MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead softball will wrap up non-conference play this week as the Dragons head to the state of Missouri for an eight-game stretch against MIAA competition. 

Live stats and video will be available at msumdragons.com. Please note that the MIAA Network is a pay-per-view service. 

MSUM will begin the eight-game swing on Wednesday, March 13 with a doubleheader against Lincoln University of Missouri which will begin at 1 p.m. from Jefferson City, Mo. The Dragons will play a twinbill against Central Missouri the following day in Warrensburg, Mo., beginning at 3 p.m. Friday will see the Dragons meet up with Missouri Western for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph's, Mo. To close the trip, MSUM will make the trip to Maryville, Mo., for a 12 p.m. doubleheader against Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. 

The Dragons have not played since participating in the Lewis Dome Invitational which began on February 22. At that tournament, MSUM split the six-games winning three and dropping three as well. However, the Dragons did pick up a win against fifth-ranked Grand Valley State, the program's first ranked victory in Mike Armitage's tenure as head coach. MSUM is 8-6 overall on the season. 

At the plate, MSUM is led by sophomore shortstop Azalya Lopez, who is hitting a team-best .366 average to go along with a .610 slugging percentage, which is also tops on the roster. Lopez leads the squad in RBIs (11) and total hits (15) so far this season. Lopez is one of three Dragons to hit home runs this season alongside senior Evey Evans and freshman Sam Centeno. Evans leads the club in on-base percentage (.460) to go along with a .325 batting average. Evans has also scored a team-high 13 runs so far this year. 

In the circle, Lopez also leads the Dragon arms, having twirled 32 innings so far this year for a team-best 3.50 ERA with 27 strikeouts. Freshman Teagan Clemmons is the other Dragon arm to see significant work this year, tallying 21.1 innings of work with 19 strikeouts and a 4.59 ERA. Evans closes down the game for MSUM with a 0.62 ERA in 11.1 innings of work this season. 

The Dragons are sharp in the field, having committed only nine errors so far this season for a collecting fielding percentage of .977. 10 Dragons hold a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage this season (Centeno, Clemmons, Chloe Makinney, Lizzy Davis, Eliyah McCarthy, Avery Steffen, Teagan Pranchke, Eliya Johnson, Grace Oeltjen and Hannah Losee). 

Mike Armitage is in his third season as MSUM's head softball coach.