SIOUX FALLS – With weather shaking up the schedule a bit, the University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (3-5) will hit the road for six games in Missouri and Kansas as part of the Missouri Western HyVee Classic on March 19-21.

On Friday, March 19, the Cougars will face Central Missouri (8-2) in Warrensburg, Mo., for two games at 3 and 5 pm. Then, they will play four games in Emporia, Kan., on Saturday and Sunday, March 20-21. On Saturday, USF will play a doubleheader with a noon game against Central Oklahoma (12-4) and a 4 pm game with Emporia State (10-4) at the Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia, Kan. On Sunday, the Cougars face Central Oklahoma at noon and Emporia State at 4 pm on Sunday, also at the Trusler Sports Complex.

Broadcast - Stats Links/Info
Live stats will be available for all six games. Click here for the USF vs. Central Missouri live stats. Click here for the live stats for the USF vs. Central Oklahoma and Emporia State games. 

USF vs UCM, ESU and UCO – All-time Series
On Feb. 28 at the Washburn Invitational, the Cougars defeated Central Missouri, 3-1. Since then, UCM has won four straight games. Since 2015, USF has lost five of six to UCM but that win was earlier this year.  In the win Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag threw a complete game eight hitter with three strikeouts. She also had a two-run single to go with two hits by Frankie Mickelson and Kylan Straight had a run scored and RBI. UCM is hitting .333 as a team with seven home runs and 49 RBI as well as a .396 OBP. They had 22 steals, and 19 doubles as a team. On the mound, UCM owns a 1.53 earned run average led by Gentry Wishard who is 2-0 with a 0.57 earned run average. Paige Petefish is 3-1 with a 1.05 earned run average. At the plate, Abbey Fischer is hitting .429 with five RBI and .514 OBP. Makenzie McAtee is batting .417 with two home runs and eight RBI with Ashlyn Cook at .300 and seven RBI.

Against ESU, the Cougars have a 2-3 record with the Hornets winning the last two encounters, 13-6, on Feb. 28, 2020 and 7-2 on Feb. 22, 2020. USF's last win against ESU was 3-0 win on Feb. 24, 2017. USF also took the first game in the series, a 4-3, decision on March 18, 2016. ESU has lost three of four this yearafter opening 9-1 as Pittsburg State prevailed, 5-0 and 6-3 in March 16 in Pittsburg, Kan. As a team the Hornets are hitting .328 and led by Roni Raines at .467 with a team-best 13 RBI and 19 total bases. Josie Harrison is hitting .438 while Cassidy Beem is at .421. In the circle, ESU has a team earned run average of 3.10. On the mound, ESU is led by Kelsey Phillips, who is 4-0 with a 0.22 earned average and has pitched two shutouts. Josie Harrison is 3-0 with a 2.67 earned run average.

USF is 1-1 all-time against Central Oklahoma with the last meeting a 6-1 loss on March 19, 2017 in St. Joseph, Mo. On March 19, 2016, the Cougars recorded a 14-8 win as Shannon Daly had two home runs and five RBI and Alyson Netty had two home and four RBI on a day when USF hit six home runs. UCO  has won four of the past five but suffered a 1-0 setback to Rogers State on March 11. They are hitting .385 as a team as Allie Eicher is hitting .444 with three home runs and 11 RBI. Also for the Broncos, Tarin Dubler is batting .368 with 10 RBI and Hazel Puempel has a .358 average and a team-best 13 RBI. In the circle, UCO has a 2.97 earned run average as Corrina Rivas is 6-2 with a 2.18 earned run average. Kylee Lynch is 6-1 with a 3.05 earned run average.

Quick Look at USF 
USF has gone 3-5 in their first eight games. In their most recent contest, USF dropped a doubleheader to Missouri Western, 3-0, and 7-3 on March 7. Prior to that, USF had a 3-1 win over Central Missouri. USF is hitting .228 with 21 runs and 47 hits and a .301 on-base percentage. On the mound, the Cougars have a 3.92 earned run average with pitchers throwing a combined 50 innings. USF has 39 strikeouts against 15 walks while giving up 28 earned runs and 66 hits.
 
