Mankato, Minn. --- The #18 ranked Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond Tuesday as they prepare for their final trifecta of NSIC opponents. The Mavericks begin the week against the Warriors of Winona State on Tuesday at the MSU Softball Complex with first pitches set for 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m., Then on Saturday, MSU travels to the University of Mary for a doubleheader against the Marauders with first pitches set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., Minnesota State wraps up the NSIC regular season with Minot State on the road with first pitches set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (38-10, 20-4 NSIC) begins the week ranked as the #18 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks went 6-0 last week in their trio of NSIC doubleheaders. On Thursday, MSU headed to Sioux Falls to take on the Cougars in a doubleheader. The Mavericks swept the Cougars with a pair of wins, 5-1 and 5-2. The Mavericks returned home for a pair of doubleheaders against Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Mavericks earned another sweep as they took down the Wolves 9-1 and 1-0 in the sweep. On senior day against MSU Moorhead, Minnesota State handled the Dragons in both games with a 18-1 victory in five innings in game one. Game two saw MSU take the win 8-2.

Scouting Winona State: Winona State is located in Winona, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Warriors currently own an 31-11 (17-3 NSIC) record and are second in the NSIC. Winona State is led by head coach Greg Jones (22nd season).

Tuesday's games mark the 103rd and 104th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 11-2 win for the Mavericks on April 6, 2021.

Scouting University of Mary: UMary is located in Bismarck, N.D., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Marauders currently own an 5-33 (3-15 NSIC) record and are 14th in the NSIC standings. The Marauders are led by head coach Dre Frantz (1st season).

Saturday's games mark the 25th and 26th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was an 5-4 win for UMary on April 3, 2021.

Scouting Minot State University: Minot State is located in Minot, N.D., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Beavers currently own an 27-15 (8-10 NSIC) record and are ninth in the NSIC standings. The Beavers are led by head coach Nat Wagner (3rd season).

Sunday's games will be the 19th and 20th meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 8-6 win for the Beavers on April 2, 2021.

1,000 K's: Senior pitcher Mackenzie Ward recorded her 1,000th career strike out against Bemidji State last Saturday inside the Mavericks All-Sports Dome. Ward is the second Maverick all-time to reach this mark. The only other Maverick pitcher to reach this mark was Coley Ries (2013-17) who recorded 1,418 strikeouts during her time as a Maverick.

K's For Days: Mackenzie Ward is currently fifth in the nation and is second in the NSIC with 255 strikeouts in 29 appearances. Ward is third in the country and first in the NSIC in earned run average with 0.73, allowing just 18 earned runs in 172.1 innings pitched. Ward has held opposing batters to an average of .149 which leads the NSIC. Her 24 wins is leading the conference and tied for second in the NCAA. Ward has also been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week the last six out of seven weeks and was named NFCA Pitcher of the Week once. She has been named Pitcher of the Week 14 times in her career.

Stat Pack: Ellie Tallman leads the Mavericks and is 10th in the NSIC in hitting with a .404 average and 13 runs batted in and leads the team in on-base percentage with .509. Madi Newman and Torey Richards lead the team in RBI as they have each drove in 41 and 32 runs, respectively. Madi Newman also leads the team in homers with six. Richards now ranks sixth all-time in hits with 238 as a Maverick. Richards surpassed Deb Westrum (1994-97) who had 235 career hits. In the pitching department, Mackenzie Ward is leading the way with a team best 24-3 record and 0.73 ERA. Ward owns a team high 255 strikeouts thus far. In the 172.1 innings pitched she has only given up 32 runs (18 earned) on 88 hits. Ward has only walked 46 batters. Sydney Nielsen & Hailey Forshee have the hot hands in the field. Nielsen has 213 put outs with one error for a fielding percentage of .996 with one double play. Forshee has 318 put outs with only two errors for a .994 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 enter the NSIC tournament that begins Thursday May 5 and culminating with the championship game on May 7 at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minn.