Record Collection

Coley Ries is closing in on 100 career wins.

Individual success in sports is often up for interpretation.

However, when it comes to Minnesota State senior softball pitcher Coley Ries, “success” is undoubtedly one word to describe her remarkable record-breaking softball career.

Ries is the Maverick record holder for career wins (99) and strikeouts (571), as well as the most strikeouts in a single season (434).

“Coley has obviously been an important part of the program. She’s brought a lot of success to the program,” said Lori Meyer, Minnesota State's veteran head softball coach. Ries’s teammate, sophomore Cori Kennedy added, “Coley is a very selfless player and she always puts the team first. She’s a really good leader on our team.”

Hailing from Eagle Lake, Minn., Ries, 22, is a product of Mankato East High School, where she graduated from in 2012. Following her high school career, one in which she went 85-18 with 786 batters while leading the Cougars to three Big 9 championships, she committed to continue her softball career at Minnesota State.

“I chose MSU because, being from Mankato, it’s cool to be able to play in front of your community,” Ries said.

Her decision to attend a local university also stems from the importance of family and great coaches.
“Having my family close by, being able to attend all the games, and all the money and time they’ve put into my career throughout the years, it just seemed right to be able to have them be there,” Ries said. “I was also motivated by the coaching staff. I knew that they wanted to make me better,” she said.

After spending her first season red-shirting, it was during the 2014 campaign where Ries’s long list of achievements on the softball diamond for Minnesota State began. She made 37 appearances, including 29 starts in as a freshman, posting a 23-8 record to go along with a 1.92 earned run average. She was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Pitcher of the Year that year.

Ries followed up on a great freshman campaign by appearing in 41 games and constructing a 21-16 record as a sophomore. She fanned 297 batters, a school single-season record. She earned All-NSIC Second Team Honors.

Ries didn’t slow down in 2016. She went 29-7 in her junior season. She compiled 1.18 ERA and fanned 434 batters in establishing a school single-season record.

That performance was good enough to earn her NSIC Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-NSIC honors.

So far in 2017, the senior right-hander holds a 21-2 record with a record-breaking win coming Saturday against Bemidji State, when Ries became the all-time wins leader with 98. With a win Tuesday over Southwest Minnesota State, she now has 99 wins.

“100 wins is a goal of mine, so knowing I’m approaching one of my goals is really cool, but I’m not trying to think about it too much,” said Ries. The Mavericks next game is Saturday, when they host Northern State.

What Ries has done on the field during games is one thing, but off the field could potentially be even bigger.

“The community can relate to Coley because they’ve been able to follow her throughout her career, and what also adds to that is, she’s just a great person. She’s a great ambassador for the community, Minnesota State and for the sport of softball,” Meyer said. “She’s a tremendous role model for young girls just because of how she interacts with them and her passion for softball,” she said.

Ries graduates May 6 with a degree in mass media, but is unsure what she wants to do.

“I hope to get into coaching, maybe help out the coaches here. Nothing is really set in stone yet. I’m really trying to focus on finishing the year and see where it takes me,” she said.

  Contributed by Collin Wilmes, Athletic Communications intern

Ries Has Eye on the Prize

Minnesota State junior pitcher Coley Ries had a trio of her
photos appear in Mankato Magazine

Second straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Pitcher of the Week recognition for Minnesota State junior pitcher Coley Ries? Third career no-hitter? School record for career strike outs?  You bet.

A two-time All-NSIC selection, Ries has been on fire in 2016, tossing her third career no-hitter in a 5-0 win vs. Central Oklahoma and pitching 45.1 scoreless innings up until last Tuesday’s game against the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears.

  

The Eagle Lake, Minn., native is right at home when it comes to being a player in Mankato. Eagle Lake is situated just east of Mankato and Ries was an all-state performer for Mankato East High School. “I grew up here, and I always wanted to play somewhere that is already developed. I’m fortunate in having my family be able to watch me play and having the community be able to watch as well,” said Ries.

The multi-faceted righthander loves playing softball on the field and was also a talented tennis and basketball player in high school, but off the field, she has other interests.

Ries has an eye for taking pictures, something that started two years ago when she got a camera for Christmas. At first she was taking pictures of things like her dogs or just something she thought was  photo worthy.

On vacation with her family in Florida, she took several images that caught her eye and recently her work was featured in Mankato Magazine, a local monthly publication. When these photos were posted in the magazine, many people were surprised to see her name under the photos. “It is fun to get my pictures out there. I have gotten messages from people who didn’t know I took pictures; it makes me feel appreciated for my pictures,” Ries said.

Taking pictures is more for fun, just a hobby of Ries’. Not only does she take pictures of her dogs or nature, but she takes family photos for people as well. Mike Hastings, coach of the Maverick men’s hockey team is one of those people who had his family photos taken by Ries.

 “Coley is passionate about the game, she is a competitor and doesn’t like to lose,” said Lori Meyer, head coach of the Minnesota State softball program. “Off the field she is fun and has a lighter side to her. She is a teammate, a friend, and really enjoys her dogs.” Meyer, who is in her 31st year at the Maverick softball helm, feels that Ries’ work ethic for photos “carries over into her softball pitching abilities.”

The end goal, both Ries and Meyer agree, is to have those abilities help lead the Mavericks to success in NSIC regular season and a place in the NCAA Division II postseason tournament. Off to a 21-9 mark in the first 30 games of the 2016 campaign, Minnesota State, with Ries' watchful eye on the prize, is well on its way to reaching those goals.

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                                                                            contributed by Shelbie Werden, Athletic Communications intern