SIOUX FALLS – After a 3-3 start, the University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (3-3) will face a road test with a doubleheader against Missouri Western (5-1) on Sunday at 2 and 4 pm at Griffon Softball Field in St. Joseph, Mo. 

Quick Series Take - USF leads MWSU, 4-3, all-time
After opening 4-0, Missouri Western split a doubleheader with Drury – winning 4-3 in nine innings and dropping a 5-2 decision as the Griffons stand 5-1. In the all-time series, USF owns a 4-3 advantage as the teams gather for an eighth time. In the last matchup, USF gained that 4-3 series edge with a 3-2 win on Feb. 23, 2020. In that win Hanna Cress earned her second win at USF with a three-hitter and set a career-high with nine strikeouts. Shayla Running had three hits and an RBI to lead the offense. 
 
The USF-MWSU series backs to a 7-4 USF win on Feb. 28, 2016. MWSU won, 6-5 (March 19, 2016), and 12-4 (March 17, 2017), before USF had a 4-2 win over Feb. 23, 2018 and a 9-8 victory on Feb. 24, 2019 before MSU took a 6-2 decision on Feb. 24, 2019.
 
In six games, the Griffons have registered a .337 batting average with a .420 on-base percentage. Chloe Armstrong is hitting .474 with Sydni Hawkins at .455 and Emma Hoffart, .450. On the mound, Sydney Rader is 3-0 with two complete games and a 0.74 earned run average on a staff that has a 2.28 earned run average.
 
USF has split their first six games to stand at 3-3. In their most recent game, USF had a 3-1 win over Central Missouri. USF is hitting .245 with 18 runs and 38 hits and a .322 on-base percentage. On the mound, the Cougars have a 3.32 earned run average with pitchers throwing a combined 38 innings. USF has 27 strikeouts against 10 walks while giving up 18 earned runs and 48 hits.
 
Broadcast - Stats Links/Info
Click on the following links for Live Stats and live video which will be available in the USF-MWSU matchup. 

Player Notes – Kylan Straight named to the Washburn Invite All Tourney Team
 
Junior outfielder Kylan Straight was selected to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament Team. Straight hit .364 with eight hits in 22 at-bats. A junior from Logan, Iowa, Straight had two doubles, three RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored. She had a .364 on-base percentage and .455 slugging mark with an .819 OPS. 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. She also registered 10 put outs. A junior psychology major, Straight has 30 career hits, a .270 average and a career 1.000 fielding percentage. She has been success moving runners with a .857 percentage on six of seven opportunities. In addition, she is 2-of-3 hitting with two outs.
 
Senior Frankie Mickelson averaged .350 with seven hits, nine total bases, .381 on-base percentage and .450 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 159 and will play her 160^th on Sunday. She also ranks sixth in starts by a USF player with 152. She is also sixth all-time with 131 hits and 13^th away from fifth, Kerrigan Hoshaw at 144, 2016-19. A senior centerfielder, 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 201 putouts, which ranks second all-time among outfielders (Megan Peterson, 226, 2014-17) and 17 assists on defense. In addition, Mickelson has 28 multi-hit games, including two straight, as well as 17 multi-RBI games
 
In her first season with USF, catcher/DP Damaris Cuevas leads USF with a .583 average with seven hits in 12 at backs and has a team-best .616 on-base percentage plus .750 slugging mark. Cuevas is 5-of-7 hitting with runners on and has a .600 mark with runners in scoring position (3-of-5). She is 2-of-3 with two outs and has a .714 mark in advancing runners.
 
In six games, sophomore outfielder Lexie Swift is hitting .286 with four hits in 14 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 .332 batting average on 75 hits in 226 at bats and had 41 runs scored. Swift has started and played in 78 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 .364 (4-of-11) with runners on bases and 7-of-13 for .538 in advancing runners.
 
Infielder Shayla Running is batting .250 with five hits in 20 at bats and four runs scored while recording an RBI and 12 putouts with five assists. In her second year at USF, she has 30 hits in 78 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 five of six games this season 20-of-26 games in her career. Additionally, she has nine multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.  This year, Running is 6-of-11 for .545 in advancing runners and hitting .250 with runners in scoring position.

Senior catcher Emmie Uitts has started three and played in four games with a .250 average. She has two hits in eight at bats with a run scored and RBI while recording 16 putouts and two assists from the catcher spot. In her career she has 46 hits in 196 at bats for a .235 average with five home runs and 24 RBI. She has played in 116 games with 107 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 RBI, is 1-1 with a 2.80 earned run average and 13 strikeouts in throwing 15 innings. In her career she is 7-9 and 122.1 innings of work with 38 appearances and 14 starts. She has 27 hits in 83 at bats for a .325 average and 18 career RBIs. Van Der Zwaag has four multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games including two in a row.
  
Freshman Hanna Cress is 2-1 with a 3.10 earned run average with a team-high 14 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. In her second year at USF, Cress has 61 strikeouts in 58.1 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 7-4 with 17 appearances and 13 starts and had three complete games with one save.   

Pivovar will face alma mater for third straight year
For a third straight season, USF Head Coach Shannon Pivovar will face her alma mater. She is 2-1 against the Griffons. Pivovar has a 38-41 career record at USF with a 13-17 mark in NSIC play. 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

USF 3 UCM 1
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
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
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
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. 
 
USF 3 Missouri St. Louis 1
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.
 
Rockhurst 3 USF 0
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.