PREVIEWING THE WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (15-20 overall, 7-5 NSIC) hits the road for a trio of doubleheaders, beginning with a Tuesday match-up with Wayne State (6-27, 3-9) before traveling Northwest for meetings with the University of Mary (5-27, 3-9) and Minot State (26-10, 7-5) in the Minot State dome.
•Tuesday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., while Friday against UMary is slated to start at 4 p.m., and first pitch against Minot State on Saturday is scheduled for 10 a.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
  
BOUMAN BALL
•Bailey Bouman is in her fourth season as head coach with an overall record of 70-73, including 37-35 in NSIC play.
•The Mustangs finished 27-20 last season, their best season since 2011, while winning their first NSIC tournament game since Bouman's first season in 2019
•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.
 
CHASING HISTORY
•After six hits last week, Bailey Johnson moved her career hit total to 210. 
•The fifth person in program history to reach the 200 hit plateau on Mar. 28 against Sioux Falls, Johnson is 13 hits away from tying the program record, held by Erin Dickhausen.
•Johnson is extremely familiar with the career record books, where she is first in doubles, second in batting average, runs scored, and on base percentage, third in slugging percentage and hits, fourth in total bases, times hit by pitch, walks and sacrifice flies, and fifth in RBI's.  
 
PITCHING, TIMELY HITTING LEAD MUSTANGS TO A PAIR OF SWEEPS
•The Mustangs went 4-0 at home over the weekend, sweeping Northern State and MSU Moorhead over the weekend
•SMSU's pitching staff dazzled in the circle, giving up just five runs in four games.
•Karlie Miller and Bloemendaal led the staff, combining for 23 innings and a 0.61 ERA, giving up 20 hits and walking five while striking out 18. 
•Morgyn Otte and Allison Christians were solid in relief, as Otte would throw a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts and Christians would give up an earned run in four innings, tallying four strikeouts. 
•The Mustang offense would be powered by clutch offense around Jillian Noel, who was named an NSIC top performer after going 6 for 13 with two home runs, seven RBIs, and four runs scored in the four games.  
•The Mustangs would manufacture five two-out runs over the weekend and seven runs in the fifth inning or later to help lead them to victory 
 
SMSU SEASON NUMBERS
•Through 35 games, SMSU is averaging 4.3 runs per game, batting .299 with 49 doubles and 10 home runs.
•The Mustangs' pitching staff has a 5.16 ERA in 218 1/3 innings with 152 strikeouts.
•SMSU has been stellar since the start of conference play, hitting .307, good for fifth in the conference, and hold a 3.38 ERA, good for sixth. 
•Senior Bailey Johnson powers the offense, batting .396 with 11 doubles, two home runs, 20 runs scored, 21 RBIs, and a 1.020 OPS. 
•Sophomore Jillian Noel is batting .377 with a 1.030 OPS, four doubles, 19 runs scored, and a team-high six home runs and 24 RBIs. 
•Freshman Abby Russell is hitting .328 with a pair of home runs, 20 runs scored, 22 RBIs and a team-high 11 doubles and seven stolen bases.
•Junior Lileya Kebos has been a problem for opposing pitchers since the start of conference play, hitting .385 (10 for 26) with an OPS of .967, scoring four runs and driving in nine. 
•Sophomore Molly Bull has also found her swing in conference action, batting .310 (9 for 29) with seven runs scored and five RBIs. 
•Johnson leads the team with 14 multi-hit games, while Noel has recorded a 10-game hit streak this season.  
•Russell has reached safely in eight straight games and holds a three-game hit streak. 
•Junior Shelby Bloemendaal has gone 8-6 in the circle with a 4.45 ERA, going 83 1/3 innings with 48 strikeouts and a pair of shutouts. 
•Freshman Karlie Miller has appeared in 15 games and has thrown 82 1/3 innings with a team-high 54 strikeouts.
•Each pitcher has been solid in conference action, with Miller holding a 2.60 ERA and Bloemendaal maintaining a 3.38 ERA, while Allison Christians has dealt out of the bullpen to the tune of a 3.75 ERA and a pair of saves in 9 1/3 innings. 
 
ABOUT WAYNE STATE
•Wayne State has opened the season 6-27 and 3-9 in conference action after being swept by Minot State and splitting with UMary last weekend
•The Wildcats were picked to finish 15th in the NSIC.
•WSC is led by Kortney Buresh, whose .367 average, 20 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, and .405 on base percentage leads the team
•Samantha Felt has appeared in 22 games in the circle for the Wildcats, throwing 66 1/3 innings with a 4.75 ERA and 21 strikeouts. 
 
ABOUT MARY
•UMary has opened the season 5-27 and is 3-9 in conference play after going 1-3 against Augustana and Wayne State on Saturday and Sunday.
•The Marauders were picked to finish 13th in the NSIC.
•Haley Berube has been the leader of the UMary offense, racking up a .436 average and 1.259 OPS in 25 games with nine doubles, four triples, four home runs, and 22 RBIs, all good enough to lead the team. 
•Nicole Eckhardt is 3-10 with a 5.13 ERA in 105 1/3 innings pitched, appearing in 26 games and striking out 59 batters.   
 
ABOUT MINOT STATE
•MISU has opened the season 26-10 and 7-5 in NSIC action after sweeping Wayne State before being swept by Augustana. 
•The Beavers were picked to finish seventh in the NSIC.
•Jamie Odlum has been one of the top hitters in the nation this season, ranking third in the country in batting average (.504), sixth in on base percentage (.557), 12th in triples (5), 38th in total bases (89), 40th in slugging percentage (.774), 49th in stolen bases (20), and 57th in doubles (12). 
•Trinity Valentine has been the leader for the Beaver pitching staff, going 11-5 with a 2.16 ERA in 90 2/3 innings with 87 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a .211 batting average. 
 
 SERIES HISTORY
•SMSU is 34-27 all-time against Wayne State in a series that started in 1986. 
•The Mustangs are 10-12 all-time in Wayne but have won their last four road games. 
•SMSU has won the last nine meetings, including a pair of shutout victories last season
•SMSU is 20-14 all-time against UMary in a series that dates back to 1990. 
•The Mustangs are 5-2 at a neutral site in the series, winning a pair of shutouts last season in Aberdeen, S.D.
•SMSU has the last five meetings, including four wins last season, with the last Marauder win at a neutral site coming in 2004 in Pittsburg, Kan.   
•SMSU is 9-8 all-time against Minot State in a series that dates to 2013. 
•The Mustangs are 3-3 on the road in the series, including splitting the last doubleheader in Minot in 2019. 
•SMSU has won three of the last four meetings with the Beavers.   
 
SMSU PICKED EIGHTH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish eighth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•SMSU junior pitcher Shelby Bloemendaal and senior outfielder Bailey Johnson were both named "Players to Watch" in the conference this season. 
•Bloemendaal led the way in the circle for the Mustang last season firing a team-high 124 2/3 innings and 11 complete games, finishing with a 9-8 record with a 3.87 ERA.
• Johnson was a 2021 All-NSIC Second Team member after batting .344 with a team-high .441 on-base percentage. She hit 16 doubles, five home runs, 28 RBI and a 1.004 
 
 SEASON OPENERS
•SMSU is 31-20 all-time in season openers and is 10-3 in openers since the 2010 season after a dominant 8-0 win over Northwest Missouri State on Feb. 4.
 
MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 51st season of softball in 2022.
•SMSU has played 1,943 games compiling an all-time record of 1,002-940-1.
•SMSU has won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.