SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana University softball will play its final regular season road game on Thursday at Winona State before returning home to close-out the regular season on the weekend. Augustana (31-14, 18-5 NSIC) will pay at Winona State at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, at 3 p.m. The Vikings and Warriors (30-14, 12-9 NSIC) were originally scheduled to play on Wednesday but moved the doubleheader to Thursday due to the weather forecast in Winona, Minnesota.
 
Augustana will then return to Sioux Falls April 23-24 to host Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State on the final weekend of the regular season. Augustana will play Concordia-St. Paul (12-30, 6-16 NSIC) at 12 p.m. on Saturday and Minnesota State (35-12, 18-5 NSIC) at noon on Sunday. On Saturday, Augustana will honor seniors Maddie Merriam, Carly Peterson and Carley Pickett in between games against Concordia-St. Paul.
 
Last time out
• Augustana went 3-3 last week, sweeping a home doubleheader against SMSU?before splitting at St. Cloud State and dropping two at Minnesota Duluth
• The Vikings won the opener 7-2 over SMSU?after taking a 4-0 lead with four runs in the bottom of the first.
• Augustana carried a 7-0 lead into the top of the seventh before SMSU hit a two-run home run
• Karlee Koopman gave up just one run on three hits to help the Vikings earn a 2-1 win in game two against the Mustangs
• Augustana improved its win streak to 14 games with a 9-2 win in game one at St. Cloud State on Saturday before having it snapped in a 10-5 loss in game two
• The Vikings were then on the wrong end of a pair of one-run games at Minnesota Duluth on Sunday
• UMD?scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat Augustana 8-7 in game one and went on to take game two 6-5
 
Augustana's all-time saves leader
• Senior left-handed pitcher Carley Pickett set the all-time saves record in a win over MSU Moorhead on April 2
• Pickett has recorded three saves in 2016 to give her 20 for her career
• Pickett passed Chelsey Durland who recorded 18 saves from 2009-12
• Pickett has led the NSIC in saves in two straight seasons
• As a sophomore in 2014, Pickett led the country with nine saves
 
Where they rank all-time
• Several Vikings rank high in Augustana's all-time career records
• Sarah Kennedy currently ranks third all-time with a .406 batting average, third with a .680 slugging percentage, sixth with a .461 on-base percentage, seventh in runs scored (153), eighth in doubles (44), sixth in home runs (33) and eighth in RBI (148).
• Carley Pickett ranks fifth all-time averaging 5.73 strikeouts per seven innings, 10th in wins (60), first in saves (20), second in appearances (146), ninth in starts (78), first in games finished (66), third in combined shutouts (14), 10th in innings pitched (595.2) and sixth in batters struck out (488).
• Maggie Kadrlik ranks second all-time with a .477 career on-base percentage and fourth all-time getting hit by a pitch 21 times
 
Offensively speaking
• Augustana leads the NSIC batting .344 as a team on the season
• The Vikings also lead the league with 76 doubles and rank second with 48 home runs
• Augustana has scored 250 runs in 2016 which is tied for first in the NSIC with Winona State
• Seven of Augustana's nine regular starters are hitting over .330 on the season
 
Run producers
• Augustana leads the NSIC and ranks 21st in the country in runs scored in 2016
• The Vikings have scored a league-high 285 runs, averaging 6.33 runs per game
• Augustana has five players with over 25 runs batted in on the season
• Sarah Kennedy ranks second in the NSIC and 26th in the country with 47 RBI?on the year
• Maggie Kadrlik ranks fourth in the NSIC and 38th nationally with 46 RBI in 2016
• Shannon Petersen ranks fifth in the NSIC with 41 RBI on the season
 
Home sweet home
• Augustana opened the 2016 season playing 29 straight games away from Sioux Falls
• Augustana opened the home portion of its schedule against MSU?Moorhead on April 2
• The Vikings are 10-0 at home this season and will close-out the home portion of the schedule April 23-24
• Augustana has scored 71 runs in 10 home games this season, while allowing just 20
• The Vikings are hitting .385 as a team at home this season and have hit 14 doubles and 14 home runs at Bowden Field
• Augustana's opponents are hitting .192 with just eight extra base hits in 10 games at Bowden Field in 2016
 
Pickett producing at the plate
• Senior left-handed pitcher Carley Pickett is having a breakout season as a batter for the Vikings
• Pickett continues to lead the team at the plate batting .418 on the season which ranks fifth in the NSIC
• Pickett recently had a career-long 13-game hitting streak snapped but she has at least one hit in 21 of the last 24 games
• Pickett leads the team with 64 hits and has 12 doubles and 18 RBI
• Pickett has recorded 15 walks and has scored the third-most runs (39) on the team this season
 
Heating up down the stretch
• Junior shortstop Sarah Kennedy has her batting average up to .400 on the season
• She has two or more hits in 18 games this season
• Kennedy has at least one hit in 13 of the last 16 games, including two or more hits in four of the last six
• Kennedy leads the team with 47 RBI in 2016 and has 60 hits, including 13 doubles and seven home runs
 
Sophomore stepping up
• Sophomore Maggie Kadrlik is batting .396 for the Vikings in 2016 and currently ranks second in the NSIC with 12 home runs
• Kadrlik ranks fourth in the NSIC with 47 RBI on the season
• Kadrlik has driven in two or more runs in a game 12 times in 2016, including a career-high six at U-Mary on March 25
• In NSIC games only, Kadrlik is batting .423 with three doubles, nine home runs and 28 RBI
 
Leading things off
• Senior center fielder Carly Peterson continues to rip the ball all over the park out of the leadoff spot for the Vikings
• Peterson is batting .399 to go along with a .469 on-base percentage and a .620 slugging percentage
• Peterson currently leads the NSIC and ranks fourth in the country with a team-high 18 doubles in 2016
• The 18 doubles by Peterson marks the ninth-most in a single season at Augustana
• Only four players in program history  have hit 20 or more doubles in a season
• Peterson also has hit one triple and five home runs in 2016
• She has driven in 26 runs and scored a team-high 51 for the Vikings
• Peterson ranks second in the NSIC and 16th in the country in runs scored
 
Schorr's 10-game hitting streak snapped
• Sophomore first baseman Kaylea Schorr recently had a career-long 10-game hitting streak snapped
• Schorr is batting .323 on the season with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI
• She owns a .388 on-base percentage with six walks. She has been hit by a pitch four times this season
 
In the circle
• Carley Pickett and Karlee Koopman have shared the starting pitching duties throughout the 2016 season
• Pickett has appeared in 33 games, making 23 starts
• Koopman has started 22 games and made 25 appearances
• Pickett has compiled a 2.38 ERA in 167.1 innings of work in 2016
• She owns a 19-7 record and has struck out a team-high 119 batters
• Pickett has won a career-high 19 games on the season
• Pickett has won 17 or more games in three straight seasons for the Vikings
• Pickett has tossed 16 complete games and six shutouts on the season
• Pickett has also recorded three saves in 2016
• Koopman owns an 11-7 record and a 2.30 ERA?in 25 appearances
• Koopman is holding opponents to a .266 batting average and has struck out 74 batters in 122.0 innings pitched
 
Veterans in the middle infield
• Senior second baseman Maddie Merriam has started 114 games at second base for the Vikings
• Junior shortstop Sarah Kennedy has made 170 games at shortstop during her career
• Merriam is batting .242 on the season for the Vikings with 31 hits and 19 RBI
• Merriam has 75 putouts and 89 assists on the season and owns a .937 fielding percentage
• Last season, Merriam compiled a .958 fielding percentage with just seven errors in 61 games played