Mankato, Minn. --- The #17 ranked Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond Thursday as they begin their quest for their second national championship as the fourth seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. Minnesota State will take on Washburn University in their opening game of the tournament. MSU will take on either first seeded Rogers State or eighth seeded Winona State following their first game. If the Mavericks defeat Washburn they will play Friday at noon and if they lose they will play Friday at 5:00 p.m.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (46-12, 26-4 NSIC) begins the week ranked as the #17 team in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Mavericks went 2-2 last week in the NSIC Softball Tournament. On Thursday, Minnesota State squared off against the Peacocks of Upper Iowa in the opening round of the tourney. With Mackenzie Ward's third career no hitter, MSU defeated the Peacocks 8-0 in five innings. On day two of the tournament, Minnesota State suffered its first loss of the double elimination tournament to eventual runner-up Winona State 8-2. The Mavericks rebounded later on in day two with a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth. Facing elimination on Saturday, the Mavericks suffered a 4-0 loss to the Cougars of Sioux Falls ending their tournament appearance.

Scouting Washburn University: Washburn University is located in Topeka, Kan., and is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference (MIAA). The Ichabod's currently own an 45-13 (24-2 MIAA) record and finished first in the MIAA regular season standings. Washburn is led by head coach Brenda Holaday who is in her sixth season with the Ichabods.

Washburn is led at the plate by Paige Robbins who is batting .425 and has driven in 26 runs with 54 hits and 1 homerun on the year. Ashton Friend leads the team in homeruns with 14 and second in RBI with 55. Jaycee Ginter is the leading pitcher on the Ichabods with a 1.70 ERA and a 30-5 record. Ginter has 278 strikeouts and 61 walks in 223.0 innings pitched. 

Thursday's game marks the 25th all-time meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 15-3 win for the Mavericks on February 6, 2022.

Scouting Rogers State University: Rogers State is located in Claremore, Okla., and is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference (MIAA). The Hillcats currently own an 47-9 (20-6 MIAA) record and finished third in the MIAA regular season standings. The Hillcats are led by head coach Andrea Vaughan who is in her seventh season.

The Hillcats are led at the plate by senior Elexis Watson who has a .367 batting average and has driven in 26 runs with 12 homeruns. Abbey Rogers leads the team in RBI with 45 and a .325 batting average. Senior Andrea Morales is the leading pitcher with a 1.01 ERA and has 303 strikeouts in 207.2 innings pitched.

If these two teams compete it would mark the second  all-time meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was an 2-1 win for Minnesota State March 21, 2021.

Scouting Winona State University: Winona State University is located in Winona, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Warriors currently own an 40-15 (23-5 NSIC) record and finished third in the NSIC regular season standings. The Warriors are led by head coach Greg Jones who is in his 22nd season with the team.

At the plate the Warriors are led by Sophomore Abbie Hlas. Hlas has a .451 batting average and has driven in 39 runs and seven homers. In the circle, senior Liz Pautz is their number one pitcher with a 2.28 ERA and has 336 K's in 196.2 innings pitched.

If these two teams compete it would mark 106th meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 8-2 win for the Warriors on May 6, 2022.

1,000 K's: Senior pitcher Mackenzie Ward recorded her 1,000th career strike out against Bemidji State on April 16 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 third  in the nation and is second in the NSIC with 313 strikeouts in 39 appearances. Ward is fifth in the country and first in the NSIC in earned run average with 0.91, allowing just 27 earned runs in 208.1 innings pitched. Ward has held opposing batters to an average of .141 which led the NSIC. Her 28 wins led the conference and is third in the NCAA. Ward has also been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week the last eight out of nine weeks and was named NFCA Pitcher of the Week once. She has been named Pitcher of the Week 18 times in her career. Ward is currently second all-time in wins as a Maverick with 98.

Stat Pack: Ellie Tallman leads the Mavericks and is 10th in the NSIC in hitting with a .397 batting average and 13 runs batted in and leads the team in on-base percentage with .500. Madi Newman leads the team in RBI with 45. Newman also leads the team in homers with seven. Torey Richards ranks sixth all-time in hits with 248 as a Maverick. Richards surpassed Deb Westrum (1994-97) who had 235 career hits. Sydney Nielsen & Hailey Forshee have the hot hands in the field. Nielsen has 306 put outs with one error for a fielding percentage of .997 and one double play. Forshee has 369 put outs with only two errors for a .995 fielding percentage. She has assisted in turning nine double plays for Minnesota State in the 2022 campaign.


Record Setter: With the Mavericks win over Stonehill College on March 10, head coach Lori Meyer (1,331) 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.

In The Polls: Minnesota State has been tabbed as the 17th ranked team in this week's edition of the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Poll. The Mavericks are joined in the rankings by Augustana University who is ranked 10th. The Mavericks are the fourth seeded team in the NCAA Central Region Tournament

NSIC Honors: Six Mavericks have earned NSIC honors. Mackenzie Ward was named Pitcher of the Year for the second time and to the All-NSIC First Team. Madi Newman was named to the All-NSIC First Team. A pair of Mavericks in Ellie Tallman and Sydney Nielsen were named to the All-NSIC Second team. Hailey Forshee earned NSIC Gold Glove Team recognition and Cheyenne Behrends was named NSIC Freshman of the Year and to the All-NSIC Second Team.

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 continue the NCAA Central Region Tournament as they await the results of the second game of their pod as well as their own. If the Mavericks defeat Washburn they will play Friday at noon and if they lose they will play Friday at 5:00 p.m.