CONROE, Texas -- Midwestern State opens the 2025 season at the D2 First Pitch Invitational with a pair of games on Friday and three more through the weekend at Scrap Yard Sports Complex.

Midwestern State faces No. 21-ranked Colorado Mesa at 4 p.m. on Friday.

The Mavericks defeated MSU in an eight-inning thriller, 4-3, in the season opener last year at the D2 First Pitch Invitational, and they are picked to repeat as RMAC Champions in the conference preseason poll.

Addison Lindemann from Holliday, Texas, made her collegiate debut in the circle against Colorado Mesa last year, working 6 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Mikey Dominguez drove home a run in the top of the seventh inning with a double to tie the game, 2-2.

Lindemann and Dominguez are among the 13 players returning to the Mustangs this season, and they are joined by eight newcomers.

Lindemann was named as a preseason Lone Star Conference Player to Watch. Last season, the pitcher earned LSC All-Freshman Team honors after posting a 7-11 record with a 3.88 earned-run average over 16 starts. She allowed 71 earned runs on 126 hits, while registering 100 strikeouts in 128 innings. The sophomore from Holliday, Texas, also hit .236 with three doubles and two home runs with seven runs batted in.

Madison Stewart, a transfer from Midland College, is another Mustang on the preseason watchlist. The 5-11 catcher is a two-time, first-team All-Western Junior College Athletic Conference honoree, combining to hit .367 with 21 homers and 122 RBIs in two seasons with the Chaps.

Stewart displayed consistency over the past two seasons, hitting .336 with 11 doubles, 11 homers, and 61 RBIs as a sophomore last season. She batted .396 with 18 doubles, 11 homers, and 61 RBIs as a freshman in 2023.

Shortstop Camile Nunez, who started all 51 games last season, is back for another campaign with the Mustangs after hitting .280 with seven double, two triples and three home runs. Nunez, a senior from Madera, California, had at least one hit in 19 of her last 23 games last season.

The Mustangs face Missouri Western in their second game on Friday, which is scheduled to begin a 6:30 p.m.

Midwestern State won its only previous encounter with the Griffons, 7-1, in 2010 at the Teri Zenner Mathis Invitational in Joplin, Missouri.

Missouri Western finished last season with a 31-20 record and was the No. 7 seed in the MIAA Tournament after finishing 13-13 in conference play. The Griffons are under the direction of head coach Nicole Thompson, who spent five seasons at Regis and recorded 33 wins or more in each of the last three seasons.

The Mustangs face Regis on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.

MSU is 0-5 in the all-time series with Regis, including a 7-6 loss in the D2 First Pitch Invitational last season. Midwestern State held a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning last year, but the Rangers rallied in their final two at-bats to secure the victory.

Regis won the RMAC Tournament Championship last spring to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Senior pitcher Kylie Harpman returns for the Rangers after posting a 19-10 record last season with 20 complete games and a 3.44 ERA.

The second game on Saturday gets underway at 4 p.m. as the Mustangs meet St. Martin's from Lacey, Washington, for the first time in program history.

The Saints were the No. 7 seed in the in the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament and finished the campaign with a 27-22 record. Infielder Heather Ebner was the GNAC Freshman of the Year after hitting .392 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs.

Pittsburg State meets the Mustangs in their final game of the event on Sunday at 10 a.m. The all-time series is knotted, 2-2, and Pittsburg State won the last meeting, 9-6, at the Edmond Regional Festival in 2020.

The Gorillas have 13 players returning from a 53-8 team last season, including Heather Arnett, a first-team All-American and MIAA Player of the Year. Arnett hit .454 with 51 stolen bases last season. Ava Laurent was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and was 19-1 in the circle with a 1.98 ERA. Laurent struck out 201 batters last season.

Midwestern State faces Northwestern Oklahoma in the home opener at 10 a.m. on Feb. 8 as part of the Mustang Round-Up at Mustangs Park.