SIOUX FALLS – For the fifth straight season, University of Sioux Falls Softball earned a berth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament, which will be hosted in Sioux Falls by USF and Augustana on May 3-5. The Cougars finished the regular season with a 30-17 record, including a 15-9 mark in the NSIC, which led them to the No. 6 seed in the tournament. USF will face No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth at 12 p.m. on Thursday, May 3 at Sherman Park.
 
On Deck
In the double-elimination tournament, if USF defeats Minnesota Duluth in the first round, they would advance to play at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 4 at Sherman Park. If the Cougars lose to Minnesota Duluth, they will play the loser of No. 8 seed Concordia-St. Paul and No. 9 seed Minot State on Thursday, May 3 at 4 p.m. at Sherman Park.

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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 NSIC Tournament games at Sherman Park are available through USF Live Stats and live stats for NSIC Tournament games at Bowden Field are available through Augustana Live Stats. All NSIC Tournament games will be streamed through Stretch Internet and can be viewed at portal.stretchinternet.com/nsic.
 
Cougars sweep final weekend, reach 30 wins for fifth consecutive season
Avenging late-season losses from a year ago, USF Softball traveled for the final weekend of the regular season and swept Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. Kerrigan Hoshaw and Cassie Van Beek each posted three hits, Lindsey Mossman hit a two-run homerun, and Hoshaw worked six innings in the circle for a 9-1 game-one win over Minnesota Crookston. In game two, Breanna Black threw six shutout innings, Ashley Meyer doubled and homered as USF completed the sweep with a 5-0 win. Against Bemidji State, the Cougars capitalized on early BSU errors with unearned runs in the first inning of each game. Francesca Mickelson drove in two runs in game one and Hoshaw earned the complete-game win with a season-high nine strikeouts in USF's 4-2 win. In game two, Hoshaw homered and USF weathered two solo homeruns for a 6-2 victory and the series sweep.
 
Tournament history: USF enters 2018 NSIC Tournament with 5-8 record
Making their fifth consecutive appearance in the NSIC Tournament, Sioux Falls looks to improve on their 5-8 record in the 10-team double-elimination tournament. The No. 6 seed in the tournament and their sixth-place finish in the final league standings is USF's second-highest finish as members of the NSIC (since 2012-13) after they finished fifth and earned the No. 5 seed in the 2014. Following a 0-2 performance in their first appearance in the conference tournament in 2014, USF earned the No. 9 seed in 2015 and advanced to the third day, falling to eventual NCAA Central Regional participant Minnesota State and finishing with a 3-2 record. USF extended their stay in the tournament in 2016 after falling in the first round by winning their game in the loser's bracket, only to be eliminated in the first game of day two. Last season, the Cougars defeated state rival Northern State, 7-5, before dropping a 9-4 decision in the second round. In an elimination game, the USF offense struggled and dropped a 3-1 decision to Bemidji State, ending their run.
 
In first round games at the NSIC Tournament, Sioux Falls is 2-2. This is the second time in five appearances that the Cougars have not had to play in the "play-in" round between the 7-10 seeds – as the No. 5 seed in 2014, USF lost their first round game (10-8 vs Wayne State).
 
Series History: USF meets Minnesota Duluth in NSIC Tournament for first time
Looking to snap a six-game losing streak against Minnesota Duluth, USF will square off with the Bulldogs in the first round of the NSIC Tournament, the first postseason meeting between the two programs. Minnesota Duluth owns a 9-3 record against the Cougars and have won the last six games, including a doubleheader sweep of USF at Augustana's Bowden Field earlier this season. The games will count as home games for USF since they are played on their regular season home field, and the Cougars owns a 2-2 record against UMD in their six-year series history. Earlier this season, Sioux Falls dropped both games against the Bulldogs, falling 10-6 in game one despite homeruns from Sydney Nieveen, Ashley Meyer and Emily Miller. In game two, the Cougars and Bulldogs combined for 31 hits and 25 runs, but USF's comeback fell one run short, 13-12. Kerrigan Hoshaw connected on the fourth homerun of the day for USF and Emily Hove set a USF record with three doubles in game two.