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This week
No. 22 Augustana (35-6, 13-3 NSIC) will play eight games over the next six days, four at home and four on the road.
How it breaks down
The Vikings will host Chadron State (13-26) on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and No. 3 Winona State (32-3, 13-1 NSIC) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Augustana will travel to Minnesota, Crookston (9-24, 3-13 NSIC) on Saturday and MSU Moorhead (6-25, 1-13 NSIC) on Sunday at noon. All meetings are doubleheaders.
The series
The Vikings are 3-1 against Chadron State and 16-11 when facing Winona State, despite two non-conference losses earlier this season. Augustana is 6-0 all-time against Minnesota, Crookston and 16-2 when taking on MSU Moorhead.
Gretta Melsted is 3-1 against CSC, 5-7 against WSU, 6-0 against UMC and 9-0 when facing MSUM
Last time out
The Vikings went 4-2 in six conference games last week. Augustana lost twice to No. 11 Minnesota State, 2-0 and 6-2, swept St. Cloud State, 4-2 and 6-2 and beat Concordia University, St. Paul 14-4 and 12-10 in eight innings.
Playing hot
Elizabeth Murray (Cottage Grove, Minn.) hit .556 in six games last week. Murray led the team with 10 hits and eight RBIs while adding three home runs in four wins. In addition to the hits, Murray picked up six walks to increase her season total to 24. Murray's best performance came against Concordia University, St. Paul when she went 5 for 5 with four RBIs and a home run.
Player Awards
Ashley Meyer (Rapid City, S.D.) picked up her second NSIC Pitcher of the Week award last week after throwing a no-hitter and finishing the week 3-0. Meyer has won the award three times in her three years at Augustana.
The closer
Chelsey Durland (Maple Plain, Minn.) went 1-0 with one save and a .078 ERA last week. Durland threw in four games and gave up only five hits and just one earned run in 9.0 innings pitched. Durland also had nine strikeouts. Against St. Cloud State, Durland threw 3.0 innings and struck out three and allowed only two batters to reach to earn the save.
Finding the gap
Augustana hit 10 doubles last week, including three each from
Kelsey Kalkman (Carver, Minn.) and
Lindsay Spanton (Apple Valley, Minn.). The Vikings have hit 72 doubles this season, and Spanton has a team-leading 13.
Rockin' rotation
Augustana's pitching rotation has combined for 220 strikeouts in 271 innings pitched, including 32 in the past 42 innings.
Ashley Meyer (Rapid City, S.D.),
Jenelle Trautmann (Hastings, Minn.) and
Chelsey Durland (Maple Plain, Minn.) form one of the most dominant pitching corps. in the conference. The three have allowed only 71earned runs and just 12 home runs.
See ball, hit ball
Augustana is first in the NSIC in doubles (26), second in runs scored (68) and hits (147) and third third in batting average (.329) and slugging percentage (.515).
Laying it down
Chelsi Winskowski (Elk River, Minn.) has six sacrifice hits, while
Elizabeth Murray (Cottage Grove, Minn.) has five. Winskowski and Murray have 18 and 24 RBIs, respectively, this season.
Viking Power
The Vikings have 49 team home runs in 41 games this season, including 13 in six games last weekend. The Vikings are currently on pace to break the team record for home runs in a season of 72 set in 2011. Team leaders in home runs are as follows:
Jenelle Trautmann 11
Theresa McMahon 9
Matley Jones 7
Elizabeth Murray 7
Kelsey Kalkman 5
Lindsay Spanton 4
Chelsi Winskowski 3
Taylor Kapsch 2
Chelsey Durland 1
Making a name for herself
Matley Jones (Lincoln, Neb.) leads the team with a .486 batting average (34 for 70) with seven home runs and only six strikeouts. Jones has a team-leading percentages of .843 slugging and .513 on-base.
Speed wins
Chelsi Winskowski (Elk River, Minn.),
Jenny Brown (Omaha, Neb.) and
Elissa Reinsma (Slayton, Minn.) are the Vikings' top-three in stolen bases. Winskowski has 12, Brown has seven and Reinsma has six. Brown also has added two triples this season while Winskowski has dropped in 10 doubles.
National Rankings
Augustana sits at No. 22 in the latest national poll released April 4. The Vikings have been as high as No. 8 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll and have been ranked all season. To view the complete poll, turn to page 6.
Coaches' corner
Gretta Melsted, head coach at Augustana since 2007, has complied an impressive 80-14 record in just more than three seasons of NSIC competition, and is 201-111 (282-202) overall as she begins her sixth season as head coach at Augustana. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Melsted was named the NSIC Coach of the Year. Melsted notched her 250th career win at the Desert Stinger and her 200th win at Augustana last week.
Michael Mook is in his third season as a graduate assistant coach for the Augustana softball program, and works primarily with the pitching staff. Graduate assistant Kelsey Thompson is in her second year with the team.
