SIOUX FALLS – Off to a 5-1 start in league play, University of Sioux Falls Softball heads to the road for the first time during the conference season. The Cougars (20-9, 5-1 NSIC) will face a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents in Aberdeen, S.D. at the Presentation College Dome. USF faces Northern State (14-12, 4-2 NSIC) on Friday, April 6 at 6 and 8 p.m. then squares off with MSU Moorhead (9-13, 2-2 NSIC) on Saturday, April 7 at 2 and 4 p.m.
 
Follow the Cougars
Never miss an update for USF Softball by following the Cougars on social media. Check out the twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts for all 17 USF Athletics accounts at usfcougars.com/socialmedia. Live stats for all USF Softball home games are available at usfcougars.com/livestats and links to live stats for all NSIC games are on the USF Softball schedule.  Weather permitting, all USF Softball home games will be streamed for free through Stretch Internet at usfcougars.com/watch and links to away games are on the USF Softball schedule.
 
USF opens NSIC play with 5-1 record, wins three in walkoff fashion
With weather shifting USF's conference-opening week to three straight home doubleheaders, the Cougars rolled to a pair of sweeps and a thrilling split with then-No. 8 Winona State. Opening the week, USF needed 11 innings to defeat travel partner Southwest Minnesota State in the first leg of their doubleheader as Sydney Nieveen hit a walkoff solo homerun for an 11-10 victory with Courtney Mathews earning the win after pitching six innings of relief. In game two, Breanna Black tossed a complete game shutout and had plenty of offensive help with Ashley Meyer hitting two homeruns and Kerrigan Hoshaw chipping in with another big fly for their 7-0 victory.
 
Set to face NSIC favorite, USF was locked tight in both games against Winona State, winning the first with another walkoff victory. The Cougars built a 3-1 lead and Hoshaw kept the Cougars in front until WSU tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Lindsey Mossman proved to be the hero as she drove in Black from second base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, their second walkoff victory in as many days. In game two, Black was stellar in the circle again, throwing all nine innings of the extra-inning contest. Sioux Falls eventually dropped the game, 5-2, despite Black's pitching efforts.
 
Pitted against Upper Iowa for their third doubleheader in as many days, Sioux Falls came from behind in both games to sweep the Peacocks. Down 7-0 after the top of the first innings, USF began a steady comeback and starting pitcher Hoshaw kept the Cougars in the game with five scoreless frames after the first. After tying the game in the fifth, Mathews relieved Hoshaw in the seventh and continued the shutout streak with a sixth consecutive scoreless frame. Manufacturing the game-winning run, Megan Peterson worked her way to third and Nieveen proved to be the hero again, driving in the game-winning run for USF's third walkoff win in three days. In game two, USF trailed by three after the top of the third before beginning their comeback. Nieveen and Hoshaw both singled in runs in the bottom of the third then Meyer drove in the game-tying run with a double in the fifth. In the sixth, Mossman tripled in the game-winning run, scoring Emily Cheloha from first for the 4-3 victory.
 
Winning streak halted at 15, but Cougars still rolling
Sparked by an eight-game winning streak to end their Florida trip, Sioux Falls extended their winning streak to 15 games before it was snapped in an extra-inning loss to top-10 ranked Winona State. USF bounced right back to sweep Upper Iowa, which gave them their 20th win and 17th victory in their last 18 contests. In that span, USF has been equally impressive on both sides of the ball, combining for a .344 batting average while their opponents have posted just a .262 mark. USF is averaging 7.78 runs per game during their streak and have held their opponents to a 3.22 scoring average. The Cougars have scored 10 or more runs in five games, and reached eight or more in 11 games, showing their consistent offensive ouput. Defensively, USF has shutout three opponents and held allowed three or fewer runs 12 times  
 
The Cougars have hit 23 homeruns in that span and 43 total extra-base hits, led by Ashley Meyer's six dingers and sophomore Lindsey Mossman's 13 doubles. Four different Cougars have hit .400 or better in that 18-game span. Kerrigan Hoshaw is at a team-best .455 in their streak, Mossman has hit .424 with a team-high 28 hits, and Meyer has a .404 mark in their 18-game streak, including 11 extra-base hits. Meyer has driven in a team-high 24 runs while Emily Hove (.375) is second with 21 RBI. Sydney Nieveen, who has batted .373 in the 18-game span, has scored a team-best 26 runs.
 
USF's three pitchers Hoshaw, Breanna Black and Courtney Mathews have all been critical in the winning streak as each has an earned run average below 3.00. Mathews, who has only started two games in 12 appearances has a 6-0 record and four saves in the Cougars' streak has a team-best 2.02 earned run average and .230 opponent batting average in that span. Black, who's pitched nearly half of the innings during USF's winning spurt, has struck out 41 batters, including a career-best 12 against Winona State in her only loss. Black leads the Cougars with seven wins during that span despite the one blemish in USF's last 18 games. Hoshaw, who took time away from the circle after an injury during an at-bat in Florida, returned with complete-game victories against Dakota State and Winona State as part of a 4-0 record and 2.68 ERA during the Cougar winning streak.
 
Series Histories: USF looks to extend winning ways against MSUM get over hump against NSU
Winning four of their last five matchups, USF has pulled within one game of tying the series with Northern State. The Cougars enter Friday's doubleheader at 5-6 against Northern State, including a 2-2 record in games in Aberdeen – the doubleheader this weekend will be held at Presentation College's dome over their football field. Following a split of their first series as members of the NSIC in 2013, USF dropped the last four contests. The Cougars then swept NSU on the road in 2016 and split last season's twinbill. Facing each other in the first round of the NSIC Tournament last season, USF earned a 7-5 win to advance to the second day of the NSIC Tournament for the third straight season. In last season's doubleheader, USF dropped a tight 5-4 decision in the first game before erupting for 11 hits in a 13-5, five-inning victory in game two.
 
Following a split in the first doubleheader with MSU Moorhead, Sioux Falls has reeled off eight straight wins over the Dragons and hold a 9-1 record entering Saturday's twinbill. USF recorded their first sweep with a pair of road victories in 2014 then flexed their offensive muscles in the next four games, scoring 10 or more runs in each game. Last season, USF built a five-run lead on 13 hits and Kerrigan Hoshaw earned the complete-game 5-2 victory. In game two, Courtney Mathews threw a three-hit shutout as USF recorded 13 hits again, winning 8-0 in six innings. Saturday's doubleheader will be the first neutral site meeting between the programs and USF is 4-0 against the Dragons in games away from Sioux Falls.