SIOUX FALLS — The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (20-19, 10-8 NSIC), which has won four straight games, will face a tough road challenge on Tuesday, April 16 as they take on cross town rival No. 11 Augustana (36-7, 16-2 NSIC) for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match ups beginning at 3 p.m., at Bowden Field.

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 sweeps MSU Moorhead and Northern State over the weekend

Ashley Meyer hit a walk off homerun to win game one while Emily Hove and Emily Miller each hit solo HRs in the game two victory as USF swept Minnesota State Moorhead on Sunday (April 14) afternoon. USF earned walk-off wins in both games of the doubleheader. Meyer hit a solo shot to left center field in game one. Hove scoring the game-winning run on a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh inning in game two. USF had a solid day from the pitching staff of Kerrigan Hoshaw, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, Courtney Mathews and Sydney Nieveen as they held MSU Moorhead to five total runs through two games and a team batting average of .293 (17-for-58) while amassing 10 strikeouts.

Against Northern State, Emily Miller hit a walk off two-run HR in the bottom of the 10th inning in game one to highlight a three HR day for her as USF swept NSU on Monday (April 15) at the Presentation Dome in Aberdeen. In game one of the day's doubleheader, Miller, an Aberdeen native, hit a pair of HR's both in extra innings to propel USF to a 7-5 victory in the 10th inning. Emily Hove, Lindsey Mossman, and Miller each hit a HR as USF took game two, 8-3 and extended their winning streak to four games. With her homerun today, Hove moves to fifth in program history with her 20th career HR. Miller doubled her season HR total during the games today, going from three on the season, as well as accumulating five RBI on the day. USF experienced a solid pitching performance from Kerrigan Hoshaw, Sydney Nieveen and Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag on the day as they recorded 15 strikeouts and held the NSU batters to a combined .261 batting average (18-of-69).

Series History- Augustana leads USF, 9-2

A perennial power in the conference, Augustana has a 9-2 series lead over Sioux Falls since the Cougars joined the NSIC. In the first meeting, USF split the doubleheader with Augustana, dropping a one-run decision before pouncing on the Vikings for a 9-0 victory. Following that win, Sioux Falls suffered six consecutive losses, including three by eight runs or more. In 2017, Sydney Nieveen hit a homerun in the Cougars' 12-4 game-one loss. In game two, USF stranded seven runners on base, despite Kerrigan Hoshaw and Francesca Mickelson's two-hit efforts, and fell 7-1. In last year's regular season series, Mickelson's walkoff single powered USF to a doubleheader split against No. 13 Augustana. The Cougars took game one, 4-3, before falling 6-2, in the second leg of the twinbill. USF faced Augustana again in last season's conference tournament and fell 3-1 despite solid pitching performances from Hoshaw and Courtney Mathews, who stranded nine Vikings base runners on the day.

USF leans on veteran leadership

Senior Emily Hove has enjoyed a strong first half of the schedule by registering a .584 slugging percentage with eight doubles, one triple and team-highs in home runs with nine and RBI with 31. Hove is posting a .314 batting average with 43 hits in 137 at bats, while also sporting a .333 on base percentage and recording 25 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 moved into fifth in USF's DII all-time list with 20 home runs and ranks fourth at USF all-time (DII era) with 99 RBI.

Junior outfielder Francesca Mickelson, who has started in all 39 contests this season, is hitting .286 with 34 hits in 119 at bats. She has recorded 19 runs and 17 RBI with a .454 slugging percentage after hitting four homeruns paired with eight doubles on the season. Junior All-league infielder Sydney Nieveen has been swinging a hot bat recently. She has raised her average to .327 on the year with 18 RBI through 39 games. Nieveen has scored 24 runs with an on-base percentage of .414 and a slugging percentage of .445. Ashley Meyer has hit six home runs on the season and added 14 RBI and 15 runs scored with a .554 slugging percentage and a .284 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 .400 mark. In her 25 games played and 13 starts, she has produced 14 hits in 35 at bats and drawn four walks for an on base percentage of .462, which is second on the team. Keen has also recorded four doubles, three RBI and has scored seven runs for the Cougars while holding a .514 slugging percentage.

Freshman Lexie Swift has been a force at the plate during her freshman campaign as she has posted a .552 slugging percentage with nine doubles, two triples and two homeruns in 105 at bats. Swift is also hitting .371, which ranks second on the team, with 39 hits in 105 at bats, while driving in 15 RBI. Swift has drawn 16 walks and holds a team-high .463 on-base percentage while scoring 24 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 20 appearances and 15 starts with eight complete games and one shutout in 90.2 innings pitched. Mathews has posted a 3.24 era and has held opponents to a .311 batting average. On the season, Mathews has given up 114 total hits and recorded 61 strikeouts while walking just 18 batters.

Senior Kerrigan Hoshaw has had a solid start to the season on the mound with a 7-7 record in 19 appearances and 15 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 3.37 era and has held opponents to a .263 batting average. Hoshaw has pitched 95.2 innings and has recorded eight complete games with one shutout. Hoshaw has struck out 75 batters while allowing 35 walks on the season. In USF's DII era, Hoshaw ranks first all-time with 10 shutouts and 386 strikeouts. She is second at USF in wins (47), appearances (110), starts (95), innings pitched (537.1) and third in complete games (41). 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.