WEEKEND PREVIEW
The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (17-13, 3-1 NSIC) make its home debut at Mustang Field this weekend, hosting Bemidji State (6-21, 0-4 NSIC) on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth (17-10, 2-2 NSIC) on Sunday beginning at 12 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
The games will be streaming live on the NSIC Network.
Live stats will be available at smsumustangs.com.

RECAP OF LAST WEEKEND
The Mustangs began their NSIC campaign with a sweep of Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday, before splitting the Saturday series with Minnesota Crookston.
Freshman Aliza Acker led SMSU hitting 9 of 16 on the weekend with three doubles, two home runs, and seven RBIs.
Riley Kramolisch became the eighth player in SMSU softball history to achieve 200 hits in a career on Friday, recording two hits in game one against MSUM.
Kennah Bretschneider, Emma Humpal, and Carley Stych each had four hits in the four games, with Humpal adding her third home run of the season in game one against MSUM.
Freshman pitcher Ramsey Hopp went 2-0 in her two starts, adding three hits at the plate, with three RBIs in game one against UMC.
 
MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
Jordyn Marsh (11-4) leads the Mustangs on the mound with a 1.39 ERA with 89 strikeouts and a batting average against of .226. The sophomore is also batting .298 with four doubles and 12 RBIs.
Senior Riley Kramolisch is first on the team with 36 hits and a batting average of .350. Kramolisch also leads the team in runs with 21 and triples with two.
Freshman Aliza Acker is second in hits with 32, and leads the team in doubles with nine, while Grace Anderson is hitting .303 with four doubles and a home run. Anderson is tied for second on the team with 14 RBIs.
Junior Emma Humpal leads the Mustangs with 18 RBIs and is one of five players with double-digit walks. Both Humpal and Acker have three home runs each.
Freshman third-baseman Carley Stych is tied for fourth on the team with 12 RBIs, with a .269 batting average, and two doubles.
Freshman Ramsey Hopp (6-8) has a 3.54 ERA in 85 innings, allowing 117 hits and 55 runs (43 earned), striking out 32 batters. In 42 at-bats, Hopp has a batting average of .381 and nine RBIs.
 
HEAD COACH BAILEY BOUMAN
Bailey Bouman is in her seventh season as head coach at SMSU with an overall record of 158-187, including 78-98 in NSIC play.
The 11th head coach in program history, Bouman was named to the position on Aug. 8, 2018.
The Mustangs finished the 2025 campaign with a 29-26 record, the second winning record for Bouman as head coach, with a 11-17 NSIC record and a ninth-place finish in the conference.
SMSU finished with a 19-32 overall mark in 2024. Abby Boxrud and Paris Van Dyke became the first Mustangs to earn All-NSIC Defensive honors in the Bouman era.
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.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE BEAVERS
The Mustangs will meet Bemidji State for the 101^st and 102^nd time on Saturday with SMSU leading the series 72-28 all time.
The series is tied 5-5 in the past 10 meetings; the Mustangs however hold a 3-1 record in the last four games played at Mustang Field.
Bailey Bouman has a 10-6 record against BSU as head coach at SMSU.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
SMSU faces Minnesota Crookston for the 125^th and 126^th time on Sunday. The Bulldogs hold an 83-41 advantage in the series.
UMD is gotten the better of SMSU as of late, with the Bulldogs holding a 10-1 record against the Mustangs in the last 11 games.
On a more positive note, the series is tied 3-3 in the last six games at Mustang Field.
Coach Bouman holds a 4-12 record against UMC.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE MUSTANGS
SMSU remain in Marshall for a pair of doubleheaders next weekend against NSIC favorites. SMSU begins the weekend against Winona State on Friday, April 3, beginning at 1 p.m. The Mustangs then face Minnesota State the following Saturday beginning at 12 p.m.
 
MUSTANG HISTORY
Southwest Minnesota State is in its 55th season of softball in 2026.
SMSU has played in 2,145 games, compiling an all-time record of 1,090-1,054-1.
The Mustangs have won 10 NSIC regular season championships, two NSIC Tournament titles and has played in four NCAA Tournaments.