MANKATO, Minn. - The Minnesota State softball team (35-15, 19-5 NSIC) will play a pair of double headers against No. 11 Augustana (41-9, 23-3 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (29-23, 11-15 NSIC) this weekend at the MSU Softball Diamond.
Saturday, April 26 vs Augustana
Game 1: 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: 2:00 p.m.
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Live Stats
Sunday, April 27 vs Southwest Minnesota State
Game 1: 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: 2:00 p.m.
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Live Stats
About the Mavericks
Minnesota State will play its first games in eight days against the top team in the conference, Augustana. After a solid week against some of the best teams the NSIC has to offer in week four of the conference schedule, the Mavericks split its series against Wayne State. The Wildcats hit a three-run homer in the fifth to come back from down 5-0 to win 7-6. WSC jumped ahead early in game two, but the Mavericks scored seven runs between the sixth and seventh innings to earn a 9-3 win in Wayne, Neb.
The Mavericks currently sit in second place in the NSIC, two games above third place Winona State with a 19-5 record. Minnesota State was ranked seventh in the second version of the NCAA Central Region Rankings. This was the first ranking of the year listed in numerical order.
MSU's leading bat is senior speedster Marina Carter. The Ankeny, Iowa native is hitting .372 this season, the 11th-best batting average in the conference. Carter is looking for her 50th career steal this weekend, as she is 10th in program history in stolen bases. Carter went a perfect 6-for-6 at the plate against St. Cloud State.
Junior first baseman Gianna Lara holds a .345 batting average and a team-best .976 OPS. She is tied for the team lead with 51 base hits and leads Minnesota State with 13 doubles and 36 RBI. Lara is second on the team with six home runs. Earlier in the season, Lara held a 13-game hitting streak.
Shortstop Izzy Hycnar is having a solid sophomore season at the plate, hitting .333 with 11 doubles, two triples and 34 runs batted in. Senior third baseman Cheyenne Behrends is hitting .315 with 51 base knocks, eight doubles, two triples and three home runs. She has 33 RBI, the most since her freshman year when Behrends was named the 2022 NSIC Freshman of the Year.
Maddie Helin leads the team with seven home runs. The redshirt sophomore has steadily improved her batting average throughout the season, now holding a .289 average at the plate. Freshman Hannah Tong is having a nice stretch batting, as well. She has a .308 average with 32 hits and 17 RBI in her rookie campaign.
In the circle, Minnesota State is led by Brianne Stone. Stone holds a 1.88 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP with an 11-5 record in her senior season. Her earned run average ranks fourth in the NSIC. She also is second in the conference with just 25 runs allowed as a starter in 2025. She has 68 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched and has four complete games under her belt this season. Stone was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week for her performance a few weeks ago when she earned three complete game wins while she maintained a 1.59 ERA against Winona State, UMD and St. Cloud State.
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 trails Augustana 58-81 in the all-time series. The Vikings have won the last four matchups against MSU and seven of the last eight.
On the other hand, Minnesota State is 78-25 against SMSU. The Mavericks have won the last 14 games against the Mustangs. Since 2010, MSU has lost just three games to Southwest Minnesota State.
About the Vikings
Augustana has been great all season with a 41-9 overall record and a 23-3 record in conference action. The Vikings are currently on a 16-game win streak since dropping both games of a double header against Minnesota Duluth on March 29.
One of Augustana's best hitters is sophomore Desi Cuevas. She is hitting .389 with a 1.172 OPS in 2025. Cuevas has 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 41 RBI, all of which lead the team. She is second in the conference in doubles, third in runs scored with 52, sixth in batting average, fourth in OPS and home runs and fifth in RBI. Cuevas also leads the team with 19 stolen bases.
Junior utility player Andrea Cain is also having a great 2025 campaign, with a .342 batting average and a 1.125 OPS. She has 14 doubles, a team-high six triples, eight homers and 31 RBI.
Where the Vikings really shine though is in the pitcher's circle. The team has two starters each with an ERA under 1.50. Graduate student-athlete Grace Glanzer holds a 1.25 ERA, a .88 WHIP in her final collegiate season with a 20-6 record and 21 complete games. In 167.2 innings of work, she has 190 strikeouts and has held opposing batters to just a .198 average at the plate. Augustana also has Lexi Lander, another graduate student who has a 1.32 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP this season. She is 18-3 this year with 11 complete games, 122 innings of work, 126 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .204. Lander has been named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week three times this season, including this past week, where she allowed no runs in two starts and struck out 16 batters.
The Vikings are led by 19th-year head coach Gretta Meslted. Melted holds an 813-363 record and has led Augustana to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including in 2019 when the Vikings won the NCAA DII Softball National Championship.
About the Mustangs
After starting the 2025 season 3-7, SMSU went undefeated at THE Spring Games in Florida. Since conference play, the Mustangs are 11-15. Last week the team split with Concordia-St. Paul, losing game two 7-3.
Junior outfielder Riley Kramolisch leads the team with 65 base hits and a .355 average at the plate. She has three doubles and 21 RBI in 2025. Abby Russell is hitting .327 with six doubles, two triples, one home run and 28 RBI. Emma Humpal leads the team with 29 RBI.
The Mustangs' best pitcher is Karlie Miller. She holds a 3.76 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP with a 13-10 record this season. In 148.1 innings pitched, she has struck out 99 batters.
SMSU head coach Bailey Bouman is in her seventh season in Marshall. She holds a 112-138 record with the Mustangs.
