MINOT, N.D. – It's been a month since the Beavers took to the diamond for a home game but Wednesday the hot-hitting Minot State softball team gets back in the swing of things in the friendly confines of the Minot State University Air-Supported Bubble.

It'll be a "Battle of the Beavers" on Wednesday as Minot State hosts Bemidji State in an NSIC doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. with action inside the Bubble on the MSU campus to avoid the threat of inclement weather.

The two teams have already clashed twice this season in non-conference action with Minot State winning those games 4-1 and 5-0, but recently the fate for both teams has changed as Bemidji State (7-17 overall) comes in on a four-game win streak and a perfect 4-0 mark in league play.

Conversely, Minot State (22-8 overall, 3-3 NSIC) – which is off to the program's second-best start ever – looks to snap a three-game skid.

Key to Minot State's second-best start ever has been a complete team effort as the Beavers are second in the NSIC offensively hitting .327 with 176 runs scored (5.8 runs per game) and an NSIC-high 106 stolen bases, which also is fourth best in the nation.

On the other side of the ball, Minot State leads the league with a .977 fielding percentage with just 19 errors in 30 games this season, and their pitching staff is fifth in the NSIC in ERA (2.32) and fourth in total strikeouts with 180.

Leading the way at the plate are junior first baseman Jamie Odlum, who leads the NSIC in hitting at .511 (47-for-92) with 27 RBIs and 15 stolen bases, and junior outfielder Kiera Shwaluk, who is hitting .400 (28-for-70) with 12 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

In the circle, depth has been key with senior Trinity Valentine, sophomore Jasmine Blizzard, and freshman Reegan Floyd (3-1) offering a talented one-two-three punch. All three are in the top 12 in ERA led by Blizzard who is ninth with her 2.08 ERA. Valentine is 11^th with a 2.14 ERA, but also fourth in wins (10-5) and seventh in strikeouts (82), while Floyd is 12^th in ERA (2.66), seventh in wins (7-2) and ninth in Ks (55).

As for Bemidji, they hit .252 with an average of 3.5 runs per game while their pitching staff has a 4.37 ERA and averages 3.4 strikeouts per game, and defensively they have committed 32 errors in 24 contests.

Following Wednesday's brief homestand, Minot State returns to the road to play at Wayne State on Saturday, at No. 7-ranked Augustana on Sunday, then at Northern State next Tuesday, April 12.