SIOUX FALLS — The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (20-21, 10-10 NSIC) will travel to Minot State (21-16, 10-10 NSIC) on Friday, April 19, and University of Mary (17-23, 8-12 NSIC) on Saturday, April 20 for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheaders. The series with Minot State will be played at the South Hill Softball Complex at 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., while the U-Mary series will take place at the University of Mary Softball Complex with games at 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.

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.

Last time out – USF drops a pair of games to No. 11 Augustana
Despite a two home-run day from senior Emily Miller, USF dropped a pair of games against No. 11 Augustana on Tuesday (April 16) afternoon. As a team, USF combined for five home runs as Sydney Nieveen, Emmie Uitts and Miller each hit one in the 12-4 game one loss followed by a pair of solo shots from Miller and Cassie Van Beek in the 4-2 game two defeat.

Senior Kerrigan Hoshaw got the start for USF and fell to 7-8 on the season as she pitched two innings allowing six runs on four hits and issued three walks while striking out one Augustana batter. Freshman Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag came in to pitch in the third inning and went 3 1/3 innings allowing six runs on eight hits and striking out one in her effort. The USF offense ignited for 11 total hits on the game in 29 at bats for a team batting average of .379. Emily Miller, who was just named NSIC Player of the Week earlier in the day (April 16), led the USF offense with two hits in three at bats including a solo HR and a double. Uitts also recorded two hits in three plate appearances with a HR, one RBI and one run scored. Nieveen launched a two-run homerun in the fourth inning. Freshman Lexie Swift posted a pair of hits in three at bats and scored once while Emily Hove and Lindsey Mossman each had two hits.

USF dropped a hard-fought second game despite solid pitching from Nieveen, who pitched a complete game six-inning effort but fell to 5-3 on the season. In her outing, Nieveen allowed just four runs on eight hits while striking out four Augustana batters. On offense, USF was held mostly in check as they produced four hits in 26 at bats while scoring a pair of runs. Van Beek and Miller both went one for three with a solo HR on the day, while Hove and Nieveen each produced one hit in three plate appearances.

Playoff picture
With the losses to Augustana, USF sits eighth in the NSIC standings with a 10-10 conference record (20-21 overall). Three other teams share a 10-10 conference record, but Minnesota State sits in sixth place with an overall record of 25-17, while Minot State is just ahead of USF in seventh with a 21-16 record and Southwest Minnesota State is ninth after a season record of 15-17. The top 10 teams in the NSIC make the conference tournament at the end of the regular season with the seven through 10 seeds playing a single elimination play-in game in order to make it into the double elimination postseason tournament.

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.

Series History vs Minot: Minot leads USF 6-4
USF trails Minot State, 6-4, in the all-time series since both teams joined the NSIC in 2012-13. On the road, USF is 1-3 after splitting the doubleheader in 2015 and dropping a pair of contests in their last matchup in 2017. In 2016, the Cougars pounced on the Beavers and swept them, 8-6 and 10-2. Kerrigan Hoshaw went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched five innings to earn the win. In game two, Breanna Black scattered five hits to allow just two runs while six different Cougars recorded two or more hits each in a 10-2 victory. Last season's series was cancelled due to unplayable weather conditions.

Series History: USF leads U-Mary 7-3
With a sweep in 2017, USF seized control of the series against University of Mary, pulling ahead 7-3. On the road, the Cougars are 4-2 against U-Mary, splitting doubleheaders in 2013 and 2015. In 2016, Sioux Falls trounced the Marauders, 14-0 and 12-4, with Hoshaw and Black providing the pitching for the Cougar offense to cruise to victory. Last year was the first sweep of the four doubleheaders in the USF's D2 history with U-Mary and the only time one team has won more than one game in a row. Last season's contests between these two programs were cancelled due to unplayable weather conditions.

Miller posts powerful eight-game stretch
Over their last eight games, USF has utilized the long ball to propel them to a 5-3 record over the stretch. USF has produced 16 team homeruns in eight games highlighted by Miller's seven homers, including six in the last five games. Over the eight-game span, Miller has gone 11-of-24 (.458 batting average) and raised her season batting average from .123 to .222. For her stand-out performance against Concordia-St. Paul, MSU Moorhead and Northern State, Miller was awarded the NSIC Player of the Week honor on April 16. Miller logged a .444 batting average over the six-game span going eight-for-18 as USF won five of six contests. Miller blasted five homeruns, drove in eight runs, scored seven times and drew four walks. Miller posted an on-base percentage of .522 and a slugging percentage of 1.278. In addition, Miller led the NSIC in homeruns (five) and total bases (23) through the stretch.

Veterans lead the charge
Senior Emily Hove has enjoyed a strong first half of the schedule by registering a .576 slugging percentage with eight doubles, one triple and team-highs in home runs with nine and RBI with 31. Hove is posting a .319 batting average with 46 hits in 144 at bats through 41 games, while also sporting a .342 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 All-league infielder Sydney Nieveen has been swinging a hot bat recently. She has raised her average to .328 on the year with 20 RBI through 41 games. Nieveen has scored 25 runs with an on-base percentage of .410 and a slugging percentage of .474. Nieveen also leads the league in being hit by pitches with a total of 11 HBP taken. Ashley Meyer has hit six home runs on the season and added 14 RBI and 15 runs scored with a .519 slugging percentage and a .266 batting average. Junior outfielder Francesca Mickelson, who has started in all 41 contests this season, is hitting .272 with 34 hits in 125 at bats. She has recorded 19 runs and 17 RBI with a .398 slugging percentage after hitting four homeruns paired with eight doubles on the season.

Freshman Keen and Swift highlight strength in efficiency
Sarah Keen, a freshman from Rapid City, S.D., leads the team in hitting at .400 mark. In her 26 games played and 14 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 .541 slugging percentage with nine doubles, two triples and two homeruns in 111 at bats. Swift is hitting .369, which ranks second on the team, with 41 hits in 111 at bats, while driving in 15 RBI. Swift has drawn 16 walks and holds a .457 on-base percentage while scoring 25 runs. If Swift maintains her current pace, she would finish fourth in batting for a season in USF's DII history.

USF bullpen anchored by Mathews and Hoshaw
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 7-8 record in 20 appearances and 16 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. In a 13-3 win over Wayne State, she allowed just one run on April 2, then pitched a complete game against UIU in earning the victory. She held a prolific Winona State offense to four runs on nine hits in a hard fought loss over the weekend. Hoshaw owns a 3.73 era and has held opponents to a .267 batting average. Hoshaw has pitched 97.2 innings and has recorded eight complete games with one shutout. Hoshaw has struck out 76 batters while allowing 38 walks on the season. In USF's DII era, Hoshaw ranks first all-time with 10 shutouts and 387 strikeouts. She is second at USF in wins (47), appearances (111), starts (96), innings pitched (539.1) and third in complete games (41). Earlier this season, Hoshaw hit her 26th career home run, which ranks third all-time in USF's DII era.