SIOUX FALLS – Hitting the road after a near two-week home stand, University of Sioux Falls Softball heads to North Dakota for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheaders. The Cougars (21-18, 8-6 NSIC) take on Minot State (14-13, 6-8 NSIC) on Friday, April 14, at 1 p.m. before heading to Bismarck, N.D. to face University of Mary (13-26, 7-7 NSIC) on Saturday, April 15, at 11 a.m.
 
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Schifferle homers, Mathews closes game two for doubleheader split with Wayne State
In the final doubleheader of an eight-game home stand, USF split with Wayne State to post a 5-3 record over the eight-day stretch. The Cougars kept pace with Wayne State as each recorded 13 or more hits, but it was Wayne State whose timely base knocks carried them to a 7-5 victory. Freshman Lindsey Mossman hit a two-run homerun, the first of her career, which helped the Cougars draw within one run in the fifth inning. In game two, both teams jockeyed for a lead, but it was freshman Emma Schifferle who broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with a two-run homerun to propel USF to a 5-2 victory. Courtney Mathews came on in relief and pitched a shutout in two and two thirds innings, allowing just one hit in the victory.
 
Series history: USF-Minot State series tied 4-4
Both teams look to get and edge for the series record as the 2012-13 additions to the NSIC, Sioux Falls and Minot State, enter Friday's doubleheader tied 4-4 in their eight previous meetings since joining the league. On the road, USF is 1-1 after splitting the doubleheader in 2015. Most recently, the Cougars pounced on the Beavers and swept them last year, 8-6 and 10-2. Kerrigan Hoshaw went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched five innings to earn the win. In game two, Breanna Black scattered five hits to allow just two runs while six different Cougars recorded two or more hits each in a 10-2 victory.
 
Series History: USF leads U-Mary 5-3
With a sweep last season, USF seized control of the series against University of Mary, pulling ahead 5-3. On the road, the Cougars are 2-2 against U-Mary, splitting doubleheaders in 2013 and 2015. Last season, Sioux Falls trounced the Marauders, 14-0 and 12-4, with Hoshaw and Black providing the pitching for the Cougar offense to cruise to victory. Last year was the first sweep of the four doubleheaders in the USF's D2 history with U-Mary and the only time one team has won more than one game in a row.
 
Ragusi continues offensive tear, takes seven-game hitting streak into the weekend
After two more multi-hit games on Tuesday, junior catcher/utility Jasmine Ragusi stretched her hitting streak to seven games. On top of recording a base hit in seven consecutive games, Ragusi has recorded two in every game and three in game one against Wayne State. After the first game against Minnesota State on April 4, Ragusi has gone 15-for-22 at the plate and raised her batting average 67 points to .383 entering this weekend's road trip. Ragusi's batting average to date is the top mark for USF and ranks 15th in the NSIC this season. With four doubles and a homerun, Ragusi owns a 1.000 slugging percentage in her hitting streak and a .633 mark for the season, which is second on the team.
 
Mathews settling into pitching role
Both as a reliever and starter, freshman right-handed pitcher Courtney Mathews is starting to find her comfort zone. Hailing from Lee's Summit, Mo. Mathews earned the win in USF's historic comeback victory over Minnesota State last week then went on to earn a complete-game shutout victory against MSU Moorhead and a three-inning save against Northern State over the weekend. On Tuesday, Mathews came on in relief of both games, allowing two earned runs in six and two thirds innings of work. She earned the win in game two, tossing 2.2 shutout innings with just one hit allowed. Opponents are hitting a team-low .246 against her and she has struck out a team-high 66 batters in 92.1 innings pitched. Her earned run average of 2.43 ranks ninth in the NSIC and she's ninth in strikeouts with an 8-6 record in her freshman campaign.