SIOUX FALLS – With weather forecasts adjusting their schedule to play six games in three days, University of Sioux Falls Softball closes the regular season this week. The Cougars (26-23, 13-11 NSIC) make their final push for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament with three league doubleheaders. Beginning the busy weekend, USF squares off with crosstown rival Augustana (33-11, 18-4 NSIC) on Thursday, April 27 at AU's Bowden Field (33rd and Lake) with first pitch set for 3 p.m. Closing the season at home, Sioux Falls will play Minnesota Crookston (11-32-1, 1-20-1 NSIC) on Friday, April 28 at 1 p.m. then wrap up the regular season against Bemidji State (24-15, 14-10 NSIC) on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m.
 
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USF splits with St. Cloud State, falls twice in one-run games at Minnesota Duluth
After a sweep of Concordia-St. Paul that featured Kerrigan Hoshaw's five-inning perfect game, USF took to the road where they split at St. Cloud State on Saturday and suffered two one-run defeats against Minnesota Duluth on Sunday. The Cougars nearly pulled off an impressive comeback, scoring twice in the top of the seventh to cut into SCSU's three-run lead, but it wasn't enough in their 3-2 loss. As quiet as the USF bats were in game one at St. Cloud State, they were equally loud in game two as Kerrigan Hoshaw hit two homeruns and Sydney Nieveen hit one, while they combined to drive in 11 runs in USF's 13-4 victory. Against UMD, USF took a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning on Britni Broussard's RBI single, but UMD responded with a two-run homerun in the bottom half to take game one. In the weekend, finale, USF held a 4-3 lead after scoring all of their runs in the fourth inning, but two more late tallies by UMD handed the Cougars their second straight one-run loss.
 
Playoff push: Cougars in sixth with six games remaining
Looking to lock up a top-10 spot in the final NSIC standings for a bid to the NSIC Tournament, Sioux Falls is currently tied for sixth with St. Cloud State at 13-11. The Cougars will face current No. 3 seed Augustana on Thursday and end their season with Minnesota Crookston, who has been officially eliminated from postseason contention, and against current No. 5 seed Bemidji State, who is one game above the Cougars at 14-10 entering this week's games. USF has earned a bid to the NSIC Tournament in each of the last three seasons and won at least one game the past two tournaments, including a fourth-place finish in 2015.
 
Series history vs. Augustana: AU leads 5-1
Scheduled to play for the seventh and eighth times since the Cougars joined the NSIC in 2012-13, Augustana holds a 5-1 edge over Sioux Falls in the series entering Thursday's doubleheader. AU edged the Cougars 3-2 in the first meeting, but USF responded with a dominant 9-0 victory in game two of the 2014 doubleheader. Since then, Augustana has won four straight games against the Cougars. Thursday will mark the second doubleheader that Augustana has USF since the Cougars joined the league. In road games, Sioux Falls is 0-2, dropping both games of the 2015 meeting between the programs.
 
Series History vs. Minnesota Crookston: USF leads 8-1
After dropping their first game against Minnesota Crookston last season, Sioux Falls looks to resume their dominant streak against UMC which has led to an 8-1 series lead for USF. The Cougars had won seven straight games against the Golden Eagles to open the series, including three shutouts. Last season, UMC won a 9-4 contest in game one of the doubleheader before the Cougars responded to win game two 10-6. The Cougars have hosted the series just once before this weekend's scheduled doubleheader. In 2015, USF posted two shutouts, winning 6-0 and 8-0.
 
Series History vs. Bemidji State: USF leads 6-0
In addition to the postseason implications on the line when USF hosts Bemidji State on Saturday, the Cougars will look to continue their undefeated streak against BSU. Before weather forced the 2016 doubleheader to be canceled, Sioux Falls had won six straight and they take their 6-0 series mark against Bemidji State into the weekend. Sioux Falls hosted BSU in 2015 and posted wins by 3-2 and 8-7 margins, starting a 2-0 unbeaten mark against the Beavers in home games.