Storylines
• No. 24 Augustana softball (19-5) is set for its home opener this Wednesday, March 25. 
• The Vikings will begin the home portion of its season hosting Wayne State (14-6) in the NSIC opener for both teams.
• First pitch in game one of the doubleheader is set for 3 p.m. at Bowden Field. 
• Augustana will continue play at Bowden Field this weekend, hosting U-Mary (11-15) and Minot State (19-4) on Saturday and Sunday. 
• Augustana and U-Mary will play a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday. 
• First pitch of game one of two against Augustana and Minot State is set for 12 p.m. on Sunday. 
• Augustana head coach Gretta Melsted is three wins shy of her 400th career victory (397-245). 

The chase is on -- Augustana's home run Queen tracking down NCAA record
• Senior Jenelle Trautmann leads all players in the NSIC with 12 home runs this season. 
• Trautmann, Augustana's all-time leader in home runs, has now hit 67 in her career which ranks third all-time in NCAA Division II history. 
• Trautmann is now just eight home runs shy of moving into a tie for second all-time. 
• Kutztown's Steph Denlinger (2006-09) is the NCAA Division II leader in career home runs with 79.
• Trautmann currently ranks tied for 20th all-time in NCAA history (all divisions) in career home runs.
• With three more home runs, Trautmann would become just the fourth non-Division I player in NCAA history to hit 70-plus career home runs.  

National news
• Augustana is ranked 24th in the NFCA Top 25 Poll.
• The Vikings spent the last three weeks at No. 25 in the coaches poll.  
• Augustana opened the season ranked 14th in the Preseason NFCA Top 25 Poll.
• Augustana spent 13 weeks in the NFCA Top 25 in 2014, being ranked as high as fifth for three straight weeks. 
• The Vikings were ranked 15th in the final NFCA Top 25 Poll in 2014.   
• The complete list of the NFCA Preseason rankings can be found on page 4.

Against ranked opponents in 2015
• Augustana has played five games against ranked opponents this season and is 4-1 in those games.
• The Vikings defeated No. 3 Dixie State 2-1 on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas. 
• The Vikings came up short in a 9-2 loss to No. 19 Humboldt State on Feb. 14.
• Augustana defeated 17th-ranked Emporia State 12-8 on Feb. 21 at the Huskydome Classic.
• During its spring trip, Augustana defeated 14th-ranked Caldwell 4-2. 
• Most recently, Augustana defeated No. 16 Central Oklahoma 4-2. 

Lotta games, little time
• Augustana opened the season playing 10 games in 10 days participating at the Desert Stinger (Feb. 13-14) and the Huskydome Classic (Feb. 20-22). 
• Augustana played eight games in four days in Clermont, Fla. and followed that up with six games in three days in St. Joseph, Mo. 
• Augustana played 14 games in eight games during spring break. 

NSIC Player of the Week
• Jenelle Trautmann was named the NSIC's Player of the Week on Monday, March 23 after a big week over spring break. 
• Trautmann batted .452 with 14 hits in 31 at-bats, including two doubles and five home runs in 12 games.
• She also drove in 15 runs and compiled a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .575 on-base percentage. 
• She had a hit in 9 of the 12 games, including four multiple hit games. Trautmann also had multiple RBIs in four of the 12 games. 
• Trautmann also went 7-1 with a 2.79 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 42.2 innings. 
• The honor marked the fifth NSIC weekly honor of her career, the second as player of the week this season.
• Trautmann has been named the NSIC's pitcher of the week three times in her career.

Scouting the competition
Wayne State
• Wayne State enters conference play with a record of 14-6 on the season. 
• The Wildcats played six games at the Missouri Western Tournament last weekend, going 3-3. 
• Wayne State lost its final two games of the trip, falling 7-1 to Missouri Western and 7-2 to Central Oklahoma. 
• The Wildcats are batting .327 as a team this season with 35 doubles, three triples and six home runs. 
• Lexie Loos leads the team batting .486 on the year with six doubles and a home run. 
• Kaiti Williams is batting .412 with a team-high eight doubles and 20 RBI.
• Kelcie Bormann owns a 9-4 record in 14 appearances (10 starts). Bormann owns a 2.92 ERA and has struck out 84 batters in 74.1 innings. 
• Shelli Manson is in her first season as the head coach at Wayne State after spending the last five as the head coach at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. 
• Manson owns a career record of 73-99.

