SIOUX FALLS – After a strong start to their season, the University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (4-1) will travel to Joplin, MO., to face Missouri Western State on Sunday, Feb. 24, and Missouri Southern State on Monday, Feb. 25 in a pair of nonconference double-headers. The games with Missouri Western will begin at 3 p.m., and 5 p.m., while the contests against Missouri Southern will be played at 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.  Live Stats for these two double headers can be found HERE.
 
The games with MWSU and MSSU in Joplin, Mo., were scheduled this week after the Emporia State Tournament, which was scheduled to be held on Feb. 22-24, was canceled due to wet and cold weather conditions.
 
 
Last time out
In their first weekend of the 2019 season, USF went won four-off-five contests, defeating Metro State (0-4) three times and splitting the two game series with UC-Colorado Springs (2-1).   Courtney Mathews earned wins in three of the games as she had a 1.69 earned run average with 17 strikeouts and just five walks across 20.2 innings and four appearances.
 
Through five games, USF is hitting .271 with 23 runs on 37 hits, two home runs and 24 RBI. USF has a .368 OBP, and .414 slugging mark. USF is outscoring their opponents, 27-26 on the season and have drawn 19 total walks as a team. Freshman outfielder Lexie Swift is off to a fast start with a .429 batting average with six hits in 14 at bats and five runs scored. She has a .786 slugging mark and a .556 slugging percentage with a stolen base. Junior infielder Emily Chehola is hitting .429 with three RBIs. Senior infielder Emily Hove is hitting .353 with a team-best seven RBIs and one of two USF home runs. Emmie Uitts also has a HR. All-league infielder Sydney Nieveen is hitting .313 through the five games. She has scored four runs with five hits and three RBI.
 
USF vs. MWSU and MSSU in 2018 -
Last season, USF defeated MWSU, 4-2, on Feb. 23, 2018, by rallying with three runs in the sixth inning for the win. USF jumped on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Lindsey Mossman's sacrifice fly drove in Jasmine Ragusi. After falling behind by a run late in the game, two newcomers stepped up for USF. Emmie Uitts drove in the game-tying run in the bottom of the sixth as her hit scored Ashley Meyer on a double to centerfield. Emily Miller then plated the go-ahead run with a single through the left side that scored Emily Hove. Adding one run for insurance, Uitts scored on a wild pitch to give the Cougars three runs in the bottom of the sixth and a 4-2 lead. Courtney Mathews earned the victory in relief as she allowed just one hit and struck out a hitter across two innings. She took over in the sixth inning after Kerrigan Hoshaw started and worked five innings. She had three strikeouts and gave up five hits and two earned runs.
 
Against MSSU last March 4, USF fell, 2-0 in Joplin, MO. Locked in a scoreless tie through three innings, a solo homerun proved to be the game-winner as USF Softball dropped a 2-0 decision at tournament host Missouri Southern. Despite scattering seven hits over six innings of work, Breanna Black was saddled with the loss. Sydney Nieveen logged two of the Cougars' five hits, but they stranded five runners on base in the shutout.
 
 
Matthews wins NSIC Pitcher of the week honor after stand-out weekend
After recording three wins in four appearances last weekend, Courtney Mathews, a junior righthander, was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Pitcher of the Week in an announcement by the league today.
 
Mathews, who is 3-0 on the season, is the first USF Softball player to earn the NSIC weekly honor this year and third to receive the pitcher of the week distinction in school history. Overall, USF has had five players earned player of the week honors in the NSIC. They include position players Lindsey Mossman and Brooke Stetzler, who earned players of the week honors in 2017 and 2016, while Alyson Netty and Amanda Walters were NSIC pitchers of the week in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
 
Mathews, a junior nursing major from Lee's Summit, Mo., had a standout performance in USF's 2019 season opening weekend as she went 3-0 while throwing two complete games. In a 2-1 eight inning (extra innings) win over Metro State on Saturday, Feb. 2. Mathews allowed eight hits but just one earned run with six strikeouts in going the distance. She also tossed a complete game in a 7-2 win over Colorado-Colorado Springs. Against UCCS, she allowed six hits with two earned runs and six strikeouts over seven innings. In four appearances, including two starts, Mathews has compiled a 1.69 earned run average, a 1.29 WHIP, and held opponents to a .253 batting average. She has allowed 21 hits and five earned runs with 17 strikeouts across 20.2 innings.
 
Preseason Forecast  - USF picked 8^th in NSIC Poll
The Cougars, which have had 30 or more wins five straight years, were picked eighth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll which was released Jan. 23 by the league office. USF received 135 points and finished just behind Concordia-St. Paul, which earned 140 points for seventh. The 2019 NSIC Softball Tournament will consist of the top ten teams in the NSIC final standings competing in a double elimination format on May 2-4 at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota. USF's players to watch included pitcher Kerrigan Hoshaw and infielder Sydney Nieveen.