ON DECK
The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (16-16, 5-5 NSIC) will host Wayne State (21-11, 7-5 NSIC) on Wednesday for a mid-week doubleheader against the Wildcats with the first pitch at 1 p.m. from Mustang Field. The twin bill was originally scheduled to be in Wayne, Neb., but has been moved to Marshall due to poor field conditions in Wayne. The Mustangs will then head to Minnesota Duluth on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader before concluding their road trip at St. Cloud State on Sunday with the first pitch slated for noon.

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 WAYNE STATE
The Wildcats, picked to finish fourth in the NSIC, finished 35-18 overall and 20-8 in the NSIC a season ago. WSC is 21-11 overall and 7-5 in the NSIC while on a four-game winning streak entering Wednesday's doubleheader. Lexie Loos leads the Wildcats and is fifth in the NSIC batting .454 with 54 hits while Kaiti Williams is leading the squad and sixth in the NSIC with 25 RBIs with nine doubles and a triple. Kelcie Bormann powers the Wildcats defense with an 11-6 record from the circle and carries a 3.15 ERA in her 21 appearances. She has struck out 122 batters—fourth in the NSIC—in 113.1 innings pitched. Shelli Manson is in her first season as head coach at Wayne State College.

WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State will meet for the 48th and 49th time on Wednesday with SMSU holding a 24-23 advantage in a series that started back in 1986. The Mustangs hold a 12-7 record in games played at Mustang Field. SMSU was swept in the doubleheader a season ago in Marshall and have lost the last five games in the series with its last win coming in 2011. SMSU head coach Jamie Dunn is 0-2 all-time versus Wayne State.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
The Bulldogs, picked to finish fifth in the NSIC, finished 25-21 overall and 11-8 in the NSIC a season ago. UMD will enter this week with a 21-14 overall record and 5-7 in the NCIS and will face Bemidji State on Wednesdays before the weekend's doubleheader. Hannah Schmoll leads the Bulldogs with a .438 batting average, 53 hits with four doubles and a home run while Becky Smith and Jordan Rice both have nine home runs. Sam Hartmann is powering the Bulldog defense with a 11-5 record from the circle as she has recorded 112 strikeouts in 102.1 innings pitched and holds a 3.42 ERA. Jen Banford is in her 10th season as head coach at Minnesota Duluth.

MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth will meet for the 95th and 96th time on Saturday with UMD holding a 63-31 advantage in a series that started back in 1977. UMD holds a 18-3 record in games played in Duluth. The two teams faced each other earlier this season for a non-conference doubleheader with UMD earning the sweep.  Jamie Dunn is 0-4 all-time versus Minnesota Duluth.

EARLIER THIS SEASON VS UMD
Minnesota Duluth belted a combined eight home runs in two games to earn a non-conference doubleheader sweep over Southwest Minnesota State in college softball at the West St. Paul Dome. UMD won the opener 5-0 and earned an 11-1 victory in game two.UMD's Sam Hartmann tossed a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead UMD in the opener. Hartmann carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but SMSU's Jazmyne Neely led off the final frame with an infield single to break up the no-hit bid. UMD hit three solo home runs in the opener. Alex O'Connor (2-1) suffered the loss for SMSU (3-3), allowing 10 hits, five runs (four earned) in six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. 
SMSU finished game two with six hits, with Kailey Hanson finishing 2 for 3. Maddison Chadwick (1-1) took the loss for SMSU, giving up five runs on six hits with two walks and one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings.

SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATE
The Huskies, picked to finish 12th in the NSIC, finished 14-28-1 overall and 8-17-1 in the NSIC a season ago. SCSU is 19-17 overall and 5-7 in league play so far this season. St. Cloud State will play Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday and Sioux Falls on Saturday before facing SMSU on Sunday. Jessica Goerger leads the Huskies batting .396 with 44 hits­, nine doubles and four triples—third in the NSIC—while Taylor Thomas is batting .326 with 29 hits. Kelly Franks powers the Huskies defense with a 7-3 record from the circle and carries a 2.79 ERA—eighth in the NSIC. She has struck out 97 batters in 82.2 innings pitched. Paula U'Ren is in her 18th season as head coach at St. Cloud State.

ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES HISTORY
Southwest Minnesota State and St. Cloud State will meet for the 87th and 88th time on Sunday with SCSU holding a 47-38-1 advantage in a series that started back in 1973. The series is 17-16 in favor of the Mustangs in games played at in St. Cloud. The Mustangs took the series with a 1-0-1 record a season ago and has a 5-1-1 record in the last three seasons. SMSU head coach Jamie Dunn is 1-0-1 all-time versus St. Cloud State.

THE COACH
Jamie Dunn is in her second season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University and has compiled a record of 31-46-1, including 17-22-1 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.