MANKATO, Minn. - With just six games remaining in the 2025 regular season, the Minnesota State Maverick softball team (34-14, 18-4 NSIC) is gearing up for an NSIC Tournament run. This week, MSU plays a single road double header at Wayne State (25-18, 10-9 NSIC).

Friday, April 18 at Wayne State

Game 1: 12:00 p.m.

Game 2: 2:00 p.m.

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About the Mavericks

Minnesota State is currently second in the NSIC with an 18-4 record, one game behind Augustana for the top spot in the conference. This team has won 12 of its last 14 games.

Last week, the Mavericks faced three of the top five teams in the conference and exited the week with a 4-2 record. 

In a mid-week matchup against Winona State, the Warriors took game one after a big four-run inning with two outs, but RBI hits from Gianna Lara, Hannah Tong and a home run from Maddie Helin helped the Mavericks split the series. 

Then, on Saturday against Minnesota Duluth, Helin hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the win in extras. The Mavericks dropped game two against the Bulldogs, but Brianne Stone came out strong on Sunday with a complete game shutout against St. Cloud State, 6-0. She struck out six en route to her third win of the week, her 11th of the season. Minnesota State swept the Huskies, despite a late attempted come back in game two, with a 7-5 win. 

Senior centerfielder Marina Carter was a perfect 6-for-6 at the plate against SCSU and made several diving catches that wiped hits and runs off the board.

Stone for her excellent performance in the pitcher's circle in week four earned NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors. It was her first time winning the award. She went 3-0, struck out 15 batters and maintained a 1.59 ERA. The senior starter from Valencia, Calif. leads Minnesota State with an 11-4 record, a 1.43 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP on the season, 63 strikeouts in 88.1 innings of work. Her earned run average ranks third in the conference and she is first in runs allowed this season. She leads the second-best pitching staff in the NSIC according to ERA. MSU's team ERA is 2.15.

Helin was also excellent in week four. She went 8-for-18 at the plate, good for a .444 average, and posted a phenomenal 1.611 OPS. She led the team in runs scored (6), home runs (4), runs batted in (7) and total bases (20) in week four. Helin is now batting .289 with a .935 OPS in 2025. She leads the Mavericks with seven home runs and has 13 total extra-base hits and 21 RBI. 

The leading bat on the team bats last, and that is Carter. She is hitting .386 with a .900 OPS in her final season in a Maverick uniform. The speedster is also a huge threat to steal, as she is 17-for-19 in stolen base attempts.

Other than Helin, Lara is Minnesota State's other power bat. The junior first baseman is hitting .350 with a .984 OPS, which leads the team. Lara is tied for the team lead in base hits (50), is second in home runs (6) and leads MSU with 13 doubles and 35 runs batted in.

The left side of the infield is inhabited by senior third baseman Cheyenne Behrends and sophomore shortstop Izzy Hycnar. Behrends holds a .323 batting average, has 12 extra-base hits including two homers and 30 RBI. Hycnar is batting .344 with a .902 OPS, is second on the team with 11 doubles and 33 RBI. Her .444 OPS leads the team. Freshman second baseman and lead off hitter Carly Kimmes leads the team in stolen bases with 21 in her rookie campaign.

Legendary head coach Lori Meyer is in her 41st 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 softball holds a 39-12 record against the Wildcats of WSC. However, last season, Wayne State split in Mankato on senior day, with a 5-2 victory in game two. In fact, MSU and WSC have split the double header each of the last three years.

About the Wildcats

Wayne State is currently hanging onto the eighth-place spot in the NSIC with a 10-9 record in conference. After the Wildcats won five-straight games against St. Cloud, SMSU and Northern State, the team has hit a bit of a rough patch; WSC is just 2-6 in its last eight games, including 0-2 performances against MSU Moorhead, Augustana and Minnesota Crookston.

Emilee Marth is the leading Wildcat bat. She is hitting .357 with a .959 OPS, 15 doubles, two homers and 25 RBI in 2025. Jordyn Klein is batting .345 with 51 hits to lead the team, five doubles, three triples and 14 RBI. Maddie Scobee has maybe the biggest bat on the team, with six home runs and 26 RBI this season, both of which are team-highs.

Kennadi Borngrebe is Wayne State's ace in the circle. She holds a 1.68 ERA and a 12-6 record in 2025. She leads the team with 132 strikeouts, good for fourth in the conference. Borngrebe has pitched 10 complete games in her first full year with WSC. She has earned NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors three times this season.

Wayne State's head coach is Christy Warnock. Warnock is in her third season with WSC softball and is the 14th head coach in program history. Prior to her time with the Wildcats, she was an assistant coach at the University of South Dakota.