Storylines
• No. 18 Augustana softball will close-out an eight-game homestand this Tuesday with a doubleheader against Upper Iowa University (9-16, 3-1 NSIC). 
• First pitch in the twinbill is set for 3 p.m. at Bowden Field.
• The Vikings will then hit the road on Friday and Saturday for a pair of NSIC doubleheaders. 
• The Vikings will take on Northern State (18-9, 4-0 NSIC) on Friday, April 3 at 1 p.m. in Aberdeen before squaring off with MSU Moorhead (10-8, 0-4 NSIC) for two more at noon on Saturday.
• Augustana has won six straight games and is coming off a weekend sweep of U-Mary and Minot State. 
• The Vikings crushed the ball all over the yard this weekend, finishing with eight doubles and seven home runs.

Scouting the competition
Upper Iowa
• Upper Iowa enters Tuesday's doubleheader with an 8-17 record on the season, including 3-1 in conference play. 
• The Peacocks went 3-1 last weekend opening the NSIC season on the road. 
• Upper Iowa split with Bemidji State falling 6-4 in game one before winning game two 6-4. 
• Upper Iowa then swept Minnesota Crookston winning 11-9 and 6-2. 
• Upper Iowa is batting .278 as a team with 28 doubles, one triple and nine home runs. 
• Jacqueline Flood leads Upper Iowa at the plate batting .403 with five doubles, one triple and a team-high three home runs. 
• Whitney Williams is batting .351 with a team-high six doubles. 
• Brooke Redmond owns a 4-9 record in the circle in 13 appearances and starts. 
• Redmond has struck out 57 batters and compiled a 4.03 ERA in 74.2 innings of work. 
• Amanda Bradberry is in her second season as the head coach at Upper Iowa.

Northern State
• Northern State swept a pair of road doubleheaders last weekend to improve to 17-10 on the season, including 4-0 in NSIC play. 
• The Wolves swept Southwest Minnesota State winning both games 5-0. 
• NSU then scored 25 runs in two games, sweeping USF by scores of 20-17 and 5-1 on a blustery Sunday in Sioux Falls. 
• Northern State is batting .270 as a team on the season and has hit 34 doubles, two triples and 19 home runs. 
• The Wolves have stole 30 bases in 37 attempts on the season, led by Kalie Maiden who is 10 of 11. 
• Eryn Yancy leads the team with a .325 batting average and has a team-high nine doubles, seven home runs and 21 RBI. 
• Kami Smesmo is 11-4 in the circle with a 2.73 ERA. Smesmo has struck out 60 batters in 100 innings pitched. 
• Former Viking Kristi Villar is in her fifth season as the head coach at Northern State. 
• Villar was a four-time All-NCC honoree, two-time All-America selection and the NCC Freshman of the Year in 2003 during her playing days at Augustana. 

MSU Moorhead
• MSU Moorhead enters the week with a record of 10-8 on the season, including 0-4 in conference play. 
• The Dragons were swept on the road last weekend falling 15-3 and 10-6 at USF before losing 2-0 and 8-0 at SMSU on Sunday. 
• MSU Moorhead is batting .305 as a team and has hit 28 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs on this year. 
• Carly Williamson is batting .400 with two doubles and two triples. 
• Kristen Bordby is batting .385 with three doubles and three home runs to go with 15 RBI. 
• Morgan Nybo has made 12 starts and 13 appearances in the circle compiling an 8-5 record and a 4.64 ERA. 
• Kelsey Fehl is in her fifth season as the head coach at MSU Moorhead. 

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 on March 20. 
• 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 has a hit in 11 straight games.
• Kennedy has reached base safely in all 30 games this season. 
• Kennedy currently leads the team and the NSIC batting .515 on the season. 
• Kennedy also leads the NSIC with 15 doubles this season. 
• Kennedy has hit one triple and six home runs on the season.
• Kennedy has driven in 34 runs in 2015, passing her season total from last year by three.  
• She has two or more hits in 19 games this season and had two-plus hits in nine straight games from Feb. 22-March 18. 
• Kennedy batted .579 with 10 hits, including four doubles and three home runs in six games last week. 

The pitching staff
• Jenelle Trautmann leads the Vikings pitching staff with a record of 15-1 on the season. 
• Trautmann leads all pitchers in the NSIC with 15 wins on the season. 
• Trautmann has compiled a 2.54 ERA in 16 starts and 22 appearances. 
• Trautmann has struck out a team-high 142 batters in 107.1 innings of work. 
• Trautmann went 4-0 last week, striking out 39 batters in 22.2 innings pitched.
• In three starts and four appearances, she posted a 0.62 ERA. 
• She struck out a season-high 14 batters and allowed just four hits in a complete-game win over Wayne State on March 25. 
• Karlee Koopman is 4-1 in 13 appearances (four starts) in 2015. 
• Koopman has tossed one complete game and is holding batters to a .254 average while striking out 19. 
• Carley Pickett owns a 6-3 record on the season in 21 appearances (10 starts).
• She leads the NSIC and shares the national lead with four saves on the season. 
• Pickett is holding batters to a .249 batting average and has struck out 73 batters in 62.0 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 .469 out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. 
• Nichol has hit four doubles and five home runs while driving in 21 runs on the season. 
• She has scored a team-high 37 runs and owns a .539 on-base percentage. 
• Nichol batted .579 with 11 hits, including two doubles and a home run in six games last week. 
• In the four games, she was 10 for 13 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. 

Off to a fast start
• Senior Jenelle Trautmann is batting .481 with 39 hits, including two five and 14 home runs. 
• Trautmann leads the NSIC and is in a three-way tie for the NCAA Division II lead with 14 home runs. 
• Trautman has driven in 42 runs this season, which leads the NSIC and ranks eighth in the country. 
• Trautmann leads the NSIC and ranks second in the country with a 1.077 slugging percentage. 
• She matched her career-high with five RBI against Western Oregon on Feb. 14 and has driven in two or more runs in 12 games this season. 

Pickett picks up steam
• Junior lefty Carley Pickett has had a hit in 11 straight games for the Vikings batting in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. 
• Pickett has reached base safely in 12 straight games and is setting the table well for the heart of the lineup. 
• She is batting .333 on the year with one double, one triple and three home runs.
• Pickett has driven in 11 runs and scored 20 more for the Vikings.