GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana won the regular season crown to earn the No. 1 seed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament and will host No. 8-seeded U-Mary on Thursday at Bowden Field. The first pitch is scheduled for noon. Turn to page 11 to see the complete tournament bracket.
Watch it live: Fans can view the tournament homepage at www.GoAugie.com/softball. Log on to the site to view live stats of all the tournament games.
The series: Augustana and U-Mary have faced one another eight times and the Vikings have yet to drop a game to the Marauders. On April 3, Augustana hosted U-Mary for a doubleheader and the Vikings blanked the Marauders in both games and racked up a total of 15 runs.
Gretta Melsted is 7-0 against U-Mary. For more information on the series turn to page nine.
Last time out: Augustana went 4-2 last week, spoiling its 15 game winning streak with a pair of losses to Wayne State in its last regular season doubleheader. Prior to the losses, the Vikings swept both Upper Iowa and No. 12 Winona State. Augustana defeated UIU 10-1 in Game 1 and 3-1 in Game 2. The Vikings then had 6-2 and 8-5 victories over WSU before being blanked by the Wildcats 1-0 in Game 1 and losing 4-3 in Game 2. Despite the losses to end the regular season, Augustana still finished with a strong conference record of 22-3 to earn the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title last Saturday.
Record breaker: Traci Fransen (Jackson, Minn.) reset Angie Hopkins' seven-year home run record last weekend, belting her 35th career homer last Thursday against Winona State.
Double digits: There are three Vikings that have recorded double-digit homers this season.
Theresa McMahon (Hartford, S.D.) currently leads the team with 13 home runs and
Traci Fransen (Jackson, Minn.) and
Kelsey Kalkman (Carver, Minn.) aren't far behind with 11 and 10, respectively. With so many Vikings belting balls over the fence, Augustana reset the previous record of 58 homers in a season. The Vikings have smashed 60 homers this season to break the old record set in 2010.
Once upon a time: Last season, the Vikings also clinched the regular season conference title and hosted the NSIC Tournament. Augustana found early success in the tournament, defeating Southwest Minnesota State (7-3) and Minnesota State (3-0), but a 2-0 loss to Wayne State snapped the Vikings' momentum. Augustana battled back with a 9-8 win over Concordia University, St. Paul before meeting WSU in the championship. Augustana fell once more to the Wildcats 2-0.
Tremendous twenty: Ashley Meyer (Rapid City, S.D.) won her 20th game this season on Thursday against Winona State. The all-star pitcher has a team low ERA of 1.17 and is holding opponents to a .227 batting average. Meyer has struck out a total of 163 batters this season.
Perfect in the field: Lindsay Spanton (Apple Valley, Minn.) has made 75 putouts and two assists with no errors on the season. Her impressive stats aren't just out in the field, however. The standout freshman has the second highest batting and slugging averages on the team at .403 and .694, respectively. Spanton also is one of three leading the team with 12 doubles.
NSIC honors: The Vikings have had four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Players of the Week this season.
Chelsey Durland (Maple Plain, Minn.) earned the honors most recently (April 25) and
Kelsey Kalkman (Carver, Minn.) received the award on March 1.
Traci Fransen (Jackson, Minn.) was Player of the Week on April 19 and
Ashley Meyer (Rapid City, S.D.) earned Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 14.
Ranked: Augustana concluded the regular season 6-1 against ranked opponents, defeating No. 12 Indianapolis, No. 21 Dowling , No. 6 Minnesota State and No. 12 Winona State.
Schedule updates: A continued softball game from April 5 that was scheduled to be completed April 25 between Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minn., has been cancelled. The Vikings also had a cancelled game against Nebraska-Omaha this season.
National Rankings: Augustana moved up another two spots and is ranked No. 10 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll announced April 27.
Regional Ranking: Augustana is ranked No. 1 for the second consecutive time this season in the latest Central Region Rankings released April 27 by the NCAA.
Players to watch: Senior third baseman
Traci Fransen (Jackson, Minn.) and junior pitcher
Ashley Meyer (Rapid City, S.D.) were named NSIC "Players to Watch". Fransen started in all 60 games for the Vikings and lead the team with 15 home runs and 66 RBIs last season. She earned NFCA National Player of the Week honors, was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Central Region first team and was selected Daktronics All-Central Region second team. Meyer made 28 starts a year ago, recorded three shutouts and posted a 20-7 record with a 1.56 ERA. She was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Central Region second team, earned Daktronics All-Central Region first team honors and was named NSIC Rookie of the Year. Both Fransen and Meyer earned All-NSIC first team in the 2010 season.
About the squad: The Vikings retain a young look with
Traci Fransen (Jackson, Minn.) and
Mickey Anderson (Norfolk, Neb.) the only seniors on the roster. Despite being young, Augustana has the pieces in place to contend for a regional championship. Back in 2011 are five Vikings who appeared in all 60 games a year ago and two others who played extensively in at least 55 contests. Six Vikings who earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference recognition in 2010 also return.
Coaches' corner: Gretta Melsted, head coach at Augustana since 2007, was voted Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2010. Augustana was second in the NSIC standings at the conclusion of the 2009 regular-season schedule and jumped to first place in 2010. Melsted has compiled an impressive 43-8 record in two seasons of NSIC competition and is 156-101 overall in her four seasons as head coach.
Michael Mook is in his second season as a graduate assistant coach for the Augustana softball program in 2010-11, working primarily with pitchers. Graduate assistant coach Kelsey Thompson is in her first year with the Augustana softball program in 2010-11.
The Augustana Coaches' Show: Live from the Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeff Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics.
Stay connected: Follow Augustana all season long on its official online home, www.GoAugie.com. You can also get the latest news and updates on the Vikings on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GoAugie) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GoAugie). To view video highlights and the latest episode of the Augustana Sportscene, log onto the Vikings' official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/GoAugie).
According to the coaches: Augustana received two first-place votes and 168 points to be selected second in the 2011 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The NSIC's 13 head coaches vote in the poll.
1. Wayne State (9) 177
2. Augustana (2) 168
3. Winona State (3) 163
4. Minnesota State 147
5. Concordia-St. Paul 126
6. Minnesota Duluth 120
7. Southwest Minnesota State 116
8. University of Mary 93
9. St. Cloud State 91
10. Upper Iowa 77
11. Northern State 57
12. MSU Moorhead 52
13. Bemidji State 38
14. Minnesota, Crookston 31
First place votes in ( )
