ON DECK
The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (11-9) will open up Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this weekend hosting Northern State on Saturday with the first pitch at 1 p.m. followed by MSU Moorhead on Sunday with the first pitch at 12 p.m. from Mustang Field.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Live statistics will be available for all home games at livestats.smsu.edu/softball, while updates can also be found by following @smsusoftball on Twitter. For all other games, visit smsumustangs.com for more information.

SCOUTING NORTHERN STATE
The Wolves, picked to finish 13th in the NSIC, finished 13-28 overall and 9-19 in the NSIC a season ago. NSU is 13-10 so far this season after earning a 7-4 record at the Spring Games and a 2-4 record at the Missouri Western tournament last week. The Wolves will face MSU Moorhead before Saturday's game. Eryn Yancy leads the Wolves batting .348 with six home runs, 24 hits, eight doubles and 17 RBIs so far this season. Kami Smesmo is powering the Wolves defense with a 9-4 record from the circle. She has struck out 48 batters in 86.0 innings pitched and ranks sixth in the NSIC with a 2.03 ERA entering the week. Kristi Villar is in her fourth season as head coach at Northern State University.

SCOUTING MSU MOORHEAD
The Dragons, picked to finish 14th in the NSIC, finished 15-24 overall and 9-19 in the NSIC a season ago. MSUM is 10-4 so far this season after earning an 8-2 record at the Spring Games last week. The Dragons will face Northern State and Sioux Falls before playing SMSU on Sunday. Taylor Huss is leading the squad with five home runs and 19 hits and holds a .422 batting average while Brittany York is leading the Dragons with 16 RBIs. Morgan Nybo is powering the Dragons defense with an 8-2 record from the circle while she has struck out 33 batters in 62.0 innings pitched and holds a 3.16 ERA. Kelsey Fehl is in her fourth season as head coach at MSU Moorhead.

THE COACH
Jamie Dunn is in her second season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University and has compiled a record of 26-39-1, including 12-17-1 in NSIC play. Prior to SMSU, Dunn spent the 2013 season as assistant coach at NCAA Division II Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colo., and three seasons as head coach at Fruita Monument High School.

STAY CONNECTED 
Stay connected with the SMSU softball all season long at www.smsumustangs.com. The Mustangs are also on Facebook at SMSUmustangs and on Twitter at @smsumustangs.