Saturday the Mavericks welcome the Beavers of Bemidji State with first pitches set for 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (26-20, 8-4 NSIC) begins the week ranked as the #18 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks went 4-2 last week after finishing their first road swing of the year. The Mavericks had a site reversal with Southwest Minnesota in their first doubleheader which saw the Mavericks defeat the Mustangs 2-1 in game one and win the second game 5-3. The Mavericks hit the road for the last two series of the week as they first traveled to Minnesota Duluth to square-off with the Bulldogs on Saturday. In a four-hit shutout by Mackenzie Ward and the defense, MSU claimed a 3-0 victory to start the day. In the second game, the Mavericks struggled to get the offense going as they ultimately fell to the Bulldogs 2-0. In the weekend finale, Minnesota State traveled to St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies. Minnesota State took game one in convincing fashion with another shutout by Ward and the Mavericks. This time they allowed just two hits in the contest. In game two, a pair of homers helped propel the Huskies to victory by a final score of 5-2.

Scouting Upper Iowa University: Upper Iowa is located in Fayette, Iowa, and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Peacocks currently own an 15-14 (6-3 NSIC) record. Upper Iowa is led by head coach Kiki Stokes (1st season).

Tuesday's games mark the 37th and 38th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 5-3 win for the Mavericks on April 21, 2021.

Scouting Minnesota Crookston: The University of Minnesota Crookston is located in Crookston, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagles currently own an 12-23 (3-7 NSIC) record. The Golden Eagles are led by head coach Nick Weinmeister (1st season).

Friday's games mark the 23rd and 24th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was an 8-0 win for Minnesota State on April 25, 2021.

Scouting Bemidji State University: Bemidji State is located in Bemidji, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Beavers currently own an 7-23 (4-6 NSIC) record. The Beavers are led by head coach Jordan Petersen (1st season).

Saturday's games will be the 35th and 36th meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 6-0 win for the Mavericks on April 24, 2021.

K's For Days: Mackenzie Ward is currently eighth in the nation and is second in  the NSIC with 189 strikeouts in 23 appearances. Ward is 8th in the country and first in the NSIC in earned run average with 0.87, allowing just 16 earned runs in 129.1 innings pitched. Ward has held opposing batters to an average of .158 which leads the NSIC. Her 17 wins is leading the conference and tied for seventh in the NCAA. In addition to Ward's performances in the circle, she is just 31 strikeouts from eclipsing the 1,000 career strikeouts as a Maverick. Ward has also been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week the last five out of six weeks. She has been named Pitcher of the Week 13 times in her career.

Stat Pack: Ellie Tallman leads the Mavericks in hitting with a .392 average and eight runs batted in and leads the team in on-base percentage with .523. Madi Newman and Torey Richards lead the team in RBI as they have each drove in 28 and 22 runs, respectively. Madi Newman also leads the team in homers with six. Richards is two hits away (223) 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 17-3 record and 0.87 ERA. Ward owns a team high 189 strikeouts thus far. In the 129.1 innings pitched she has only given up 28 runs (16 earned) on 71 hits. Ward has only walked 39 batters. Sydney Nielsen & Hailey Forshee have the hot hands in the field. Nielsen has 167 put outs with no errors for a perfect fielding percentage with one double play which is third in the NSIC. Forshee has 242 put outs good for third in the conference with only two errors for a .992 fielding percentage. She has assisted in turning nine double plays for Minnesota State so far in the 2022 campaign.

Record Setter: With the Mavericks win over Stonehill College March 10, head coach Lori Meyer (1,313) 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 NSIC doubleheader and then return to the friendly confides of the MSU Softball Complex for a pair of home doubleheaders. Minnesota State starts the week off against Sioux Falls on the road on Wednesday with first pitches set for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., Then on Saturday, the Mavericks return home to host Northern State at the MSU Softball Complex with first pitches set to commence at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., To wrap the weekend up the Mavericks host MSU Moorhead on Sunday with first pitches slated for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively.