WEEKEND PREVIEW
• The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (17-26, 8-12 NSIC) is back at home for an NSIC doubleheader against the University of Sioux Falls (16-25, 7-13 NSIC).
• The series was originally scheduled to be played on Tuesday, but rain and storm systems developing in the Marshall area postponed the games one day.
• The Mustangs face off against the Cougars on Wednesday, April 17, with the first pitch of game one scheduled for 2 p.m. on Mustang Field.

GAME COVERAGE
• Live stats for both games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com
• Both games will be live streamed on the NSIC Network.

NOEL NOTABLES
• Senior Jillian Noel leads the Mustangs in batting going .344 (44 for 128) at the plate including a team-high nine doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs. Noel leads the team in RBIs (33) and has scored 14 runs.
• Noel tied a career-high four hits and drove in a career-high five runs against Minnesota Crookston on March 25, including sealing the deal in the sixth inning with an RBI-single to right field.
• She also tallied her 200th career hit in the 2-1 win over St. Cloud State on April 6. Noel is just the sixth Mustang softball player to reach the mark.
• The senior third baseman is second all-time in program history in RBIs (140), tied for second in doubles (46), and is sixth in total bases (304) and fifth in assists (359). 
• Noel also ranks in the top five in hits (208) and is tied for ninth in home runs (14).

QUICK HITS
• MSU Moorhead rallied twice to down SMSU, 6-3 and 3-2, in an NSIC softball doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Nemzek Field.
• Junior Abby Russell has recorded 44 hits including eight doubles and a team-high four triples while drawing a team-high 18 walks. Russell has scored 24 runs and tallied 14 RBIs.
• Sophomore Riley Kramolisch is third on the team with 40 hits and has drove in 15 runs, while Abby Boxrud has collected 27 hits.
• Freshman Brynn Webber has knocked 28 hits, leads the team in stolen bases (16), and is third on the squad with 17 runs scored.
• SMSU is averaging 3.2 runs per game and batting .256

PITCHING PIECES
• Karlie Miller (9-14) leads the team with a single-season high 105 strikeouts in 146 innings pitched. Miller has collected nine wins, including two shutouts, and has recorded three saves this season. The junior has a team-low 3.40 ERA and has held opponents to .282 hitting.
• Morgyn Otte (8-10) is second on the team with 60 strikeouts--a single-season high--and has thrown 116 innings. Otte earned her second career shutout on March 25 over Minnesota Crookston.
• SMSU has a team ERA of 3.86 in 277 2/3 innings with 176 strikeouts. Opponents are averaging 4.4 runs per game and batting .287

HEAD COACH BAILEY BOUMAN
• Bailey Bouman is in her sixth season as head coach at SMSU with an overall record of 110-142, including 62-74 in NSIC play.
• The 11th head coach in program history, Bouman was named to the position on Aug. 8, 2018.
• The Mustangs finished the 2023 season 17-32 and missed the NSIC Tournament for the first time in three seasons. 
• SMSU finished 21-31 in 2022, and won its second NSIC Tournament game in consecutive seasons.
• The Mustangs finished 27-20 in 2021, their best season since 2011, while winning their first NSIC tournament game since Bouman's first season in 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.

SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
• SMSU and USF will meet for the 25th time with the Cougars leading 13-11 in a series that began in 2013.
• Sioux Falls sits at 16-25 overall and 7-13 in NSIC play after getting swept by St. Cloud State on Sunday.
• SMSU lost both games last season but has won six of the previous 10 matchups.
• The Mustangs are 5-3 all-time at home in the series, including winning three of the last four in Marshall. 

MUSTANG HISTORY
• Southwest Minnesota State is in its 53rd season of softball in 2024.
• SMSU has played in 2,052 games compiling an all-time record of 1,042-1,009-1.
• The Mustangs have won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.