After making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season, the Augustana College softball team has a lot to look forward to in 2015. The Vikings graduated just one player last year and bring back 11 veterans, including nine starters from last year's team that finished 46-15 and hosted the Central Super Regional for the third time since 2011.
 
With a group of talented freshman added to the mix, the Vikings will look to build on past season's success to push towards another national tournament appearance.  With a deep and talented bench in 2015, the Vikings will look to get out of their comfort zone with numerous and creative lineup combinations.
 
Gretta Melsted, now in her ninth season as the Vikings' skipper, has five seniors and three juniors on her 16-player roster, including four all-conference performers. Melsted enters the 2015 season with two milestones within reach. Melsted is 22 wins shy of 400 career wins (378-240) and just three wins away from her 300th win at Augustana (297-149).

Augustana softball received six first-place votes and was picked to finish second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll and was ranked 14th in the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Top 25 Preseason Poll. 
 
Around the horn
 
Leading the group of returning players is NSIC Preseason Player of the Year and three-time All-America selection Jenelle Trautmann. Trautmann started all 61 games last season and batted .337 with 10 doubles, a team-high 19 home runs and 58 RBI. The 19 home runs by Trautmann set a new single season record at Augustana which she set the previous two seasons with 18 in 2012 and 2013. She became the program's all-time leader in home runs last season, blasting 55 in her career. Trautmann, a three-time All-NSIC First Team selection, also made 42 appearances in the circle last season, posting a 27-7 record with a 2.82 ERA while striking out 172 batters.
 
Also returning in the circle for the Vikings this season is junior left-hander Carley Pickett who led all of NCAA Division II in saves last season with nine. Pickett, an All-NSIC Second Team selection in 2014, made 41 pitching appearances last season, compiling a record of 17-7 with a 2.32 ERA. She tossed eight complete games and struck out 128 batters in 165.2 innings of work while holding opponents to a .259 batting average. Also returning on the pitching staff in 2015 is junior right-hander Karlee Koopman who posted a 2-1 record and a 1.99 ERA in 25 appearances last season.
 
Completing the battery of the Viking pitching staff will be senior catcher Jordan Schaffer and freshman catcher Maggie Kadrlik. Schaffer started all 61 games last season at catcher and the offensive player position. Schaffer batted .300 with 48 hits, including seven doubles and 13 home runs. She came up big in clutch situations last season hitting five game-winning home runs and drove in 44 runs on the season. Kadrlik will serve as the battery mate for Pickett during her freshman and could also battle for some time at first base. Kadrlik was a three-sport athlete and four-year letterwinner and starter in softball. She was a four -time all-conference selection in softball and was named Simley High School's Athena Athlete of the Year her senior season.
 
Senior Caitlin Nichol will guard the third-base line at the hot corner after starting all 61 games at third base last season. Nichol, named a "Player to Watch" in the NSIC in 2015, batted .322 last season with 64 hits, including eight doubles and 14 home runs. She drove in 40 runs and compiled a .573 slugging percentage and a .421 on-base percentage. Nichol stole 14 bases in 16 attempts and was hit by a pitch a team-high 22 times in 2014.
 
Returning at shortstop for the Vikings in 2015 is Sarah Kennedy who earned All-NSIC First Team honors as a freshman last year. Kennedy started all 61 games and led the team with 75 hits and a .373 batting average. She finished the season with nine home runs, six doubles and one triple while driving in 31 runs.
 
Junior Maddie Merriam returns will play second base after playing in 59 of 61 games at second base last season, including 56 starts. Merriam batted .250 with 34 hits, including five doubles and four home runs. She compiled a .974 fielding percentage to go along with 93 putouts and 98 assists.
 
First base by committee will be the theme for the Vikings as Trautmann and Koopman will split time there when not in the pitching circle. Three freshmen could also find themselves at first base, with Kadrlik, Morgan Beaner and Kaylea Schorr all competing for a spot in the lineup.  
 
Beaner, a native of Harrisburg, S.D., was a two-year starter for the South Dakota Fusion and batted .427 with 14 home runs and eight doubles while driving in 62 runs senior season. She hit 28 home runs in two seasons, picking up 14 as a junior to go along with 63 RBI. Schorr started for four seasons and was named all-state her senior season out of Kasson-Mantorville High School. She was a three-time all-conference selection that finished her career with 36 doubles and 129 runs scored.
 
Augustana has a lot of options in the outfield this season with five returners roaming between the foul lines.
 
Senior outfielder Erin Kempf, who has started 108 games the last two seasons, will roam the outfield in her usual spot in left field for the Vikings. Kempf batted .253 with six doubles and 22 RBI last season while compiling a .984 fielding percentage. She provides a veteran and steady glove in the outfield for the Vikings as Kempf has recorded just two career errors to go along with 105 putouts and eight assists.
 
Mackenzie Alstott returns for her senior season after earning All-NSIC Second Team honors starting 58 games last season, including 56 in center field. Alstott won't see much time in the field to start the season as she is coming off surgery this offseason but when she returns, her speed out of the left-handed batters box will be a welcomed asset. Alstott batted .324 last season with three doubles and 10 RBI. She posted a .401 on-base percentage last season and led the team with 14 sacrifice bunts and 16 stolen bases.
 
Taking over in center field for the Vikings to open the season will be junior Carly Peterson. Peterson batted .322 last season with nine doubles and a team-high two triples. She drove in 21 runs and hit one home run while posting a .410 on-base percentage.
 
Abby Chandler will get the nod in right field after appearing in 31 games her freshman campaign in 2014 picking up three hits, including two doubles. Pickett could also see time in right field along with freshmen Katie Parker and Kylie Rome. Parker, a native of Lakeville, Minn., brings a solid bat to the lineup after earning all-state honors her senior season at Lakeville North High School last year. Rome was a four-year letterwinner and starter at Blair High School in Nebraska and batted .430 with 17 doubles, five triples and three home runs her senior season.
 
The wait is nearly over as the 2015 Augustana softball team will head for warmer weather for its season opener later this week. The Vikings open the regular season this Friday, Feb. 13, with two games at the Desert Stinger in Las Vegas, Nev. Augustana opens play against Regis (Colo.) at 4 p.m. on Friday before taking on Dixie State at 9 p.m.