Huskies to battle No. 20 Winona State, Upper Iowa over weekend

Saturday, April 24

St. Cloud, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Winona State University

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

Huskies to battle No. 20 Winona State, Upper Iowa over weekend

4/23/2021 3:42:00 PM | Softball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The grind never ends for the St. Cloud State University softball team. With the end of the regular season fast approaching, the Huskies are set to make a push for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament, set to take place in mid-May. This weekend, St. Cloud State will play host to two key opponents, Winona State University and Upper Iowa, Saturday and Sunday at historic Selke Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The Huskies will square off with the nationally ranked Warriors first, as their games are scheduled for Saturday, April 24 at 12 and 2 p.m. Saturday will also serve as Sexual Assault Awareness day, and St. Cloud State will be accepting donations for the Anna Marie Alliance throughout the game.

Sunday, the Huskies will host the Peacocks at 12 and 2 p.m., also at Selke Field. Video and live stats will be available for both doubleheaders, and score updates will be made to the team's official Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_SB) when possible.

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

20 - Winona State once again finds itself ranked in the top-25 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, as the program has for the majority of the past five years. A powerhouse in the NSIC, the Warriors return their entire pitching staff from 2019, including Jordyn Kleman and Liz Pautz. The duo continues to wrack up the wins for Winona State, as Kleman is 14-3 with one no-hitter in NSIC play this year while Pautz is 7-3 with 13 appearances. They've additionally pitched 40 consecutive innings for the Warriors, helping them to sweeps of Bemidji State, Minnesota-Crookston and Concordia-St. Paul.

2.95 - Upper Iowa's success runs through ace Abby McKay, who currently leads the Peacocks with a team low 2.95 ERA and an overall record of 8-8 with 22 appearances in the circle. So far this season, McKay has earned NSIC wins over Northern State, MSU-Moorhead, Sioux Falls, Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State and has improved in each of her last five starts. After opening the conference season with a 4.79 ERA, McKay has lowered it to 2.95 in her last five starts and has given up just two earned runs in that time span.

5/16 - The Huskies continue to be a threat both at the plate and on the base paths in 2021. At the midway point of the season, St. Cloud State ranks fifth in the nation and first in the NSIC with a .363 team batting average, with shortstop Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) leading the way with a .472 mark. Additionally, the Huskies rank 16th in the nation with 2.42 stolen bases per game, having tallied 66 total bases during the year.

3 - Only three student-athletes from Upper Iowa have played in all 31 games for the Peacocks this year. Katie Crogan, Kaylee Frenette and Amanda Williams have played and started every game for Upper Iowa and lead the Peacocks in almost every offensive category. The trio ranks 2-3-4 in batting average this season behind teammate Payton Kastenschmidt who leads the way with a .403 clip. Crogan leads the team in hits in 2021 with 34 while Frenette has recorded the most at-bats at 1-2.

.367 - After missing almost a month's worth of games, Winona State's top hitter Alison Nowak was back in the lineup for the Warriors last three series against the Beavers, Golden Eagles and Concordia-St. Paul. In that time, the lefty tallied six hits in 15 at bats for a .400 batting average with three RBI and two runs. Even when she's not hitting, Winona State is 17-2 when Nowak is in the line up and just 8-4 without her.