MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State Mavericks softball team (39-15, 19-9 NSIC) will take on MSU Moorhead (32-18, 19-9 NSIC) in the first round of the NSIC Tournament on Thursday, May 2 at 10:00 a.m. at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
Schedule
Thursday, May 2
Vs MSU Moorhead, 10:00 a.m.
 
About the Mavericks
Minnesota State finished the season with a 19-9 conference record and a 39-15 overall record. The team finished the year with a sweep of Southwest Minnesota State after losing the previous three games.
 
Overall, the team has a .317 batting average with 245 RBI and 121 extra-base hits. Maverick pitchers have a combined ERA of 2.26. MSU has struck out 251 batters in 2024, while walking just 78 and allowing 115 earned runs.
 
The Mavericks had four of its players make the NSIC All-Conference Teams. McKayla Armbruster made her second-consecutive NSIC All-Conference First Team in 2024. In 35 appearances, she has an ERA of 1.76, a 19-6 record with three saves in 159 innings pitched. She has 142 strikeouts this season, only walking 27. She allowed just 40 earned runs in 2024, with hitters batting just .230 against her. She reached the 500-strikeout milestone at home against Bemidji State and is currently sixth in all-time strikeouts in program history with 545 Ks. Armbruster had 10 strikeouts in a game earlier this season against Notre Dame College.
 
Ellie Tallman, the senior second baseman, makes her third appearance on an NSIC All-Conference Team. The Martelle, Iowa native made the All-Conference Second Team the last two seasons, but in 2024, she finally lands on the First Team. Tallman is having an excellent senior season, leading Minnesota State with a .390 batting average, the highest of her career. From the leadoff spot, she has scored 41 runs, hit three doubles, four triples and one home run, driving in 14 RBI on 67 base hits. The second baseman scored three runs, a career-high, in a game against St. Cloud State.
 
Freshman Courtney Kessler had a great rookie campaign for the Mavericks. She is batting .375 at the plate, with a .911 OPS, 38 RBI and a team-high 13 doubles in 2024. Kessler had 17 games with multiple hits and 10 games with multiple runs batted in this season. She had a career-high four hits in a game against St. Cloud State, also driving in three RBI, tying another career-high.
 
Finally, Marina Carter finds herself on the NSIC All-Conference Second Team, the first time she has earned All-Conference honors. Carter is one of the better bunters in the conference, with many of her hits coming as a result of "small ball." She is hitting .370 in 2024, the highest in her career. The Ankeny, Iowa native has 44 hits, including three doubles, and 10 RBI this season, all career-highs. She had the best game of her career against Minnesota Crookston, recording three hits and three runs scored in the win.
 
Another Maverick senior, Kylie Sullivan, is also closing out her career on a high note. She is batting .358 with a .996 OPS, 20 extra-base hits, including a team-best six triples and four home runs, and 34 RBI. Sullivan also leads the team with 17 stolen bases.
 
Other freshman, such as Rhyan Fritz, Maddie Helin, Maddie Oetzmann and Izzy Hycnar have also stepped up in big moments during their freshman seasons. Fritz is batting .301 with 10 doubles and 19 RBI. Helin, in 20 starts, has a 1.014 OPS, the highest on the team, with four home runs and 14 RBI. Oetzmann was named back-to-back NSIC Pitcher of the Week earlier in the season. She has a 17-3 record with a 2.36 ERA and 74 strikeouts. Hycnar has 12 RBI and had several key hits early in the season to secure wins for the Mavericks.
 
Minnesota State is led by legendary head coach, Lori Meyer, who returns for her 40th season at the helm of the Mavericks' dugout. She is the most winningest coach in NCAA Division II Softball history, reaching 1,400 wins against St. Cloud State a few weeks ago. Teams under Meyer have been to 17 NCAA Tournaments and three championships, including a win in 2017.
 
Minnesota State is 48-10-1 in games against MSU Moorhead, however, the Dragons have won the last three games against the Mavericks, dating back to last season.
 
 
About the Dragons
MSU Moorhead went 32-18 in 2024, also with a 19-9 record against conference opponents. The Dragons are currently on a five-game win streak, which helped them secure the fourth seed in the NSIC Tournament, as the team held the tiebreaker over the Mavericks.
 
Earlier this season, the Dragons defeated the Mavericks twice in the Maverick All-Sports Dome, 8-7 and 3-2. In the first game, MSU Moorhead came back from down 7-0 to win the game. After that, the Mavericks struggled to put together hits for the rest of the day, losing game two as well.
 
The Dragons are hitting .276 as a team with 209 RBI. The MSU Moorhead pitching staff has a 3.46 ERA and 236 strikeouts in 2024.
 
Chloe Makinney is the Dragons' best hitter. She is batting .336 with a .864 OPS. She has 40 hits, including 10 total extra-base hits and 17 RBI. Azalya Lopez is another great hitter for the Dragons, batting .321 with 30 RBI in 2024.
 
MSU Moorhead's ace is also Lopez, who is 18-5 in 28 appearances this season. She has a 2.02 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP, with 127 strikeouts in 140.2 innings of work. She also has two saves. Lopez was named to the NSIC All-Conference First Team and the All-Defensive Team. Mackenzie Gallagher and Annika Norman both were All-Conference Second Team members.
 
MSU Moorhead's head coach is Mike Armitage. He won NSIC Coach of the Year in 2023 and is currently in his third season with the Dragons.