ON DECK
The Southwest Minnesota State softball team finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak to earn a No. 8 seed in this year's conference tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. SMSU, 23-21 overall, will face No. 9 seed Minot State, 23-20 overall, on Thursday starting at 10 am at Bowden Field on the campus of Augustana University.
 
If SMSU wins, it will face either No. 1 seed Minnesota State or No. 2 seed Winona State at 2 p.m.
 
SMSU and Minot State split its two regular season games on April 15 in Minot, North Dakota, with the Beavers winning 14-5, before the Mustangs won game two, 9-7.
 
LAST TIME OUT
SMSU is coming off a perfect 4-0 week to end the regular season with a sweep at Wayne State last Thursday followed by another sweep on at home this past Saturday afternoon over Minnesota Crookston. The Mustangs defeated wayne state 2-0 and 5-1 to remain in contention for a birth in the NSIC?tournament. SMSU then defeated Minnesota Crookston, 11-0 by run rule in five innings followed by a 7-4 win in game two. The Mustangs were scheduled to play a doubleheader against Bemidji State on Sunday which was eventually cancelled due to inclement weather.
 
MEDIA COVERAGE
Links for live statistics and live video will be available for all games at smsumustangs.com on the SMSU softball schedule page. Updates can also be found by following @smsusoftball on Twitter.
 
SCOUTING MINOT STATE:
            Team Overview
            •Overall record-          23-20
            •Streak-          LOST 2
            •NSIC record-  15-15
            •Home record-            12-4
            •Away record-            5-11
            •Neutral record-         6-5
            •TEAM BATTING AVG-           .316
            •TEAM OB %-             .392
            •TEAM SLG %-            .468
            •TEAM ERA-   4.59
            •TEAM BATTING AVG AGAINST-       .293
 
            Team Leaders
            •Batting AVG #24 Jordan Grant (.481)
            •OB %-                        #24 Jordan Grant (.530)
            •SLG %-          #20 Tori Zimmermann (.691)
            •RBI-               #32 Ashley Hill (44)
            •HR-                #32 Ashley Hill (11)
            •SB-                #24 Jordan Grant (38)
            •ERA-              #2 Clarissa Ramirez (4.33)
            •K's-                #7 Jenn Spencer (92)
            •Wins-             #7 Jenn Spencer (13)
 
MINOT STATE SERIES HISTORY:
            •The all-time series between SMSU and Minot State is tied, 5-5
            •The two teams split a doubleheader earlier this season with Minot State winning game one, 14-5 and SMSU winning game two, 9-7
            •Minot State is 2-0 in the only two previous neutral site games
                        •Full series history on Page 9
 
SCOUTING SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE:
            Team Overview
            •Overall record-          23-21
            •Streak-          WON 4
            •NSIC record-  14-14
            •Home record-            8-8
            •Away record-            8-10
            •Neutral record-         7-3
            •TEAM BATTING AVG-           .290
            •TEAM OB %-             .351
            •TEAM SLG %-            .402
            •TEAM ERA-   3.26
            •TEAM BATTING AVG AGAINST-       .276
 
            Team Leaders
            •Batting AVG  #9 Sam Flack (.355)
            •OB %-                        #9 Sam Flack (.459)
            •SLG %-          #9 Sam Flack (.524)
            •RBI-               #5 Mackenzie Clouse (21)
            •HR-                #14 Taylor Koloc (5)
            •SB-                #14 Taylor Koloc (13) 
            •ERA-              #21 Alex O'Connor (2.61)
            •K's-                #21 Alex O'Connor (127)
            •Wins-             #21 Alex O'Connor (12)
 
NSIC TOURNAMENT
The 2017 NSIC Softball Tournament bracket has been set as regular season play concluded Sunday afternoon.  The top ten teams in the final regular season standings will participate in the double-elimination tournament, which will be held May 4-6 at Bowden Field & Sherman Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
The winner of the NSIC Softball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.  The 42-team central region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis. In all, eight teams will advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament on May 11-13, with the top two seeds in the region hosting.
 
NSIC TOURNAMENT DAY ONE PAIRINGS
SMSU (8) VS. Minot State (9) - 10 a.m. (Bowden Field)
Sioux Falls (7) vs. Northern State (10) - 10 a.m. (Sherman Park)
Minnesota Duluth (4) vs. St. Cloud State (5) - 12 p.m. (Bowden Field)
Augustana (3) . Bemidji State (6) - 12 p.m. (Sherman Park)
Minnesota State (1) vs. Lower seed of game 1 & 2 winner - 2 p.m. (Bowden Field)
Winona State (2) vs. Higher seed of game 1 & 2 winner - 2 p.m. (Sherman Park)
Full tournament bracket on page 10
 
SMSU PICKED 10TH IN NSIC POLL
Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 10th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' poll. Minnesota State was chosen as the unanimous preseason favorite earning 15 first place votes. SMSU junior infielder, Sam Flack, and senior pitcher, Alex O'Connor, were named "Players to Watch" in the conference this season.
 
MUSTANG OFFENSE
SMSU has pushed runs across the plate in bunches this season. The Mustangs have scored four or more runs in a single inning in 16 games this season including seven times in NSIC?play. SMSU has scored six or more runs in a single inning in four games this year. The Mustangs are 15-1 this year when scoring six or more runs.
 
MORE MUSTANG STATS
For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to smsumustangs.com/softballcareer.