Player Notes – Cuevas leads USF in hitting - three hitting over .300
Junior outfielder Kylan Straight, who was selected to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament Team, has a .346 batting average and is tied for lead in hits (Damaris Cuevas) with nine and has three RBI, .423 slugging mark and .370 OBP. Straight recorded three multi-hit games and opened with six hits in her first 12 at bats. In a 6-0 win over Pittsburg State, Straight had a two-run double. She also had two hits in a 3-1 win over Missouri-St. Louis and a hit and two runs scored in a 7-6 loss to host Washburn as a USF rally fell just short. She added a run, RBI and hit in a 3-1 win over Central Missouri. A junior psychology major, Straight has 33 career hits.
 
Senior Frankie Mickelson is averaging .308 with eight hits, nine total bases, .357 on-base percentage and .385 slugging mark. With an RBI this season, Mickelson sits eighth all-time at USF with 65. She needs three to pass Alyson Netty, 67, 2015-16; and six to move past Danielle Walker, 70, 2015-16. She also ranks sixth in games played at USF with 161. She also ranks sixth in starts by a USF player with 154. Mickelson is also sixth all-time with 132 hits and 12 away from fifth, Kerrigan Hoshaw at 144, 2016-19. A senior center fielder, Mickelson ranks eighth in career home runs at USF with 14 and is two away from Sydney Nieveen, 16, 2017-20 and four away from Danielle Walker, 18, 2015-16.  She has 28 career steals and has 203 putouts, which ranks second all-time among outfielders (Megan Peterson, 226, 2014-17), with 17 assists on defense. In addition, Mickelson has 28 multi-hit games as well as 17 multi-RBI games
 
In her first season with USF, catcher/DP Damaris Cuevas leads USF with a .500 average with nine hits in 18 at bats and has a team-best .611 on-base percentage plus .526 slugging mark. Cuevas is 5-of-8 hitting with runners on and has a .600 mark with runners in scoring position (3-of-5). She is 2-of-4 with two outs and has a .750 mark in advancing runners.
 
In eight games, sophomore outfielder Lexie Swift is hitting .200 with four hits in 20 at bats and a team-high three doubles. She has four RBI (2^nd on USF) with seven total bases and a .421 on-base percentage. In her third year with USF, she has three HR with 34 RBI and a .323 batting average on 75 hits in 232 at bats and had 42 runs scored. Swift has started and played in 80 games at USF with 26 extra base hits (20 doubles, three triples) and has 19 multi-hit games with seven multi-RBI games. This season, Swift is hitting .308 (4-of-13) with runners on bases and 7-of-15 for .467 in advancing runners.
 
Infielder Shayla Running is batting .280 with seven hits in 25 at bats and four runs scored while recording an RBI and 14 putouts with seven assists. In her second year at USF, she has 32 hits in 83 at bats for a .385 average. A year ago, she hit .431 with nine RBI and now has 10 career RBIs.  She has 38 putouts and 51 assists with 25 games played and 23 starts. Running, who hits in seven of eight games this season 22-of-28 games in her career. Additionally, she has nine multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.  This year, Running is 9-of-14 for .643 in advancing runners and hitting .333 (3-of-9) with runners in scoring position.

Senior catcher Emmie Uitts has started four and played in six games with a .200 average. She has two hits in 1-0 at bats with a run scored and RBI while recording 24 putouts and two assists from the catcher spot. In her career she has 46 hits in 198 at bats for a .232 average with five home runs and 24 RBI. She has played in 118 games with 108 starts. She has 14 extra base hits, nine doubles with nine multi-hit and four multi-RBI games.

This season, the junior right hander Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, who has a team-best five seven, is 1-2 with a team-best 3.00 earned run average. She has 19 strikeouts in throwing 21 innings. In her career she is 7-10 and 128.1 innings of work with 39 appearances and 15 starts. She has 28 hits in 89 at bats for a .315 average and 20 career RBIs. Van Der Zwaag has four multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games.
  
Freshman Hanna Cress is 2-2 with a 4.25 earned run average with a team-high 20 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. In her second year at USF, Cress has 67 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. She had a career high nine strikeouts in a 3-2 win over Missouri Western on Feb. 23, 2020. In her second year, she is 7-5 with 18 appearances and 14 starts and had four complete games with one save.   

