PREVIEWING THE WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (11-18 overall, 3-3 NSIC) plays three "home" doubleheaders, starting on Wednesday against No. 18-ranked Minnesota State (22-8, 4-2) before hosting Northern State (9-19, 1-5) on Saturday and MSU Moorhead (5-17, 2-4) on Sunday. 
•Wednesday's doubleheader will be played in the MSU dome in Mankato due to a site reversal, with the Mustangs as the home team in both games, beginning at 11 a.m.
•Saturday and Sunday will both be doubleheaders at Mustang Field, with Saturday's doubleheader against Northern State beginning at 1 p.m., and Sunday's doubleheader with MSU Moorhead beginning at noon. 
 
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 66-71, including 33-33 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 four hits against Upper Iowa on Monday, Bailey Johnson moved her career hit total to 204. 
•The fifth person in program history to reach the 200 hit plateau, Johnson is 19 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 and on base percentage, third in slugging percentage and runs scored, fourth in total bases, times hit by pitch, walks and sacrifice flies, and fifth in hits and RBI's.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
•The Mustangs went 2-2 on the road, getting swept by Winona State on Sunday before sweeping Upper Iowa on Monday. 
•The Mustangs would be held to just five hits in two games against Winona State, dropping a pair of games, 10-2 and 11-0.
• Jillian Noel would have two of the five Mustang hits on the day, one in each game, while Emily Tatur, Molly Bull, and Makenna Waldow would each collect a hit.
• The Mustangs offense would show up in Fayette as SMSU would defeat UIU 14-6 in five innings in game one before defeating the Peacocks 8-6 in game two. 
• The Mustangs would pour on 16 hits in game one against Upper Iowa, as Bailey Johnson, Noel, and Lileya Kebos each have three hit games, with Noel and Bull each driving in four runs to lead the way offensively.
•The Mustangs would out-hit the Peacocks 14-9 in the second game, with Tatur going 3 for 3 and Waldow and Russell adding two hits apiece to lead the way.
•Allison Christians would come into the game with a pair of runners on and an out while leading 7-6 in the fifth inning, but would throw 2 2/3 scoreless frames to shut the door on the UIU comeback. 
 
SMSU SEASON NUMBERS
•Through 29 games, SMSU is averaging 4.3 runs per game, batting .305 with 44 doubles and seven home runs.
•The Mustangs' pitching staff has a 6.11 ERA in 176 1/3 innings with 112 strikeouts.
•Senior Bailey Johnson powers the offense, batting .400 with nine doubles, a home run, 16 RBIs, and a .994 OPS. 
•Sophomore Jillian Noel is batting .368 with a 1.002 OPS, four doubles and a team-high four home runs. 
•Freshman Abby Russell is hitting .320 with a pair of home runs, 17 runs scored and a team-high 11 doubles, five stolen bases and 20 RBIs.
•Freshman Emily Tatur is batting .303 with 11 RBI and 14 runs scored. 
•Sophomore Paige Shwaluk has scored 17 runs, added five steals, and is hitting .269. 
•The Mustangs have four batters hitting over .400 through six conference games, with Noel (.533), Bull (.500), Tatur (.471), and Kebos (.400) each setting the tone offensively. 
•Johnson leads the team with 12 multi-hit games, and Russell and Tatur have each had an eight-game hit streak at some point this season, with Noel currently hitting safely in seven straight. 
•Junior Shelby Bloemendaal has gone 6-5 in the circle with a 5.33 ERA, going 64 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts and a pair of shutouts. 
•Freshman Morgyn Otte is 0-4 in eight appearances with a 6.14 ERA in 21 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts.
•Freshman Karlie Miller has appeared in 12 games and has thrown 65 1/3 innings with a team-high 39 strikeouts.
 
 
ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
•Minnesota State has opened the season 22-8 and 4-2 in conference action after splitting with No. 7 Augustana and Wayne State last weekend. 
•The Mavericks were picked to finish second in the NSIC, and have ranked as high as sixth in the nation this season.
•MSU is led by Kylie Sullivan, whose .360 average, 1.071 OPS, eight doubles, and 13 steals lead the team. 
•Mackenzie Ward was named to the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA DII Player & Pitcher Of The Year Top 50 list, and is 14-3 with just a 1.04 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, striking out 161 batters in 107 1/3 innings. 
 
ABOUT NORTHERN STATE
•Northern State has opened the season 9-19 and is 1-5 in conference play after going 1-3 against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on Sunday and Monday.  
•The Wolves were picked to finish 10th in the NSIC.
•Liv Richardson is hitting .413 with a 1.096 OPS, four home runs, 22 RBIs, and 14 runs scored in the cleanup spot for NSU. 
•Meghan Anderson has been the ace of the pitching staff, going 6-8 with a 3.90 ERA in 93 1/3 innings while striking out 142 batters.  
 
ABOUT MSU MOORHEAD
•MSUM has opened the season 5-17 and 2-4 in NSIC action after dropping a pair to Bemidji State on Sunday and to Minnesota Crookston on Monday  
•The Dragons were picked to finish 14th in the NSIC.
•Eliyah McCarthy leads the MSUM offense, hitting .321 with 18 hits and six stolen bases. 
•Evey Evans has been effective out of the bullpen for the Dragons, going 1-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 30 innings.  
 
 SERIES HISTORY
•SMSU is 24-72 all-time against Minnesota State in a series that started in 1975. 
•The Mustangs are 10-33 all-time in Mankato, with their last win coming in 2010. 
•MSU has won 24 of the last 26 meetings, including a pair of non-conference wins earlier this season. 
•SMSU is 67-24 all-time against Northern State in a series that dates back to 1986. 
•The Mustangs are 24-9 at home in the series, but have not defeated NSU in Marshall since 2013. 
•SMSU has won three of the last four meetings, including a 4-1 victory in last season's NSIC Tournament.  
•SMSU is 81-33 all-time against MSU Moorhead in a series that dates back to 1976. 
•The Mustangs are 28-13 at home in the series, including wins in their last 13 games in Marshall, with their last home loss coming in 1999 
•SMSU has won 36 of the last 38 meetings with the Dragons.   
 
 
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 1,937 games compiling an all-time record of 998-938-1.
•SMSU has won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.