PREVIEWING THURSDAY
•The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (18-12, 9-7 NSIC) returns home to face Wayne State College (4-24, 1-15 NSIC) on Thursday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Mustang Field.
•The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was pushed back one day because of expected poor weather.
•Following Thursday's games, SMSU will continue play at home with a pair of doubleheaders this weekend facing Minot State on Saturday at 1 p.m. and UMary on Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
•Live video and stats for Thursday's games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
ABOUT WAYNE STATE
•WSC begins play on Thursday with a 4-24 overall record, 1-15 in the NSIC.
•The Wildcats have lost five straight, including four last weekend at UMary and at Minot State.
•WSC is led by Kim Vidlak, who is batting .383 (36 for 94) with six doubles, two triples and 12 RBI.
•Kortney Buresh is hitting .350 (35 for 100) with a pair of doubles and seven stolen bases.
•The Wildcats are batting .286 and averaging 3.5 runs per game, while the pitching staff has a 7.45 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 176 1/3 innings.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. WAYNE STATE
•SMSU and WSC have meet 59 times since the 1986 season with SMSU leading 32-27.
•SMSU has won the last seven meetings since April 5, 2016.
•WSC won 12 of the previous 14 games prior to SMSU's current win-streak.
 
SMSU HEAD COACH
•Bailey Bouman is in her third season as head coach with an overall record of 46-45, including 22-24 in NSIC play.
•The 11th head coach in program history, Bouman was named to the position on Aug. 8, 2019.
•SMSU finished 19-26 during her first season in 2019 and qualified for the NSIC Tournament.
•Bouman was an assistant coach with the SMSU women's basketball program from 2015-17 and was also an assistant women's basketball coach at Dordt College (Iowa) before returning to SMSU.
•Bouman is a 2014 graduate of the University of Sioux Falls where she played both basketball and softball for the Cougars.
 
SMSU DIAMOND NOTES
•SMSU split four road games last weekend, splitting doubleheaders versus MSU Moorhead and Northern State.
•SMSU was held to five hits in a 2-1 loss to MSU Moorhead on Saturday, but bounced back to earn a 7-0 win in game two behind Shelby Bloemendaal's four-hit shutout.
•Emma Grote and Molly Bull each had three hits, while Jillian Noel had two hits in the game two victory over MSUM.
•In Sunday's game one 10-7 win over NSU, Bailey Johnson belted a three-run home run in SMSU's six-run fifth inning to rally from 4-2 deficit.
•Grote and Kali Tomlinson both had three hits in the win with Noel and Lileya Kebos each collecting two hits.
•Megan Cull picked up the win tossing four innings, while Allison Christians earned the save firing the final three innings.
•SMSU lost game two to NSU by a score of 6-4. The Mustangs scored three runs in the seventh and had the tying run at the plate before strikeout ended the game.
•Noel had three hits and three RBIs with Madysson Schliinz adding two hits.
 
SMSU SEASON NUMERS
•Through 30 games, SMSU is averaging 4.9 runs per game, batting .308 with 46 doubles, 10 triples and 17 home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has a 3.55 ERA in 193 innings with 154 strikeouts.
•Emma Grote is batting a team-high .441 (45 for 102) and leads the team in base hits with 45 and has 12 multi-hit games.
•Lileya Kebos is hitting .372 (35 for 94) and leads the team with five triples and 12 multi-hit games.
•Bailey Johnson is hitting .374 (37 for 99) with 10 doubles, two home runs and 19 RBIs. She holds the program's all-time record in doubles with 44.
•Kali Tomlinson is batting .371 (39 for 105) with eight home runs, a team-high 31 RBIs and a team-high 11 doubles. She has seven multi-RBI games including two with five RBIs.
•Megan Cull has appeared in 17 games in the circle and is 9-3 with one save. She has a 2.83 ERA with a team-high 74 1/3 innings and 70 strikeouts.
•Shelby Bloemendaal is 5-5 in 13 starts tossing 74 innings with a 4.07 ERA.
•Allison Christians has appeared in 14 games with a 4-2 record and three saves. She has a 33.30 ERA while pitching 40 1/3 innings.
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NCAA STATS
•In the latest NCAA statistics (April 19), SMSU ranks 22^nd nationally in triples, 58^th in hits, and 68^th in batting average.
•Lileya Kebos is sixth in triples. 
•Kali Tomlinson is 32^nd in doubles and 66^th in RBIs.
•Emma Grote is 33^rd in hits and 62^nd in batting average.
 
MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/softballcareer.
 
MUSTANGS IN THE CAREER RECORD BOOK
•Entering play on Thursday, Bailey Johnson ranks first in team history in doubles (44), slugging pct. (.638) and on-base pct. (.477), second in batting average (.383), tied for eighth in home runs (14), eighth in walks (60) and ninth in runs scored (111). Johnson became the program's all-time leader in doubles on April 10, moving past Amanda Burkhart's (2006-09) previous record of 42.
•Kali Tomlinson ranks third in slugging pct. (.605), tied for third in home runs (26), third in doubles (40), fourth in RBIs (111), fourth in total bases (297), and sixth in batting average (.356).
•Emma Grote is tied for sixth in runs scored (115), seventh in hits (191), and tied for 10^th in stolen bases (29).
•Megan Cull is second in games finished (38), sixth in strikeouts (267), and eighth in appearances (88).
 
GROTE EARNS 2020 ACADEMIC HONOR
•Senior Emma Grote was named CoSIDA Academic All-District for the second straight season following the 2020 season.
 
NSIC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO ROCHESTER
•The 2021 NSIC Tournament will be held in May 13-15 in Rochester, Minn., at the RYFSA Complex.
•The top 10 teams in the final regular season standings will qualify for the tournament with the champion earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
SMSU PICKED 10TH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 10th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Mustang senior Megan Cull was named a "Pitcher to Watch", while junior outfielder Bailey Johnson was named a "Player to Watch" in the NSIC this spring.
 
 MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 50th season of softball in 2021.
•SMSU has played 1,891 games compiling an all-time record of 978-912-1.
•SMSU has won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.