SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (12-14, 6-6 NSIC) will face a pair of road tests as the Cougars play NSIC doubleheaders on April 17-18 against Northern State and MSU Moorhead, respectively. The Cougars will play NSU on Saturday, April 17 with games at 1 pm and 3 pm in Aberdeen, S.D. USF will then face the MSUM Dragons on Sunday, April 18 at 12 pm and 2 pm in Moorhead, Minn. 

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The Cougars are coming off a group of home game battles, including a 9-6 win over Winona St. in game two on April 10. USF was 1-3 during the home stand. Prior to the home games, USF had a 4-2 road trip which included an 8-6 and 5-2 sweep against Wayne State on Tuesday in Wayne, Neb. With the 6-6 record, USF is ninth in the NSIC.

Breaking Down Opponents 
Northern St., which is 18-8 and 9-3 in the NSIC (3rd overall), has a six-game win streak, with their last loss on April 3 in a 10-9 decision at Winona St. The Wolves had a solid start to the season, trading wins with opponents, until they started their six-game win streak with a 6-5 win over UMary on April 8. NSU defeated UMary twice, Bemidji St. twice, and Minn. Crookston twice to start and continue their streak. The Wolves rank third in the NSIC, with a .336 batting average and have totaled 137 runs on 231 hits, 23 home runs, and 121 RBI. In the circle, NSU ranks sixth in the NSIC, with a 3.19 earned run average and 211 strikeouts (first in NSIC). They average 9.1 strikeouts per game, and are led by Meghan Anderson with 118 strikeouts. Northern's offense is led by Makenzie Merrit, a senior who is hitting .351 with seven home runs and 26 RBI. In the circle, Elyse Cuttic leads the Wolves, with a 2.85 earned run average and 88 strikeouts. 

MSUM, which is 6-20 overall and 4-8 in the NSIC (13th, NSIC), are coming off a 2-1 extra innings win over Bemidji St. in Moorhead, Minn. MSUM ranks 13th in the league, with a .243 batting average, 68 runs on 159 hits, one home run, and 58 RBI. In the circle, the Dragons are led by Anna Lang, with a 5.84 earned run average and 38 strikeouts. Overall, MSUM ranks 15th in the league, with a 7.07 earned run average and 77 strikeouts. 

Series Notes – Northern St., Moorhead St. 
In the all-time series, Northern St. owns a 9-8 advantage, however, the Cougars won the most recent matchup, 8-3, on April 15, 2019 in Aberdeen, SD. USF sits 2-4 at home and 7-7 in league play against the Wolves, which has won nine of the last 17 matchups. The Cougars have won three straight since NSU's last win on April 6, 2018 in Aberdeen, SD.

In the all-time series, USF leads MSUM, 12-2, and has a 12-2 conference record against the Dragons. USF, is on a 10-game win streak, with their last losses the first two games they ever played the Dragons on April 13, 2013. In their most recent matchup, USF took a 4-3 decision over MSUM in Moorhead, Minn on April 14, 2019. 

Quick Look at USF 
USF finished 3-3 at the Missouri Western HyVee Classic, which had several schedule adjustments due to weather, as the season opened in February. USF opened by splitting two games at Central Missouri by taking a 7-6 win but falling, 6-1. After moving to Emporia, Kan., the Cougars dropped a 7-4 decision to Central Oklahoma but rebounded with a 5-3 win over Emporia State. With a four-run explosion in the first inning plus a stellar effort in the circle from Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, USF turned back Emporia State, 5-3. Van Der Zwaag threw a complete-game two-hitter. With her 81 pitches to 26 batters, Van Der Zwaag allow just one earned run, two hits, and did not walk a hitter while registering two strikeouts. She registered her third complete game of the season and lowered her earned run average to 3.28. Prior to those games, USF dropped two games to Missouri Western (7-3, 3-0). At the Washburn Invitational, USF, led by all-tourney standout Kylan Straight, was 3-3 with wins over Missouri-St. Louis, 3-1; Pittsburg State, 6-0 and Central Missouri, 3-1. In NSIC play, USF has gone 6-6 with a 4-2 road mark. In the NSIC opener, USF split a pair with SMSU as they lost 3-1 and took a 5-3 decision. On the first road trip, USF swept Minnesota Crookston, 5-4 (eight innings), and 8-1 before dropping two at Bemidji State, 6-3, 5-3 (8 innings). The Cougars also defeated Wayne State, 8-6 and 5-2, at Wayne, Neb. Then, USF had a 1-1 mark against then No. 11 Winona State before falling twice in closely contested games against Upper Iowa, 3-2 and 1-0.

