SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 24 Augustana College softball begins postseason play this week as the No. 3 seed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament. The Vikings (40-11) will take on No. 6 seed Minnesota Duluth (25-19) at 12 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls. Augustana is making its sixth straight NSIC Tournament appearance and owns an all-time record of 14-9 in the league tournament.
Augustana enters the week ranked fourth in the NCAA Central Region Rankings. The top eight teams in the final regional rankings on May 5 will earn a spot in the Central Region Tournament. Automatic bids will be awarded to the conference tournament winners from the NSIC, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and the Great American Conference.
Augustana in the NSIC Tournament• Augustana has qualified for the NSIC Tournament every season since joining the league in 2009.
• Augustana is making its sixth straight NSIC Tournament appearance.
• Augustana is 14-9 all-time in the NSIC Tournament.
• Augustana won the NSIC Tournament in 2011.
• Thursday's game will be the third time Augustana and Minnesota Duluth have met in the NSIC Tournament since 2009.
• Augustana is 1-1 all-time against Minnesota Duluth in the conference tournament.
Making history• Junior
Jenelle Trautmann made history in a big way on Friday, April 18, becoming Augustana's all-time leader in home runs.
• Trautmann entered the game needing one to break the school record of 43 career home runs which was set by her former teammate
Theresa McMahon (2010-13).
• Trautmann blasted three home runs against Concordia-St. Paul on April 18 to break the record while also tying a single game record with three home runs in the game.
• Trautmann has hit 48 career home runs and has 12 on the season.
1,400 wins and counting• With a win in the first game of a doubleheader last Friday at Minot State, Augustana softball won its 1,400th game in program history.
• In the 42nd season of softball at Augustana, the program owns an overall record of 1,403-587-3.
• In 42 seasons, the Augustana softball program has recorded 34 winning seasons.
National news• Augustana is ranked 24th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Top 25 poll.
• The Vikings were ranked 22nd in the NFCA preseason poll.
• The Vikings are 3-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• In the first game of the season, Augustana took down the defending national champion and No. 1 ranked team in Central Oklahoma.
• The complete list of the NFCA Preseason rankings can be found on page 3.
Last time out• Augustana went 4-0 on its regular-season ending road trip last weekend picking up sweeps over Minot State and U-Mary.
• Augustana out-scored both teams by a combined score of 35-7.
• The Vikings opened the weekend with a pair of wins at Minot State winning the opener 9-4 before winning game two 11-2.
• Freshman shortstop
Sarah Kennedy had a big day in the doubleheader at Minot State going 6 for 7 with ah ome run and five RBI.
• Augustana picked up 21 hits in the doubleheader and won the program's 1,400th game after winning game one.
• The Vikings closed-out the regular season with a 9-1 five-inning win in game one at U-Mary before shutting out the Marauders 6-0 in game two.
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Lindsay Spanton hit her ninth home run of the season in game one while going 2 for 2 with two RBI and three runs scored.
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Caitlin Nichol provided another multiple-hit game for the Vikings going 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
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Carley Pickett tosed six shutout innings int he nightcap while striking out seven batters for her 14th win of the season.
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Sarah Kennedy,
Jenelle Trautmann and
Maddie Merriam each had two hits in the win for the Vikings.
About Minnesota Duluth• Minnesota Duluth enters the NSIC Tournament with an overall record of 25-19.
• UMD finished sixth overall in the NSIC with an 11-8 record.
• The Bulldogs finished the regular season last weekend splitting a four-game road trip going 1-1 at Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State.
• UMD enters the conference tournament batting .285 as a team with 66 doubles, three triples and 38 home runs.
• Sami Schnyder leads UMD at the plate with a .383 batting average.
• Jordan Rice is batting .341 for the Bulldogs with a team-high 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 34 RBI.
• Cayli Sadler leads the UMD pitching staff with a 19-10 record and a 2.61 ERA.
• She has struck out 155 batters in 185 innings and is holding opponents to a .255 batting average.
• Jen Banford is in her ninth season as the head coach at Minnesota Duluth.
Inside the series• Augustana is 43-14 all-time against Minnesota Duluth.
• The two teams split the regular season series this season with Minnesota Duluth winning the opener 4-1 before the Vikings picked up a 9-2 win in game two.
• Augustana is 22-7 all-time against Minnesota Duluth when playing at a neutral site.
• The Vikings have won 14 of the last 17 meetings between the two teams.
• Augustana is 1-1 all-time against Minnesota Duluth in the NSIC Tournament.
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