Softball closes regular season at Wayne State, Augustana

Saturday, April 30

Wayne, NE

2:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Wayne State College

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/29/2022 9:50:00 AM | Softball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University softball team has reached the final weekend of the 2022 regular season. After three weeks and 47 games, the Huskies will close out their 2022 campaign this upcoming weekend with yet another road trip. St. Cloud State will square off against Wayne State and #12 Augustana this upcoming weekend and hope to solidify its place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) standings.

The Huskies currently sit in a tie for fourth place in the NSIC standings thanks to a 20-6 record in conference play. Though the team is almost guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament, St. Cloud State is looking to secure a top-4 seed in the NSIC Tournament, which is set to take place May 5-7 in Rochester, Minnesota. Before the Huskies look ahead, they'll first have to focus on the final weekend of the regular season where the Wildcats and Vikings lurk.

Saturday's first pitch in Wayne, Nebraska is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. with game two to follow. The doubleheader against Augustana will kick off at the same time on Sunday, again with game two to follow. All four games will provide live stats and video for fans who cannot travel, and score updates will be made on the team's Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_SB).

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

52 - St. Cloud State already made history earlier this week, when Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) blasted a two-run home run in the Huskies game two win over Bemidji State. The homer was not only the fifth year senior's eighth of the year, but also counted as the team's 52nd home run of 2022, breaking the program record for single-season home runs. The previous record of 51 was set back in 2003, making it one of the longest standing records within the program.

4 - The Huskies enter Saturday's doubleheader riding a four-game win streak against Wayne State. All four of those wins were by seven runs or more, including last season's 8-0, 14-6 sweep of the Wildcats. Current senior Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) broke the program record for single-game RBI, tallying seven total and belting a grand slam in the team's 8-0 victory.

12 - St. Cloud State will face its second nationally ranked opponent of the NSIC schedule, as Augustana was ranked No. 12 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II top-25 poll. The Vikings, ranked as high as No. 1 throughout the season, have yet to fall out of the organization's top-25 poll this season and were ranked first in the first and second NCAA Regional rankings.

8 - Like on Wednesday, Saturday's doubleheader at Wayne State could have implications in the NSIC Tournament field. While the Huskies are sitting pretty with a conference record of 20-6, the Wildcats are looking to secure their spot in the top-8. At this exact moment, Wayne State is eighth in the conference standings, meaning the team would qualify for the conference tournament if the season ended today. A split against St. Cloud State could guarantee the Wildcats spot in the NSIC Tournament, their first since before the 2015 season.

20 - No team is hotter than Augustana in the NSIC. The Vikings enter the weekend riding a 20 game win streak, the longest active streak in the conference at this moment. The Huskies have won six of their last seven contests after being swept by Winona State on April 16.