Softball faces SMSU, USF in final road series of 2021

Saturday, May 1

Marshall, MN

1 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Southwest Minnesota State University

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/30/2021 11:00:00 AM | Softball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The end is near for the St. Cloud State University softball team. With just two weekends left in the 2021 regular season, the Huskies will look to solidify their place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) standings in their final road series of the season. Their destination? Marshall, Minnesota on Saturday and Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Sunday.

St. Cloud State will open the weekend with a doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday before closing the weekend at Sioux Falls on Sunday. First pitch on Saturday is slated for 1 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota, while Sunday's doubleheader is set to start at 12 p.m. in Sioux Falls. Both doubleheaders are critical to the Huskies chances of qualifying for the NSIC Tournament, as both the Mustangs and Cougars are ahead of St. Cloud State in the conference standings. With a conference record of 14-8, SMSU currently sits in fifth place in the NSIC while Sioux Falls is two places behind in seventh with a record of 13-8.

Live stats and video will be available for both doubleheaders, and score updates will be made to the team's Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_SB) when possible.

Here are the five things to know before the Huskies final road doubleheader of 2021:

8 - The road has not been kind to St. Cloud State this season. Literally. The Huskies are just 2-6 in eight road games this season and have yet to sweep a conference doubleheader away from Selke Field in 2021. The Huskies split road series with Minnesota State and Minnesota-Crookston earlier this season and were swept by Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 18. St. Cloud State, though, has fared far better at home, posting a 17-5 record when playing in either the Husky Dome or at Selke Field this season.

.400 - Saturday's doubleheader will feature five of the top hitters in the NSIC this season, as the Huskies and Mustangs rosters combine for five of the top-10 individual batting averages in the conference this season. A total of four St. Cloud State student-athletes rank in the top-10 in batting average after last weekend's NSIC doubleheaders, including Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour), Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family), Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) and Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia). While the Huskies offensive prowess is no secret, SMSU's Emma Grote currently owns the fifth best batting average in the NSIC, as she's hitting .433 through 37 games this season. She additionally leads the conference in hits with 55 total this season.

.516 - St. Cloud State's pitching staff will have its hands full on Sunday as it tries to keep Sioux Falls' Damaris Cuevas off the bases. The first year catcher boasts a .516 on base percentage this season, a number that currently ranks fourth in the NSIC. Additionally, Cuevas leads the conference in overall batting average at .471 and leads all first years in multiple offensive categories.

13 - The Huskies already own one series win over the Mustangs this season, as they swept the team in a nonconference doubleheader back in early March by scores of 7-3 and 6-0. In 101 meetings, St. Cloud State holds a 54-46-1 advantage over SMSU and enters Saturday's doubleheader riding a four-game win streak against the Mustangs.

5 - The Cougars are one of the hottest teams in the NSIC, as they enter the weekend riding a five game win streak. Since losing in nine innings to No. 1 Augustana on April 22, Sioux Falls in the winner of five straight, including a 2-1 rebound win over the same nationally ranked Vikings to kickstart the team's winning ways. In that span, the Cougars have outscored their opponents 44-6 and tallied one no-hitter in the process.