MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State softball team returns to the diamond on Thursday and Friday with four games in West St. Paul, Minnesota.
 
The four non-conference games are part of the Dragon-Beaver Battle, hosted by MSU Moorhead and Bemidji State. The games will be played at the West St. Paul Dome.
 
SMSU, 0-2 overall, will take on MSU Moorhead (1-3) on Thursday at 12 p.m., before facing Bemidji State (0-2) at 2 p.m. On Friday, SMSU opens with a 9:30 a.m. game versus Concordia-St. Paul (3-1), before closing the two-day event with an 11:30 a.m. rematch versus Bemidji State.
 
SMSU opened the season on Feb. 5, dropping a pair of non-conference games to Minnesota Duluth, 10-2 and 10-1, in West St. Paul. Bailey Johnson collected three hits with two doubles for SMSU in the doubleheader, while Kali Tomlinson added two hits with one double.
 
Following the four games this week, SMSU will travel to Florida to play nine games from March 4-8.