Mankato, Minn. --- The #18 ranked Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond Wednesday as they continue its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference portion of the schedule. Action begins with a doubleheader against Southwest Minnesota State on Wednesday April 6 with first pitches set for 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. inside the Mavericks All-Sports Dome. This game was scheduled to be played at Southwest Minnesota State but changed due to field conditions in Marshall, Minn., On Saturday, Minnesota State travels to Duluth, Minn., for thier first road NSIC doubleheader against the Bulldogs with first pitches slated for 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m., at Junction Ave Field. On Sunday, the Mavericks wrap up the week of NSIC competition with a road doubleheader against St. Cloud State with first pitches set for 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. at Selke Field, respectively.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (22-8, 4-2 NSIC) enters the weekend ranked as the #18 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks went 4-2 last week heading into their first road swing of the year. The Mavericks hosted Concordia-St. Paul in their conference opening doubleheader which saw the Mavericks defeat the Golden Bears 4-0 in game one. The Mavericks won game two in a defensive affair 1-0. The Mavericks welcomed the #7 Augustana Vikings inside the Mavericks All-Sports Dome last Saturday and split the doubleheader. In game one, the Vikings got the better of the Mavericks with early offensive power and held on for a 5-3 victory. In game two, the Mavericks went on to win 4-1 in a redeeming effort. On Sunday, Minnesota State hosted Wayne State College to wrap-up the week with a final home doubleheader. The Mavericks handled the Wildcats start to finish with an 8-0 victory in the first game. In game two, the Mavericks struggled to capitalize on key situations and ultimately fell to Wayne State in the second game in a tightly contested affair 2-1.

Scouting Southwest Minnesota State: Southwest Minnesota State is located in Marshall, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Mustangs currently own an 9-18 (1-3 NSIC) record. Southwest Minnesota State is led by head coach Bailey Bouman (4th season).

Wednesday's games mark the 97th and 98th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 4-2 win for the Mavericks on March 24, 2022.

Scouting Minnesota Duluth: The University of Minnesota Duluth is located in Duluth, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Bulldogs currently own an 18-9 (3-3 NSIC) record. The Bulldogs are led by head coach Lynn Anderson (1st season).

Saturday's games mark the 94th and 95th all-time meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 2-1 win for Minnesota State on April 18, 2021.

Scouting St. Cloud State: St. Cloud State University is located in St. Cloud, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Huskies currently own an 18-9 (6-0 NSIC) record. The Huskies are led by head coach Mitch Roberts (1st season).

Sunday's games will be the 141st and 142nd meetings between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 4-0 win for the Mavericks on May 14, 2021.

K's For Days: Mackenzie Ward is currently 10th in the nation and is second in  the NSIC with 161 strikeouts in 20 appearances. Ward is 9th in the country and first in the NSIC in earned run average with 1.04, allowing just 16 earned runs in 107.1 innings pitched. Ward has held opposing batters to an average of .164 which leads the NSIC. Her 14 wins is leading the conference and tied for 12th in the NCAA. In addition to Ward's performances in the circle, she is just 59 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 .360 average and 15 runs batted in and leads the team in on-base percentage with .466. 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 seven hits away (218) 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 14-3 record and 1.04 ERA. Ward owns a team high 161 strikeouts thus far. In the 107.1 innings pitched she has only given up 27 runs (16 earned) on 62 hits. Ward has only walked 31 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. Forshee has 207 put outs with only two errors for  a .991 fielding percentage. She has assisted in turning five 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 (1,309) 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 with a matchup against Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa., with first pitches set for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., on Tuesday April 12. On Friday April 15, the Mavericks return home to square-off against  Minnesota Crookston for a pair of games against the Golden Eagles with first pitches set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively. Minnesota State finishes the week up with another home contest as they take on Bemidji State on Saturday April 16 in Mankato, Minn., with first pitches commencing at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

-30-