SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - No. 20 Augustana University softball (6-5) returns to action this Friday at the Kelly Laas Memorial Invite hosted by St. Cloud State University. The Vikings will play five games, starting with two on Friday. Augustana will open the five-game weekend against Nebraska-Kearney (4-5) at 7 a.m. before taking on Fort Hays State (1-3) at 12 p.m. 

The rest of the weekend schedule
• Augustana will play just one game on Saturday, taking on Central Missouri (5-5) at 12 p.m.
• The Vikings will close-out the game with a pair of games on Sunday, starting with Emporia State (4-6) at 8 a.m.
• Augustana will then square-off against Missouri Western (4-3) at 12:30 p.m. to conclude the weekend

Last time out
• Augustana opened the season going 6-5 during an 11-game trip that included six games in Hawaii and five games in Las Vegas
• The Vikings opened the trip going 5-1 in Hawaii, including sweeps over Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii and a split at Hawaii Pacific
• Augustana opened the trip at Chaminade, getting the sweep by scores of 10-2 and 7-4
• The Vikings then went to Hawaii Pacific and lost a heartbreaker in the opener as the Sharks got a walk-off 8-7 win in game one
• Augustana rebounded with a 6-1 game two win over HPU
• Augustana then went to BYU-Hawaii and earned a sweep with a 13-5 five-inning win in game one before closing-out the trip to the Aloha State with a 6-1 win in game two
• Augustana then went to play at the Desert Stinger in Las Vegas and lost four straight games to open the trip before ending the trip on a high note with a 9-0 five-inning win over tournament-host Montana State-Billings

Offensively speaking
• Augustana's offense was tuned up and ready for the start of the season with its 11 game trip to Hawaii and Las Vegas
• Augustana averaged 9.8 hits and 11 runs per game during its spring trip
• The Vikings had 108 hits, including 20 doubles, one triple and six home runs
• As a team, Augustana is batting .328

Freshman catcher impresses in debut
• Freshman catcher Shannon Petersen (Edina, Minn.) had a big first weekend for the Vikings in her collegiate debut
• She started her career batting playing in nine of Augustana's first 11 games, batting .538 with 14 hits, including two doubles and two home runs
• She also drove in eight runs and scored eight while compiling a .556 on-base percentage and an .846 slugging percentage
• For her efforts, Petersen was named the NSIC's Offensive Player of the Week
• Petersen opened the trip going 2 for 4 with two RBI in the season opener at Chaminade on Jan. 30 before having a huge day at BYU-Hawaii on Feb. 2 going 4 for 4 with two doubles and four RBI
• Later in the week, Petersen was named to the Desert Stinger All-Tournament team
• She was 2 for 2 with a home run against Western New Mexico 
• In Augustana's final game of the trip against MSU-Billings, Petersen was 2 for 4 with a solo home run

Leading things off
• Senior center fielder Carly Peterson opened the 2016 season as the team's leadoff hitter
• Peterson put up veteran numbers for the Vikings in the first 11 games of the season 
• Peterson batted .400 with 14 hits, 10 of which were extra base hits, while recording a .533 on-base percentage and a .771 slugging percentage
• In the first 11 games of the season, Peterson has eight doubles, one triple and one home run
• She has scored 10 runs and driven in four of her own 
• Peterson didn't just get on base with her bat, she walked seven times and was hit by a pitch three times

Power surge
• Sophomore catcher Maggie Kadrlik showed some signs of power in the first 11 games of the season
• Kadrlik enters the weekend batting .486 with a team-high 18 hits in 37 at-bats
• Kadrlik has four doubles, a home run and is tied for the team lead with 11 RBI
• Batting out of the clean-up spot, Kadrlik has compiled a .558 on-base percentage and a .676 slugging percentage
• She has also been hit by a pitch a team-high five times
• Kadrlik had at least one hit in 10 of the first 11 games of the season, including a career-high three hits twice
• Kadrlik blasted her first career home run, a three-run shot, in Augustana's 13-5 win over BYU-Hawaii on Feb. 2

Run producers
• Maggie Kadrlik and Morgan Beaner currently share the team lead with 11 RBI on the season
• Sarah Kennedy has driven in 10 runs on the year for the Vikings
• Shannon Petersen and Carley Pickett both rank fourth on the team with eight RBI
• Ten different players have driven in a run for the Vikings this season

Atypical start for Kennedy
• Despite driving in 10 runs with a double and a home run in the first 11 games of the season, Sarah Kennedy got off to a slow start on the season based off her standards
• Kennedy, who batted .470 with 25 doubles and 17 home runs last season, is batting .297 through 11 games
• Kenney has also struck out five times on the season
• Putting that into perspective, Kennedy struck out just EIGHT times all of last season

In the circle
• Karlee Koopman and Carley Pickett have shared the starting pitching duties through the first 11 games of the season
• Koopman owns a 3-2 record in six starts
• Pickett is 3-3 making five starts in six appearances
• Koopman has tossed five complete games and owns a 1.35 ERA
• Koopman has struck out 24 batters in 41.1 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .251 batting average
• Pickett has tossed three complete games and owns a 3.46 ERA
• In six appearances, Pickett has struck out 32 batters in 32.1 innings pitched
• Pickett ranks second all-time at Augustana with 17 saves and enters the season just two shaves shy of becoming the all-time leader

Veterans in the middle infield
• Senior second baseman Maddie Merriam has started 83 games at second base for the Vikings
• Junior shortstop Sarah Kennedy has made 136 games at shortstop during her career
• Merriam is batting .237 on the season for the Vikings with nine hits and three RBI
• Merriam made 80 putouts and had 79 assists in 2015
• Last season, Merriam compiled a .958 fielding percentage with just seven errors in 61 games played