MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State softball (2-2) will travel to Topeka, Kan. for four games against Central Region opponents.
 
Sunday, February 23
11:30 a.m. – Minnesota State at Pittsburg State
3:30 p.m. – Emporia State at Minnesota State
 
Monday, February 24
11:30 a.m. – Minnesota State at Central Oklahoma
1:30 p.m. - Central Missouri at Minnesota State
 
 
About the Mavericks
After MSU opened up its Dome Tournament with a pair of wins against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth, the team was tripped up by the Golden Bears and Bulldogs on the second day of the tournament. In game one, the Mavericks scored four unanswered runs after CSP tied it up in the fifth inning for a 7-3 win. In the second game, a solo shot from Gianna Lara was enough scoring as junior outfielder Sailor Hall made an incredible throw to prevent a Bulldog score as MSU won 2-0. The Golden Bears kicked off day two of the tournament with a 4-1 victory over the Mavericks, who just couldn't get the bats going. Minnesota State also fell in the final game of the tournament, as UMD had a seven-run fifth inning thanks to two two-run home runs that gave the Bulldogs a 9-5 win.
 
Lara was excellent in the first weekend for Minnesota State. She led the team with six hits in 11 at bats, good for a .545 batting average. The junior first baseman hit three extra-base hits, including the home run in game two, drove in three RBI. She ended the weekend with an OPS of 1.643.
 
Senior third baseman Cheyenne Behrends was also solid for the team with five hits, a .417 batting average and an OPS of .846. She drove in two RBI in the team's opening weekend. Maddie Helin is second on the team with five runs and holds an on-base percentage of .467 after drawing two walks and getting hit by a pitch twice.
 
Hall is the team's leading pitcher in terms of innings. She leads the team with nine strikeouts and has an opponent batting average of .261 and an ERA of 2.71. Sophomore Chloe Brandt has the best ERA on the team, a 1.50 earned run average. Fellow second-year player Maddie Oetzmann has seven strikeouts and a 2.74 ERA.
 
Legendary head coach Lori Meyer is in her 41^st season as the Minnesota State softball coach. Meyer has accumulated a 1,405-749-3 record with the Maverick softball team, which is the most wins by an NCAA Division II coach in history. She has coached 31 All-Americans and 126 All-Conference players and has won eight conference titles, taken 17 trips to the NCAA Tournament, and three of her teams have made the NCAA Championship. In 2017, Meyer and the Mavericks won the NCAA DII National Championship.
 
Minnesota State is an even 9-9 against Pittsburg State. The Gorillas have bested the Mavericks in the last three matchups.
 
The Mavericks are 13-15 versus the Hornets. Emporia State won the last matchup in 2024, 3-2.
 
MSU has won the last two games against Central Missouri but still trails the Jennies 12-13 in the all-time series.
 
Minnesota State is 8-1 against Central Oklahoma with six consecutive wins going back to 2016. The only time the Bronchos beat the Mavericks was a 1-0 victory in 2013.
 
 
About the Gorillas
Pittsburg State is off to a solid start to the 2025 season with a 6-3 record through two weekends of play. The Gorillas most recently won three of four at the Central Oklahoma/Oklahoma Christian Classic.
 
Senior outfielder Courtney Storey is having an excellent start to her final year with PSU. She has 16 hits with a .516 batting average and a 1.204 OPS. She has two doubles, a triple and a team-high seven RBI. Junior utility player Heather Arnett has 15 hits, 21 total bases and a batting average of .455 with a 1.107 OPS. She leads the Gorillas with four doubles.
 
PSU has two main pitchers who have pulled together the majority of innings. Aydenne Brown leads the team with 28 putouts in 22.2 innings of work. Brown has an ERA of 2.78 and holds a 3-1 record. Ava Laurent is 3-2 with 27.2 innings of action in the circle. She has 25 strikeouts and has an ERA of 3.04.
 
Head coach Josh Barnes enters his first season with Pittsburg State after he was hired in July 2024. Prior to PSU, Barnes was the head coach at NJCAA powerhouse Crowder College.
 
 
About the Hornets
Emporia State is 6-5 heading into the Washburn Invite. The Hornets won four of six to kick off the season at the Branson Lead-Off Classic, but the team sustained three losses at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.
 
Junior Hornet outfielder Taryn Burkhardt leads the team with 13 hits as she maintains a batting average of .371 and an OPS of .900. She has three RBI in 2025. Brooke Flewelling leads the Hornets with 11 RBI and two home runs while hitting .300 with a 1.022 OPS. ESU has six players hitting above .300.
 
Jordan Harrison is the team's best pitcher this far into the season. She has 25 strikeouts with 29.1 innings pitched, an ERA of 2.39 and a .99 WHIP to go along with her 2-0 record. Gracie Rabe is the team's other leading pitcher with 30.2 innings of work. She has 23 Ks, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP while holding a 3-4 record.
 
Emporia State's head coach, April Rosales, is in the midst of her 10^th season at the helm of the Hornets softball program. Rosales has led ESU to a 239-222 record and an MIAA Tournament Championship.
 
 
About the Jennies
Central Missouri is 4-2 after a pair of wins in the Branson Battle Classic. The Jennies split their first four games at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.
 
Marisa Johnson and Taylor Thompson are UCM's best players. Johnson is batting .550 with 11 hits, four doubles and a home run with seven RBI. She has an OPS of 1.509. Thompson has a team-high 11 RBI with nine hits, three doubles and one homer. She holds a batting average of .429 and an OPS of 1.192.
 
Emily Brouse is the team's leading ace. She has 18 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched. She is 1-0 with an ERA of 4.96, a WHIP of 1.47. Andi Siebeneck is 3-0 and has pitched 10.2 innings.
 
Susan Anderson, the 18^th-year coach for the Jennies, entered 2025 with a 504-376 record. She is second in all-time wins at Central Missouri and is the quickest coach to 100 career wins.
 
 
About the Bronchos
Central Oklahoma has had an excellent start to 2025, kicking off the year on a 9-2 start. The Bronchos won four games at the Gulf Shores Invitational, and three more at the UCO/OC Classic before winning their last two games of the Raising Cane's Festival.
 
Terin Ritz has been great out of the gates for the Bronchos. She is hitting .464 with a 1.421 OPS. Ritz has 13 hits, including six extra-base hits, with 20 RBI. Central Oklahoma has five other players with double-digit hits. Brooklyn Ryan, Rylee Lemos and Rylee Anglen all have a dozen hits each. Kennedy Clark is second on the team with 14 RBI.
 
Shelby Beard has been phenomenal for the Bronchos in 2025. In five appearances she is 5-0 with an ERA of 0.46, a WHIP of .98, 15 strikeouts and one earned run in 15.1 innings of action. Ritz has also been active in the circle as well, with 15 strikeouts and a 2.07 ERA in 23.2 innings of work. Sydney Ward leads the team with 19 strikeouts in 17 innings. She has a 1-0 record.
 
Cody White is the head coach of the Bronchos. He is in his 12^th year at the helm of the program and has led the team to a 446-160 record in his first 11.