Softball hits the road for Wayne State, Augustana

Sunday, March 31

Sioux Falls, SD

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Augustana University (SD)

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/29/2019 11:10:00 AM | Softball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season did not get off to the greatest start for the St. Cloud State University softball team. The Huskies were swept in their opening NSIC doubleheader of the season, falling to Minnesota-Duluth 1-0 in the opener and 3-1 in game two. However, St. Cloud State has the perfect chance to flip the scales this weekend, as the team travels to Nebraska and South Dakota for doubleheaders against Wayne State College and Augustana University.

The trip to Wayne, Nebraska and Sioux Falls, South Dakota will be nothing for the well-traveled Huskies, as they've spent all of March away from the comforts of the Husky Dome and Selke Field. After opening the season with a home dome tournament on February 1-2, St. Cloud State has played just two doubleheaders at home since and won't return home until April 6.

Live stats will be available for both Sunday's doubleheader against Augustana and Monday's twin bill with Wayne State. Score updated will also be made on St. Cloud State softball's official Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_SB).

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's NSIC doubleheaders:

1-1 – The Huskies split both series against the Wildcats and Vikings last season in what was the final weekend of the regular season. In the weekend opener against Augustana, St. Cloud State lost 3-0 in a tight game one before rallying for a huge 2-1 win over the regionally ranked Vikings. Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) provided the game-winning hit for the Huskies in the bottom of the fourth, helping her team defeat Augustana 2-1. The next day, St. Cloud State dropped the opener before ending the season with an 8-0 shutout against the Wildcats.

14 – The Vikings were ranked No. 14 in the latest edition of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 poll, their highest ranking of the 2019 season. Augustana was ranked No. 17 the previous week before climbing to No. 14 after a 4-1 weekend at the Missouri Western Tournament. The Vikings additionally opened the NSIC season by scoring 14 runs against Wayne State, beating the Wildcats 8-0 in the opener and 6-0 in game two.

1 – St. Cloud State and Wayne State enter Saturday's doubleheader looking for their first conference wins this 2019 season. In fact, the two teams scored a combined one run in their games against Minnesota-Duluth and Augustana, as the Wildcats were shutout by the Vikings Wednesday afternoon. The Huskies, on the other hand, dropped two nail biters to the Bulldogs, falling 1-0 in game on and 3-1 in game two.

9 – Nine different student-athletes have tallied home runs for St. Cloud State this season, helping the team tally 23 total through 26 games in 2019. Senior catcher Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) leads the way with a team and NSIC-leading eight home runs this year, while Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) is right behind her with five home runs in 76 plate appearances. Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) has three so far this year, Morgan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) has tallied two, while Bowlin, Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake), Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake), Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ont. / Emily Carr Secondary) and Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) have each hit one home run this season.

30 – First years Estrada and Vanden Langenberg are really good at hitting with runners in scoring position and two outs on the board. The two freshmen have tallied a combined 30 RBI in these situations (Estrada 18, Vanden Langenberg 12), and both are hitting well over .500 in the scenario as well. Estrada is currently hitting .538 with runners in scoring position with two outs, while Vanden Langenberg is hitting a team leading .619 in these situations.