PREVIEWING THE WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (20-29 overall, 12-14 NSIC) is in the NSIC Tournament for the seventh straight conference season. 
•The Mustangs will be the home team, matching up with ninth-seeded Sioux Falls (23-23, 11-14) at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, on Field A at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester.
•The winner will move into a reseeded quarterfinal round, matching up with either Augustana or Minnesota State at 2 p.m., on Thursday.
 
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 75-82, including 42-44 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 a pair of hits against BSU on Monday, Bailey Johnson moved her career hit total to 219. 
•The fifth person in program history to reach the 200 hit plateau on Mar. 28 against Sioux Falls, Johnson is four 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, hits, total bases and on base percentage, third in slugging percentage, and sacrifice flies, and is fourth in times hit by pitch, triples, walks, and RBI's.  
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
•The Mustangs have seen the debut of six freshmen and two transfers this season. 
•Freshman Abby Russell has played all 49 games at shortstop, hitting .321 (42 for 1162) with two home runs, 14 doubles, 25 RBIs, and an OPS of .855, all while leading the team with 27 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
•Sophomore transfer Paige Shwaluk has played in 40 games, batting .294 (30 for 102) with 21 runs scored and six stolen bases. 
•Emily Tatur has started each game in centerfield, batting .229 (32 for 140) with 22 runs scored and five multi-hit games. 
•Karlie Miller has started 13 games in conference play, notching a 5.08 ERA on 42 hits while striking out 49 in 70 1/3 innings. She made a statement in her first conference start, throwing a two-hit shutout against Sioux Falls on Mar. 28, and concluded her regular season with a two-hit shutout of Bemidji State on May 2. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
• SMSU earned a pair of victories with dominant pitching against Bemidji State (11-39, 8-22) by scores of 4-1 and 1-0 on Monday afternoon on Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center
• Shelby Bloemendaal (10-9) allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out six in game one to help the Mustangs clinch a spot in the NSIC Tournament. The junior hurler from Pipestone, Minn., gave up just three hits in the final six innings after the Beavers scored a two-out run in the first.
• The Mustangs doubled the first inning total from the Beavers, as a Bailey Johnson triple, Jillian Noel RBI double, and Molly Bull RBI single, all with two outs, gave the Mustangs a 2-1 lead. 
• That score held until the fourth inning when Makenna Waldow drove in Bull with a two-out infield single to take a 3-1 lead.
• SMSU added a two-out insurance run in the fifth when Noel drove in Emily Tatur with a single through the left side to go up 4-1, which would hold to be the final score.
• The Mustangs recorded six of their eight hits with two outs in game one, with Jillian Noel and Molly Bull each collecting two hits to lead the offense. 
• Karlie Miller (8-14) dazzled in game two, picking up a two-hit shutout while walking two and striking out three to dominate the BSU bats.
• The SMSU offense also struggled in game two, as each team remained scoreless into the sixth inning, when Molly Bull drove in pinch runner Paige Shwaluk on a groundout to give the Mustangs the deciding run.
 
 
SMSU SEASON NUMBERS
•Through 49 games, SMSU is averaging 3.9 runs per game, batting .282 with 65 doubles and 12 home runs.
•The Mustangs' pitching staff has a 5.37 ERA in 306 1/3 innings with 196 strikeouts.
•Senior Bailey Johnson powers the offense, batting .362 with 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 26 runs scored, 31 RBIs, and a 1.013 OPS. 
•Sophomore Jillian Noel is batting .347 with a .926 OPS, eight doubles, 23 runs scored, and a team-high six home runs and 33 RBIs. 
•Freshman Abby Russell is hitting .321 with a pair of home runs, 27 runs scored, 25 RBIs and a team-high 14 doubles and eight stolen bases.
•Sophomore Molly Bull has been a problem for opposing pitchers in conference play, hitting .338 (22 for 465) with six doubles, 13 runs scored, and 11 RBIs. 
•Johnson leads the team with 15 multi-hit games, while Noel has recorded a 10-game hit streak this season. 
•Junior Shelby Bloemendaal has gone 10-9 in the circle with a 4.60 ERA, going 121 2/3 innings with 66 strikeouts and a pair of shutouts. 
•Freshman Karlie Miller has appeared in 22 games and has thrown 120 1/3 innings with a team-high 78 strikeouts.
•For career statistics and single-game highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/softballcareer.
 
HOME COOKIN'
•The Mustangs finished the season 10-4 (.714-win percentage) in Marshall, their best win percentage since 2013 and second-best percentage since 2008
• SMSU also finished 5-1 at the Schwan Regional Event Center, bringing their all-time record at the Schwan REC to 21-9. 
 
ABOUT SIOUX FALLS
•USF is 23-23 and 11-14 in NSIC action after a pair of sweeps against Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston
•The Cougars were picked to finish ninth in the NSIC.
•Kylie Madrid has been the offensive leader for USF, batting .375 with a 1.042 OPS and 34 runs scored, all team highs, while hitting eight home runs and driving in 34 runs.  
•Kait Van Der Zwaag has been dialed in her last three starts, allowing just one run in 16 innings. She is 7-6 on the year with a 3.72 ERA in 94 innings pitched, striking out 59 in 17 appearances in the circle. 
 
 SERIES HISTORY
•SMSU is 10-11 all-time against Sioux Falls in a series that started in 2013. 
•The Mustangs are 2-0 all-time against USF in the NSIC Tournament, with each win coming in the 2016 Tournament. 
•SMSU is 2-1 against USF on the season, defeating the Cougars 8-4 in eight innings in non-conference action on Feb. 11, before splitting a doubleheader on Mattke Field on March 28. 
•Karlie Miller would throw a gem in game two of the doubleheader, throwing a complete game shutout, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out five en route to a 2-0 victory.
 
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 1,957 games compiling an all-time record of 1,007-949-1.
•SMSU has won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.