St. Cloud State Softball Looks Ahead to NSIC Tournament

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The St. Cloud State softball team is gearing up to begin their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament appearance. The Huskies finished 16-8 in NSIC play, earning the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. St. Cloud State will face the No. 4 seed Minnesota State in their opening game on Wednesday, May 3.

The NSIC Tournament will run May 3 through May 6 at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota. The No. 5 seed Huskies will face off against the No. 4 seed Mavericks on Field A at 12:00 p.m. CT. If SCSU defeats the MNSU, they will move on to play Thursday, May 5 at 12:00 p.m. CT to face either the top seeded Augustana Vikings or the winner of the Concordia-St. Paul or Sioux Falls matchup. If St. Cloud State were to lose, with the tournament being a double elimination format, the Huskies would face either Minot State or Bemidji State on Wednesday, May 3 at 4:00 p.m.

Information about the tournament can be found below or on the tournament hub page.

Broadcast Information
The NSIC Network will provide the game stream throughout the tournament while also providing live stats here. Additional coverage will be provided on the Huskies Softball social media pages.

A Look Back
The Huskies ended the regular season with series splits against Augustana and Wayne State. The Huskies upset the Vikings 4-1 in game one before falling 9-2 in game two. It was a battle between St. Cloud State and Wayne State in game one as the game went into extra innings. Josey Marquette would blast the game tying home run in the seventh for a 4-4 ballgame. However, Wayne State got one back in the eighth and the Huskies would be unable to respond, falling 5-4. Game two was another story as a big sixth inning pushed SCSU to a 7-1 victory.

All-NSIC
Four student-athletes from the St. Cloud State softball team earned All-NSIC honors as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced its all-conference honors. Graduate designated player Jasmin Estrada, senior pitcher Trinity Junker, graduate shortstop Raven Vanden Langenberg, and senior outfielder Holly Weinberger were named to the All-NSIC Second Team.

Estrada earned All-NSIC honors for the fourth time in her career and became the first four-time All-NSIC honoree in program history. Vanden Langenberg earned her third All-NSIC conference honor while Junker and Weinberger each earned their second All-NSIC honor of their careers.

St. Cloud State Huskies
St. Cloud State closed their regular season 31-18 overall which is its second consecutive 30+ win season. SCSU finished with a 16-8 mark in conference play to earn the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.

The Huskies pitching staff comes in at third in the conference with a combined ERA of 2.72 with 281 strikeouts during the regular season. St. Cloud State's ace, Trinity Junker, closed the regular season compiling a 15-7 mark with a 2.16 ERA which ranks her fifth in the conference. Additionally, Junker struck out 160 batters with five shutouts. Emma Eickhoff made an impression as the Huskies second compiling a 9-2 mark with a 3.57 ERA while Justyce Porter has been excellent in relief tallying four saves with a 1.78 ERA. Porter's 1.78 mark places her third in the conference.

Holly Weinberger led the Huskies lineup this season with a batting average of .386 and 61 hits. Jasmin Estrada put up a .604 slugging percentage thanks to 54 hits, 15 doubles, and nine home runs while also leading the team in RBI with 38. Raven Vanden Langenberg crossed home plate 44 times while Jamie Odlum has a perfect 13-13 mark on stolen bases.

Minnesota State Mavericks
Minnesota State closed their regular season 31-17 overall, 20-10 in conference play earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. This past weekend, the Mavericks split with Minot State with a 1-0 victory before falling 5-0 while sweeping UMary 8-0 in five innings and 6-0 in game two.

Minnesota State's pitching staff comes in second in the league with a 2.52 ERA. The Mavericks ace, Mckayla Armbruster owns a 21-8 record with a 1.62 ERA placing her first in the conference. Additionally, Armbruster just earned her second NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors for posting a 4-0 mark with a pair of shutouts with a 1.40 ERA over the weekend. Infielder Ellie Tallman leads the lineup in batting average (.382) and hits (55) while outfielder Kylie Sullivan leads in OPB (.485) and slugging (.619). Catcher Sydney Nielsen leads in RBI (31) and catcher Ava Smithson leads in home runs (12).

SCSU in the NSIC Tournament
St. Cloud State will appear in their sixth consecutive conference tournament since 2017 (no contest in 2020 due to COVID-19). The Huskies are 10-14 in post-season play since 2013. Last season, SCSU defeated Minnesota Duluth in the first round before falling to Augustana in the second round. The Huskies tournament run would end after they fell just short, 3-2, to Sioux Falls in the elimination bracket.

Prior to the 2022 tournament, St. Cloud State advanced to Championship Saturday in both the 2019 and 2021 seasons. 2019 saw the Huskies fall in the first round before battling back through the loser bracket to Championship Saturday where they fell against No. 6 Winona State. In 2021, St. Cloud State upset No. 3 Winona State in the first round before falling to Minnesota State in the second. SCSU took down Sioux Falls for a rematch against Winona State on Championship Saturday but fell against the Warriors.

2023 TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Admission
Day and tournament passes will be available for purchase at the main gate of the complex.

Tournament Pass - $40
Single Day Ticket - $20 Adult, $10 Student
Children under five years of age - Free
*Tickets can be purchased with CASH only*

Facility Entrance Timing
Spectator entrance into the complex will be permitted no earlier than 1 hour before the first scheduled games of the day. All spectators will enter the complex through the main entrance.

Food/Drink
Spectators are NOT allowed to bring coolers into the RYFSA Complex. Concessions will be available with cash & credit card options for payment.

Seating
Bleacher seating will be available at each field. Spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to provide additional seating outside the outfield and along the left and right field lines.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Softball, stay tuned on scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.