WEEKEND PREVIEW
• The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (19-30, 10-16 NSIC) returns home for its final pair of regular season games this weekend.
• SMSU is scheduled to play Minnesota State (37-13, 17-7 NSIC), which stands in a tie for third place in the NSIC, on Saturday, April 27, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on Mustang Field.

GAME COVERAGE
• Live stats for the series will be available at SMSUmustangs.com
• The series will be live streamed on the NSIC Network.

NOEL NOTABLES
• Senior Jillian Noel is batting .333 (48 for 144) at the plate including a team-high 11 doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs. Noel leads the team in RBIs (36) and has scored 15 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 (143) and doubles (48), and is sixth in total bases (310) and fourth in assists (373). 
• Noel also ranks in the top five in hits (212) and is tied for ninth in home runs (14).

QUICK HITS
• SMSU dropped a pair of games, 11-0 and 9-1 both in five innings, to Winona State at Maynard R. Johnson Field on the campus of Winona State University on Sunday.
• Riley Kramolisch had three hits on the day, while Molly Bull had two. Abby Russell, Emma Humpal, Brynn Webber, and Paris Van Dyke each collected a hit.
• Junior Abby Russell has recorded 49 hits including nine doubles and a team-high four triples while drawing a team-high 19 walks. Russell has scored 26 runs and tallied 16 RBIs.
• Sophomore Riley Kramolisch has also recorded 49 hits and has drove in 21 runs, while Molly Bull has collected 31 hits and 23 RBIs.
• Freshman Brynn Webber has knocked 33 hits, leads the team in stolen bases (16), and is third on the squad with 20 runs scored.
• SMSU is averaging 3.2 runs per game and batting .259

PITCHING PIECES
• Karlie Miller (11-16) leads the team with a single-season high 115 strikeouts in 166 2/3 innings pitched. Miller has collected 11 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 .281 hitting.
• Morgyn Otte (8-12) is second on the team with 64 strikeouts--a single-season high--and has thrown 126 innings. Otte earned her second career shutout on March 25 over Minnesota Crookston.
• SMSU has a team ERA of 4.29 in 311 1/3 innings with 194 strikeouts. Opponents are averaging 4.7 runs per game and batting .296

HEAD COACH BAILEY BOUMAN
• Bailey Bouman is in her sixth season as head coach at SMSU with an overall record of 112-146, including 64-78 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.

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
• SMSU and MSU will meet for the 102nd time with the Mavericks leading 77-24 in a series that began in 1975.
• The Mavericks sit at 37-13 overall and 17-7 in NSIC play after splitting a pair of games with Wayne State on Sunday.
• Minnesota State has not lost to SMSU since 2018.
• The Mustangs are 11-19 all-time at home in the series.

MUSTANG HISTORY
• Southwest Minnesota State is in its 53rd season of softball in 2024.
• SMSU has played in 2,058 games compiling an all-time record of 1,044-1,013-1.
• The Mustangs have won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.