Head Coach Shannon Pivovar
Pivovar, who has a 38-43 career record at USF with a 13-17 mark in NSIC play, is in her third year at USF. She was a standout student-athlete at Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Mo. With the Griffons softball team, she was a four-year starter in the middle infield, earning All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) honors three times, and added All-North Central Region honors in 2008. She also helped lead Missouri Western to a pair of NCAA Tournaments. Named the 2010 Missouri Western Female Athlete of the Year, Pivovar, who had a career average of .306 and a .455 slugging mark, ranks in the top-10 in nine career categories at MWSU, including; assists (3^rd, 387), at bats (5^th, 692), games played (6^th, 226), starts (6^th, 224), hits (7^th, 212), doubles (6^th, 40), home runs (10^th, 21), total bases (10^th, 315) and runs batted in (8^th, 124). She also ranks in the top-10 in three season categories, including doubles (4^th, 18, and 2008); RBIs (10^th, 43, and 2009) and assists (6^th, 136, and 2009). Pivovar also excelled in the classroom, earning All-MIAA academic honors three times, finishing her Griffon career with a 3.80 grade point average. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in sports management, with a minor in business.

Season Review – Game-By-Game

Missouri Western 7 USF 3 – March 7
Despite two-RBI from Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, USF dropped a 7-3 decision at Missouri Western. Rachel Klassen tied Damaris Cuevas with two hits each as the Cougars totaled eight for the game. MWSU scored a run in the first and after the Cougars took a 2-1 lead on Van Der Zwaag's two-run single, put up four runs in the third inning and two more in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 7-3 decision.  Cress allowed 11 hits and seven runs while striking out six hitters in six innings.
Missouri Western 3 USF 0 – March 7
Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag had a strong outing and threw a complete game but USF dropped a 3-0 decision to MWSU. In the game, both Van Der Zwaag (1-2) and MWSU's Kelly Uthe (2-1) were involved in a pitcher's duel. But, it was Uthe, who had the upper hand. She pitched no-hit ball for 6 1/3 innings before Shayla Running had a base hit to break it up. Van Der Zwaag allowed seven hits and three runs with six strikeouts and three walks in throwing a six-inning complete game, which is her second in four appearances. After allowing five hits and three runs in the first three innings, Van Der Zwaag allowed just two more hits and retired 10 of the final 12 batters she faced in throwing 91 pitches. Uthe allowed one hit and walked two batters in seven innings. She had six strikeouts in throwing 94 pitches
USF 3 UCM 1 – February 28
In the final game of the Washburn Invitational, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag had two RBIs and threw a complete game eight-hitter in a 3-1 win over Central Missouri. Van Der Zwaag allowed eight hits across seven innings with one earned run while walking just one hitter and striking out three batters. USF scored three runs in the third inning which proved to be all they needed with stellar work in the circle by Van Der Zwaag and solid defense. In the third inning Kylan Straight doubled to score sophomore Kennedy Thomas, who had her first hit at USF with a double to lead off the inning. After Mickelson singled and Straight moved to third, Lexie Swift drew a walk to load the bases. Then, Van Der Zwaag hit a two-run single to plate Mickelson and Straight. UCM scored its only run in the fifth inning.
 
Washburn 7 USF 6 – February 28
In the opener on Sunday, Feb. 28, Swift had three hits and three RBI but a late rally by USF fell short in a 7-6 setback to host Washburn in a game that went back and forth like a swinging pendulum. Lexie Swift, who had a pair of doubles among her three hits, led an 11-hit offensive attack. USF also had two hits by Damaris Cuevas and two hits from Frankie Mickelson. Kylan Straight had a hit and two runs scored. Senior shortstop Mika Rodriguez had an RBI and stolen base while freshman Shayla Running had a hit, run scored and RBI. Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag had a hit and two RBI. Freshman Hanna Cress (2-1) took the loss for USF as she allowed six earned runs with 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings. She struck out four. Freshman Shayla Shaver finished for USF and allowed just a hit across 2/3 of an inning. In the third inning, Straight reached on an error after Cassie Van Beek was hit by a pitch. After Mickelson moved the runners to second and third, Van Der Zwaag responded with a two-out two-run single to give USF the 2-1 lead. WU tied the game with an unearned run in the home half of the fourth inning. However, USF took the lead back when Van Der Zwaag reached on a walk and then Rachel Klassen pinch ran and scored on Swift's two-out double. After WU scored a run in the fifth inning to tie the game, the Itchabods had a four-run sixth inning. In its final at bat, the Cougars did not go quietly and scored three runs on four hits and had the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the seventh inning.
 
