THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes off an eight-game homestand with a pair of games Tuesday against Bemidji State (2/4 p.m.) and starts a six-game road trip with two at Upper Iowa Saturday (1/3 p.m.) and Winona State Sunday (12/2 p.m.).

RECORDS: Minot State comes into the week with a 17-14 overall record and is 9-9 in league play currently in a tie for eighth overall. BSU is just a game ahead of MSU with a 10-8 NSIC record and is 20-13 overall. Upper Iowa is currently two back with a 7-11 mark and is 15-25 overall and Winona State is tied for the conference lead with Minnesota State at 16-2 with a fine all-around record of 35-8.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Bill Triplett is in his 10th season as the head coach at Minot State. The former CaptainU National Coach of the Year has guided Minot State to both the NAIA National Tournament and the NCAA Division II National Tournament. He has a 290-164 overall record. BSU's head coach is Rick Supinski who is in his fifth season as head coach. Amanda Bradberry is in her fourth season as head coach at Upper Iowa and is 100-101 overall. Greg Jones is in his 17th season as head coach at Winona State and is an impressive 685-244-4 during his career with the Warriors.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: MSU provides live video – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: None of the teams were ranked in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Top 25 poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State won four of six home games during the week, splitting with MSU Moorhead in a low-scoring midweek series with MSUM winning game 1 3-2 and the Beavers taking game 2 4-3. Minot State then swept a double header with USF, winning 5-1 and 4-2 before splitting with Southwest Minnesota State winning 14-5 before falling 9-7. BSU went 3-3, splitting with St. Cloud State, sweeping Concordia-St. Paul and getting swept by No. 14 Minnesota State all during a 10-game homestand. Upper Iowa split its weekend series with SCSU and Minnesota Duluth, while WSU swept its four at home with SCSU and UMD.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers hold a solid edge with BSU in the all-time series, leading 12-4, but are on a three-game losing skid. MSU is 6-5 all-time with Upper Iowa and trail WSU 7-3.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State lost all six games against this week's opponents, falling three times to BSU, twice to Winona State and once to Upper Iowa with five coming in conference play.

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: Bemidji State is led by Jessica Yost in both offensive and pitching categories. She is batting .393 with three HRs and 21 RBIs and has a miniscule 1.30 ERA in the circle going 17-4 overall… Jessica Burlingame is second on the team with a .376 average and is 4 for 4 to lead the team in stolen bases… BSU only has 14 steals this season, but has attempted just 15…BSU's team ERA is just 2.68.

NOTING THE PEACOCKS: Upper Iowa has come on strong as of late as the Peacocks have seven wins in their last nine games following a nine-game losing skid… UIU does not have a pitcher with an ERA below 4.00… The Peacocks have hit 16 home runs, but have given up 34 on the season.

NOTING THE WARRIORS: Winona State has just five losses to teams not ranked in the top 25 and has win streaks of 14 and eight games. The Warriors are currently on a four-game winnings streak… Lani Van Zyl leads the team with a .424 batting average, knocking in 34 runs with four home runs, 13 doubles and three triples… The Warriors have allowed just 18 stolen bases all season… McKenna Larsen has allowed just 14 earned runs in 116 innings pitched for a .84 ERA.

GRANT REACHES 100: MSU senior Jordan Grant stole her 100th career base over the weekend, finishing with 106 career steals and counting. In 2017, Grant is a perfect 29 for 29, needing just eight steals to break her own record for steals in a season. During her four-year career, Grant has been caught stealing just 12 times in 118 attempts.

BIG SKY STATS: Minot State freshmen Jordan Branch and Skyla Neubauer, both from Belgrade, Mont., have put together solid first seasons. Brach has come on strong in the last 12 games, lifting her batting average from .167 on April 6 to its current .269. She has hit all five of her home runs during that span. Neubauer has been steady much of the season, batting .278 with nine doubles, two home runs and 15 runs batted in.

BY THE NUMBERS

.324: Batting average for Minot State as a team through 30 games.

6: Sacrifice flies for Rachel Burdette, accounting for six of her 26 RBIs in 2017

26: Home runs for Minot State compared to just 14 for its opponents. The Beavers are led by Ashley Hill's nine.