SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (12-15, 2-4 NSIC) will host Wayne State (9-13, 0-5 NSIC) in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader starting at 3 p.m., on Tuesday, April 2 at Sherman Park.
 
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To follow USF, fans are encouraged to 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.
 
Cougars split a pair of doubleheaders against BSU and UMC
Directed by first-year head coach Shannon Pivovar, opened up their home schedule splitting a pair of doubleheaders with Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston over the weekend. USF Senior Kerrigan Hoshaw pitched her second career perfect game as USF split a doubleheader with BSU on Saturday (March 30). Hoshaw's gem combined with a strong offensive showing resulted in an 8-0 USF victory in game one before the Cougars fell to BSU in game two, 9-6. In the split with UMC, All-league standout Sydney Nieveen hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning as USF took the second game against UMC on Sunday (March 31). USF lost the first game to UMC, 1-0, despite Hoshaw producing a strong starting effort before winning the second game 6-5 in extra innings.  In game two, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag had a quality start by shutting out UMC for six innings before allowing three earned runs in the seventh inning. Emily Miller hit a two-run to highlight USF's offense in the win against UMC.
 
Series History: WSC leads 9-5
Despite the four-game slant in Wayne State's favor, the USF-WSC series has produced some thrilling games. In the past four years, the two teams have met 10 times, splitting 5-5. Heading into Tuesday's doubleheader, the Cougars hold a 4-3 edge over the Wildcats in games played in Sioux Falls. USF's 2016 trip south resulted in two 9-1 losses during the 2016 regular season. However, the Cougars responded with an 11-1 victory in the NSIC Tournament, eliminating the Wildcats. In 2017, USF and Wayne State split the series as the Cougars earned a 5-2 victory after a 7-5 defeat. Sydney Nieveen and Kerrigan Hoshaw were two of four Cougars to record multiple hits in the win, and Courtney Mathews picked up the eighth win of her freshman season. In their most recent matchup, USF split a pair of road games with WSC. USF hit four homeruns in game one, taking the first leg of the doubleheader by a 9-6 margin. In game two, USF built an early lead, but a handful of errors allowed Wayne State to score five unearned runs and win, 10-7, despite Nieveen's second homerun of the day.
 
Freshman outfielder Lexie Swift leads Cougars at the plate
Freshman Lexie Swift has been a force at the plate during her freshman campaign as she has posted a team leading .579 slugging percentage with five doubles, two triples and two homeruns in 76 at bats. Swift is also hitting a team-high .382 at the plate with 29 hits in 76 at bats, while driving in nine RBI. Swift has drawn 15 walks and holds a .495 on-base percentage while scoring a team-high 18 runs on the year.
 
Hove, Mickelson and Nieveen spark USF offense as veteran leaders
Senior Emily Hove has enjoyed a strong first half of the schedule by registering a .554 slugging percentage with five doubles, one triple and team-highs in home runs with six and RBI with 20. Hove is posting a .283 batting average with 26 hits in 92 at bats, while also sporting a .299 on base percentage and recording 15 runs scored. Following her standout performance during the Florida spring break trip Hove was awarded the NSIC Softball Player of the Week honors on March 18 for the first time in her career. Hove has moved to sixth on USF's DII all-time list with 17 home runs and ranks fourth at USF all-time (DII era) with 86 RBIs.
 
Junior outfielder Francesca Mickelson, who has started in all 27 contests this season, is hitting .278 with 22 hits in 79 at bats. She has recorded 11 runs and 11 RBI with a .456 slugging percentage after hitting three homeruns paired with five doubles on the season. Over the weekend, Mickelson posted a .438 batting average after going seven for 16 at the plate with a double and a HR. She also scored three times and drove in three RBI as the Cougars went 2-2 on the weekend. Nieveen is hitting .329 with 11 RBI through 27 games. Nieveen has scored 17 runs with an on-base percentage of .341. Emmie Uitts has hit the first two home runs of her career and added eight RBI with a .333 slugging percentage.
 
Mathews and Hoshaw lead Cougar pitching staff
Courtney Mathews, a junior right-hander from Lee's Summit, MO., who was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week in an announcement by the league on Feb. 5, has been the ace in the rotation for USF so far this season. Mathews has a 6-6 record in 16 appearances and 11 starts with seven complete games and one shutout in 74.1 innings pitched. Mathews has posted a 3.11 era and has held opponents to a .301 batting average. On the season, Mathews has given up 89 total hits and recorded 52 strikeouts while walking just 15 batters.
 
Senior Kerrigan Hoshaw has had a solid start to the season on the mound posting a 4-6 record in 14 appearances and 10 starts. Following her perfect game on Saturday (March 30) and one run complete game effort on Sunday (March 31), she holds a 3.52 era and has held opponents to a .262 batting average. She has pitched 65.2 innings and has recorded five game results. Hoshaw has struck out 60 batters while allowing 29 walks on the season. In USF's DII era, Hoshaw ranks first all-time with 10 shutouts and 371 strikeouts. She is second at USF in wins (44), appearances (105), starts (90), innings pitched (509.1) and third in complete games (38). Hoshaw recently hit her 26th career home run, which ranks third all-time in USF's DII era.
 
Preseason Forecast - USF picked 8th 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 Hoshaw and infielder Nieveen.