U-Mary
• The University of Mary owns a record of 11-15 on the season and is set to open NSIC play hosting Minot State in a twinbill on Tuesday. 
• U-Mary is batting .332 as a team with 31 doubles, 12 triples and 14 home runs. 
• The Marauders have stole 94 bases on the year. 
• Alana Norman leads the team with a .511 batting average and 28 stolen bases. 
• Julissa Perales is batting .360 with a team-high eight doubles and 22 RBI. 
• Nena Dudley owns a 9-5 record in the circle and has compiled a 4.39 ERA in 20 appearances. 
• Dudley has struck out 104 batters in 96.1 innings of work. 
• KJ Kelley is in her second season as the head coach at U-Mary. She owns a career record of 44-36.

Minot State
• Minot State enters the week with a record of 19-4 on the season and has won eight straight games. 
• The Beavers went 8-2 on their 10-game trip to Clermont, Fla. and will open NSIC play on Tuesday at U-Mary. 
• Minot State is batting .340 as a team on the season and has hit 29 doubles, six triples and 17 home runs. 
• Minot State is led at the plate by Jordan Grant who is batting .524 with two doubles and one triple. 
• Ali Cygan is batting .365 and has a team-high four doubles and 29 RBI. 
• Mindy Lorimor has compiled a 1.69 ERA and a 13-3 record in 17 appearances this season. She has struck out 87 batters in 103.1 innings. 
• Bill Triplett is in his eighth season as the head coach at Minot State. He owns a career record of 228-90.

One streak ends, another starts
• Sophomore shortstop Sarah Kennedy had her 23-game hitting streak come to an end in the first game of the Missouri Western Tournament. 
• Kennedy had a hit in all 18 games this season and had a 23-game hitting streak dating back to May 9 of last season. 
• After being held without a hit against Pittsburg State on March 20, Kennedy had a hit in the next five straight games starting a brand new streak. 
• Kennedy leads the team batting .512 on the season and has a team-high 11 doubles. 
• She has two or more hits in 18 games this season and had two-plus hits in nine straight games from Feb. 22-March 18. 
• Kennedy has one triple and three home runs on the year to go along with 23 RBI. 

The pitching staff
• Jenelle Trautmann leads the Vikings pitching staff with a record of 11-1 on the season. 
• Trautmann has compiled a 3.06 ERA in 13 starts and 18 appearances. 
• Trautmann has struck out a team-high 103 batters in 84.2 innings of work. 
• Trautmann went 7-1 last week, striking out 61 batters in 42.2 innings of work. 
• She struck out five or more batters in seven of her nine appearances last week, including a season-high 10 against Pittsburg State on March 20. 
• Karlee Koopman is 4-1 in 10 appearances (four starts) in 2015. 
• Koopman has tossed one complete game and is holding batters to a .264 average while striking out 19. 
• Carley Pickett has improved her record to 4-3 on the season in 18 appearances. 
• She leads the NSIC and shares the national lead with four saves on the season. 
• Pickett is holding batters to a .256 batting average and has struck out 53 batters in 47.2 innings pitched. 
• Pickett now has 17 career saves, and is one shy of tying the school record of 18 held by Chelsey Durland (2009-12).
• Pickett led all of NCAA Division II in saves in 2014 with nine. 

Setting the table
• Senior third baseman Caitlin Nichol is batting .442 out of the leadoff spot and has two doubles and four home runs. 
• Nichol has scored a team-high 28 runs and owns a .516 on-base percentage. 
• She has a hit in 18 of 24 games, including two or more hits in 11 games.
• Nichol had a career-high four hits against Western Oregon on Feb. 14 and has driven in a career-high three runs on two occasions this season.   

Off to a fast start
• Senior Jenelle Trautmann is batting .484 with 31 hits, including two doubles and 12 home runs. 
• Trautmann leads the NSIC and ranks third in the country in home runs. 
• She has driven in 37 runs this year which leads all players in the NSIC and ranks ninth in the nation. 
• Trautmann leads the NSIC with a 1.094 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage. 
• She matched her career-high with five RBI against Western Oregon on Feb. 14 and has driven in two or more runs in 10 games this season.