SIOUX FALLS - The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (16-19, 6-8 NSIC) will travel to Minnesota State Moorhead (11-20, 5-9 NSIC) on Sunday, April 14 and Northern State (13-23, 5-9 NSIC) on Monday, April 15 in a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheaders. The games against MSU Moorhead will be played at 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., while the contests against NSU will begin at 11 a.m., and 1 p.m., at the Presentation College Dome in Aberdeen, S.D.
Both doubleheaders were originally scheduled as home games, but due to the unplayable weather conditions, both doubleheaders were changed to away games in a site reversal.
Follow all the action
To follow USF, fans are encouraged to check out the Twitter, Facebook, and 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 splits DH with Concordia-St. Paul
Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag hit her first career home run while Emily Hove and Emily Miller each hit a HR of their own as USF split their mid-week doubleheader with Concordia-St. Paul at Sherman Park on Tuesday (April 9) afternoon. USF took game one of the series, 5-1, behind a stellar pitching outing by Courtney Mathews before dropping game two, 10-5.
In game one, Mathews recorded her eighth complete game as she moved to 7-7 on the year with the win. Mathews pitched seven full innings and allowed just a single run on five hits and one walk while striking out six batters. Mathews held the opposing hitters to a .192 batting average (five hits in 26 at bats) and allowed only six baserunners. The USF offense exploded for 14 hits in game one in 31 at bats for a team batting average of .452. Miller led the team in game one with three hits in four at bats including a two-run HR in the sixth. Ashley Meyer had two hits and two runs scored. Lindsey Mossman and Francesca Mickelson also had a pair of hits. Freshman Lexie Swift had a single with an RBI and run scored.
In game two, Van Der Zwaag received the start for the Cougars in game two and fell to 0-2 on the season after going two innings and permitting six runs on eight hits and walking two batters while striking out one. Nieveen finished and gave up four runs (two earned) on nine hits in five innings of work. Nieveen also struck out three batters without issuing a walk. Hove led the USF offense by posting two hits with a HR, double, two RBI and a run scored. Van Der Zwaag hit her first career HR in the loss as she went one for three with two RBI and one run scored. Nieveen posted a pair of hits in four at bats including one double and scored once while driving in one RBI. Swift had two hits, including her eighth double of the season and scored a run.
Series History vs. MSU Moorhead - USF leads MSUM, 11-1
Following a split in the first doubleheader with MSU Moorhead, Sioux Falls has reeled off 10 straight wins over the Dragons and hold an 11-1 record entering Sunday's twin bill. 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. In 2017, 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. Last season, the Cougars rode the hitting and pitching of Kerrigan Hoshaw to a 7-4 victory in game one. In game two, Breanna Black worked a 10-inning complete game as USF scored five runs with two outs in the top of the 10th inning to earn a 5-2 extra-inning victory.
Series History vs. Northern State - NSU leads USF, 7-6
Winning five of their last seven matchups, USF has pulled within one game of tying the series with Northern State. The Cougars enter Monday's doubleheader at 6-7 against Northern State, including a 3-3 record in games in Aberdeen – the upcoming doubleheader 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 twin bill. Facing each other in the first round of the NSIC Tournament in the 2017 season, USF earned a 7-5 win to advance to the second day of the NSIC Tournament for the third straight season. In the 2017 regular season 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. In last season's doubleheader, USF split the series with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in game one followed by a 13-4 offensive explosion in game two.
USF leans on veteran leadership
Senior Emily Hove has enjoyed a strong first half of the schedule by registering a .567 slugging percentage with eight doubles, one triple and team-highs in home runs with seven and RBI with 27. Hove is posting a .308 batting average with 37 hits in 120 at bats, while also sporting a .331 on base percentage and recording 19 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 is tied with teammate Ashley Meyer and Danielle Walker (2015-16) on USF's DII all-time list with 18 home runs and ranks fourth at USF all-time (DII era) with 95 RBI.
Junior outfielder Francesca Mickelson, who has started in all 35 contests this season, is hitting .269 with 28 hits in 104 at bats. She has recorded 17 runs and 15 RBI with a .442 slugging percentage after hitting four homeruns paired with six doubles on the season. Junior All-league infielder Sydney Nieveen has been swinging a hot bat recently. She has raised her average to .350 on the year with 16 RBI through 35 games. Nieveen has scored 24 runs with an on-base percentage of .440 and a slugging percentage of .480. Ashley Meyer has hit five home runs on the season and added 13 RBI and 14 runs scored with a .548 slugging percentage and a .290 batting average.
Freshman Swift and Keen add a spark to Cougar offense
Sarah Keen, a freshman from Rapid City, S.D., leads the team in hitting at .394 mark. In her 24 games played and 12 starts, she has produced 13 hits in 33 at bats and drawn four walks for an on base percentage of .459, which is second on the team. Keen has also recorded three doubles, three RBI and has scored six runs for the Cougars while holding a .485 slugging percentage.
Freshman Lexie Swift has been a force at the plate during her freshman campaign as she has posted a team-leading .573 slugging percentage with eight doubles, two triples and two homeruns in 96 at bats. Swift is also hitting .385 (22nd, NSIC), which ranks second on the team, with 37 hits in 96 at bats, while driving in 14 RBI. Swift has drawn 16 walks and holds a team-high .482 on-base percentage while scoring 22 runs in her freshman campaign. If Swift maintains her current pace, she would finish fourth in batting for a season in USF's DII history.
Mathews and Hoshaw anchor USF pitching
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 a 7-7 record in 19 appearances and 14 starts with eight complete games and one shutout in 85.1 innings pitched. Mathews has posted a 3.28 era and has held opponents to a .304 batting average. On the season, Mathews has given up 105 total hits and recorded 59 strikeouts while walking just 16 batters.
Senior Kerrigan Hoshaw has had a solid start to the season on the mound with a 6-7 record in 17 appearances and 13 starts. Following her second career perfect game on Saturday (March 30), she allowed just one run in a complete game loss to Minnesota Crookston at home on March 31. Then in a 13-3 win over Wayne State, she allowed just one run on April 2, then pitched a two run complete game win against UIU and held a prolific WSU offense to four runs on nine hits in a hard fought loss over the weekend. Hoshaw owns a 3.43 era and has held opponents to a .263 batting average. Hoshaw has pitched 81.2 innings and has recorded seven complete games with one shutout. Hoshaw has struck out 64 batters while allowing 34 walks on the season. In USF's DII era, Hoshaw ranks first all-time with 10 shutouts and 375 strikeouts. She is second at USF in wins (46), appearances (108), starts (93), innings pitched (525.1) and third in complete games (40). 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.
