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MARSHALL, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference-leading Southwest Minnesota State softball team will host a pair of conference foes this weekend as Winona State and Upper Iowa arrive in Marshall for a pair of doubleheaders.  SMSU and WSU square off at 12 p.m. on Saturday, while the Mustangs and UIU will meet up at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Northern Sun leaders: With a 17-3 mark in conference action, the Mustangs again find themselves in first place in the latest NSIC standings.  SMSU has lost conference contests to Bemidji State, Minnesota Duluth and Wayne State in 2009.  Of those loses, however, SMSU has not been swept in any conference doubleheders this season.

Regionally speaking:  Despite a solid campaign in NSIC play, the Mustangs have yet to broke into the Central Region rankings.  Winona State, Saturday's opponent, holds down the top spot in the latest regional rankings.

Hot streak:  It's turning into quite a season for senior Amanda Burkhart (Omaha, Neb.).  The right fielder has been nothing short of unstoppable at the plate for the Mustangs in 2009, breaking both single-season and career records.  She currently leads SMSU with a .374 batting average.  She has already set the single-season record for home runs with 13 and currently has a school-best .718 single-season slugging percentage.  Career records set by Burkhart include doubles (41), RBIs (148) and home runs (29).  She's been named NSIC Player of the Week twice this season.

A grand day:  Amanda Johnson (Fremont, Neb.) added to her already lengthy list of accolades by throwing her 1,000th career strikeout on Wednesday against Wayne State.  She becomes just the 15th player in NCAA Division II history and the only Mustang to reach the milestone.  Johnson entered game one of Wednesday's doubleheader just four strikeouts shy of a 1,000.  It took her just three innings of work to eclipse the 1,000 mark.  Johnson already holds nearly every major career and single-season pitching record at SMSU.   She's been named All-NSIC first team and NSIC Pitcher of the Year three times and has a flurry of all-region accolades under her belt.

Senior momentum:  Four seniors will guide the Mustangs through their 2009 campaign, and all are seasoned veterans.  Burkhart Johnson, Amanda Tucci (Oakdale, Minn.) and Jessica Paczosa (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) have earned 10 all-conference nods between the four of them.

Preseason honors:  Amanda Johnson was selected as the NSIC 2009 Preseason Pitcher of the Year for the third consecutive season. She enters her senior season ranked third in career saves in NCAA Division II history with 13. Johnson ranks first in SMSU history in lowest opponents' batting average, fewest walks per seven innings, strikeouts per seven innings, wins, saves, appearances, games started, complete games, games finished, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts.

Rank 'em:  SMSU was picked to finish third in the NSIC Preseason Poll as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.  The Mustangs received 164 points in the poll, just one point behind the No. 2 team, Minnesota State, Mankato.  SMSU also received three first-place votes.

He's back:  Shawn Semler returns for his sixth season as the head coach of the Mustangs.  He's led SMSU to four conference championships and three NCAA Regional Tournament appearances.  Semler has also coached 24 all-conference performers  and been named the NSIC's top coach three times.