In a review of the season so far, USF has gone 12-14, including 6-6 in the NSIC, and hit .244, which ranks 13th in the NSIC.  On defense, USF ranks seventh in the NSIC with a .965 percentage. They have 25 errors, 522 putouts, 158 assists, and nine double plays. On the mound, USF is seventh in the NSIC with a 3.38 earned run average with 84 earned runs allowed in 174 innings. USF has 157 strikeouts (6.32 per seven innings) which is fourth in the NSIC.  USF is averaging 6.32 strikeouts to 1.61 walks per seven innings. The walks per seven innings is third best in the league.

Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag is batting .257 with 19 hits in 74 at bats. She has a .378 OBP and owns five multi-hit games this year and 11 in her career with nine career multi-RBI games. In a 9-6 win over Winona State, she had two hits including a three-run home run which was the game-winning hit. Over the past six games in the circle, Van Der Zwaag has figured in five decisions, including five straight before game two of the Upper Iowa series. In those games, she made four starts and had a 3.46 earned run average with 13 runs allowed in 26.1 innings. She also had game-winning hits in an 8-6 decision against Wayne State and 9-6 win over then No. 11 Winona State. On the mound, she has a 3.10 earned run average and a 6-6  record in 2021 with 11 starts and worked at least five innings in all those starts. Van Der Zwaag has allowed 94 hits and 36 earned runs with 73 strikeouts against 15 walks. She has six complete games in 11 starts and 15 appearances. She is 13-13 in her career with 188.1 innings and 50 appearances with 23 starts. 

The USF offense is led by freshman C/DP Damaris Cuevas who ranks fourth in the NSIC and 41st in NCAA DII in batting average at .463. In 24 games with 22 starts, Cuevas has a home run and 10 RBI with 31 hits in 67 at bats. She has a .612 slugging percentage and .514 OBP, totals which are the best on the team. Her OBP ranks eighth in the NSIC. Cuevas, who has 10 multi-hit and four multi-RBI games, had her 10-game hitting streak end vs Bemidji State. She has had three hits in a game three times.

Kylan Straight is hitting .291 with 25 hits in 86 at bats. Named to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament Team, has five multi-hit games this year and three multi RBI games while owning 49 career hits. Twenty times this season, Straight has at least one hit in a game. She has a .303 OBP and a .326 slugging mark. In addition, she leads USF with five stolen bases. In the past six games Straight has a .333 average with a team-high six hits. 

Senior Frankie Mickelson is hitting .211 with 16 hits (three last weekend), 19 total bases, .268 on-base percentage and .250 slugging mark. With six RBI this season, Mickelson is tied for sixth all-time at USF with 70. She needs one RBI to move past Danielle Walker, 70, 2015-16. She also ranks sixth in games played at USF with 179. She also ranks sixth in starts by a USF player with 172. Mickelson is also sixth all-time with 140 hits and four 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 29 career steals and has 219 putouts, which ranks second all-time among outfielders (Megan Peterson, 226, 2014-17), with 17 assists on defense. In addition, Mickelson has 29 multi-hit games as well as 18 multi-RBI games. In her past six games, Mickelson has caught fire with a .364 average and four hits in 11 at bats plus three RBI and .417 OBP. 

Freshman infielder Shayla Running ranks fourth on USF with a .281 batting average with 20 starts in 23 games. She has 18 hits with eight runs scored (2^nd on team), and a double with two RBI, 19 total bases. .297 slugging and .303 OBP. A year ago, she led USF with a .431 average and had nine RBI with a .569 slugging mark. She had 25 hits in 58 at bats and is now 43-of-122 for .352 career average. She has 13 multi-hit games in her career with four this season. She had a season-best three hits against Minnesota Crookston on April 2, 2021, which tied her career-best against Missouri Western on Feb. 23, 2020.

Senior infielder Cassie Van Beek has upped her average to .238 and has two home runs and seven RBI with a .444 slugging mark and .324 OBP in 2021. This season, she has 15 hits, including seven doubles. Nine of her hits are for extra bases. Van Beek has four career home runs. Over the past six games, Van Beek has two home runs, four RBI, 11 total bases and a .647 slugging mark.
 
Freshman Hanna Cress is 6-7 with a 3.23 earned run average with 18 appearances and 12 starts. She has a team-high seven complete games with 38 earned run in 82.1 innings. She has a team-best 81 strikeouts, which ranks fifth in the NSIC, against 22 walks. On April 2-3, Cress finished 2-1 with a 1.62 earned run average in four appearances while starting two games. She had two complete games and totaled 31 strikeouts across 17.1 innings and allowed just four earned runs. Against Minnesota Crookston (USF sweep) Cress won both ends of DH and in a start in game two had 15 strikeouts in a game which was the most by a USF player since 18 by Amanda Walters against Valley City College (ND) since Feb. 25, 2014 and is the most by a USF player in NSIC league play in school history. In her career, she is 11-10 with 26 appearances and 21 starts with nine complete games and a save. In her career, she has 124 career strikeouts. 

Head Coach Shannon Pivovar
Pivovar, who has a 47-52 career record at USF with a 19-23 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.