USF 6 Pitt State 0 – February 27
On Feb. 27, Hanna Cress had a dominating pitching performance to lead USF to a 6-0 win over Pittsburg State. Cress allowed just four hits and had three strikeouts with three walks. Shayla Shaver finished with an inning of shutout relief in her first appearance at USF. The offense was led by freshman catcher Damaris Cuevas, who had three hits and a run scored in four at bats in her debut at USF. Also USF had two more hits from Kylan Straight who collected her seventh and eighth hits of the season. She also had two RBI. USF had RBI from Frankie Mickelson who also had a hit, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, who had a hit and RBI along with Lexie Swift and Mika Rodriguez. Shayla Running had a hit and two runs scored in the eight hit attack. In the win, USF scored two runs in the first and added four more in the fifth inning. In the first inning, Mickelson singled and scored on Van Der Zwaag's RBI base hit. Running, who reached on a fielding error, scored on Swift's fielder's choice grounder. In the fifth inning Running singled and Cuevas had her first extra-base hit with a double. Running scored on Rodriguez's fielder's choice ground ball. Cuevas scored on an error. When Straight doubled to center, Rachel Klassen, who had reached by walk, and Rodriguez both scored as the Cougars plated four runs on three hits.

Fort Hays State 8 USF 0 – February 27
USF struggled out of the gate and FHSU jumped to an early lead as they took an 8-0 decision over the Cougars in the second game on Feb. 27 at the Washburn Invitational. USF managed just three hits and committed three errors in the game. USF had base hits from Frankie Mickelson, Shayla Running and freshman Damaris Cuevas, who finished the day with four hits in six at bats and an .667 batting average. Freshman pitcher Shayla Shaver (0-1) started and took the loss for USF. She allowed two hits, hit two batters and gave up three runs. 
 
Rockhurst 3 USF 0 – February 26
Despite a solid pitching performance by junior Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, who set a career-high in strikeouts with nine, USF dropped a 3-0 decision to Rockhurst. Lexie Storrer of Rockhurst out dueled Van Der Zwaag on the mound as she allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in sixth innings on the hill. Rockhurst opened the scoring when Emily Clark hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to provide a 2-0 lead. In the sixth inning, Sarah Winkelman scored on a fielder's choice to push RU's lead to 3-0. Van Der Zwaag allowed three runs across six innings. She set a career-high (SCSU, 8, May 3, 2019) with nine strikeouts and permitted eight hits. Straight had two of the three USF hits while Running also had a single for the offensive attack
USF 3 Missouri St. Louis 1 – February 26
Hanna Cress (1-0) threw a five-hitter to lead USF to a season-opening win over Missouri St. Louis in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Feb. 26. Leading the offense was Frankie Mickelson and Emmie Uitts who each had a hit and RBI. Kylan Straight recorded two of USF's seven hits. USF also had two walks, a double and a stolen base by Lexi Swift. Shayla Running added a hit and run scored and topped USF's defense with four assists. Rodriguez added a double and walk plus a run scored and two assists. In earning her first win of the season and sixth of her career in nine decisions, Hanna Cress allowed just five hits and a walk while give up a single earned run in the fifth inning. The Cougars opened the scoring in the third inning after Uitts walked and Straight singled which was followed by Mickelson's first hit and RBI of the season. USF also added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead. After Rodriguez doubled, Uitts hit a run-scoring single to plate her teammate in the fourth inning. After Running singled to open the fifth inning, Swift hit a double and Running later scored on a passed ball.
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