SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana University softball (31-11, 16-4 NSIC) hits the road for its final regular season road trip this weekend. The Vikings will take on Minnesota Crookston (11-30-1, 1-18-1 NSIC) in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. Augustana will then take on Bemidji State (20-15, 10-10 NSIC) at 12 p.m. Sunday.
 
Following this weekend's road trip, Augustana will play six straight home games to close-out the regular season. 

NCAA CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
• In the first release of the NCAA rankings announced on Wednesday, Augustana was ranked No. 7
• Harding earned the No. 1 spot and was followed by Minnesota State, Mankato in second, Central Oklahoma in third, Winona State fourth and Southern Arkansas fifth
• Pittsburg State, Augustana and Missouri Western State rounded out the top eight
• The NCAA softball selections will be announce on NCAA.com on Monday, May 8, at 9 a.m. (CT)
• Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots being awarded on an at-large basis
• Eight teams will advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament May 11-13, with the top two seeds in the region hosting
• The full NCAA Central Region rankings can be found on p. 4 of this release

NSIC PLAYER(s) OF THE WEEK
• Sarah Kennedy was named NSIC Player of the Week for the second straight week on Monday, April 17
• Kennedy batted .652 with 15 hits, including seven doubles and a home run in six games
• Kennedy also drove in eight runs and scored eight while compiling a 1.087 slugging percentage
• Kennedy has been named Player of the Week by the NSIC three times this season and four times in her career
• Junior catcher Maggie Kadrlik was named the NSIC's Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Feb. 7
• Lexy Pederson earned NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 20

LAST TIME OUT
• Augustana split a home doubleheader against Winona State on Tuesday afternoon
• The Vikings used a pair of home runs to win game one 4-3 before falling 7-2 in the nightcap
• Samantha Eisenreich and Christina Pickett each homered to lead the Vikings past the Warriors in game one
• Eisenreich cut Winona State's lead to 2-1 with a solo home run in the bottom of the third
• With the same score in the bottom of the fifth, Pickett hit a two-out three-run home run to left to give Augustana a 4-2 lead
• The Warriors got a run back in the seventh but the Vikings hung on for the win
• Winona State scored five runs in the top of the second and Jordan Kleman struck out nine in game two as the Warriors picked up the 7-2 win
• Both of Augustana's runs in game two came on solo home runs, one by Kaylea Schorr and one by Shannon Petersen

ABOUT MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
• Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a record of 11-30-1 on the season, including 1-18-1 in NSIC play
• The Golden Eagles have lost 15 straight games entering the weekend
• Minnesota Crookston is batting .244 as a team with 263 hits on the season, including 43 doubles, seven triples and 10 home runs
• Hailey Fitzpatrick leads UMC at the plate batting .311 with four doubles, two triples and 12 RBI
• Bailey Braatz is 8-12 in the circle for the Golden Eagles with a 4.41 ERA in 111 innings pitched
• Don Stopa is in his third season as the head coach at Minnesota Crookston

ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE
• Bemidji State enters the weekend with a record of 20-15 including 10-10 in NSIC play
• BSU hosts Wayne State on Saturday before welcoming the Vikings on Sunday
• Bemidji State enters the weekend having lost four straight games
• Bemidji State is batting .319 on the year as a team with 308 hits, including 61 doubles, six triples and 18 home runs
• Olivia Tucker leads BSU at the plate batting .433 with two doubles, one home run and nine RBI
• Jessica Yost is batting .378 with a team-high 11 doubles to go along with three homers
• Yost also leads BSU in the circle with a 1.35 ERA and a record of 17-5
• Yost ranks second in the NSIC with 217 strikeouts in 129.2 innings pitched
• Rick Supinski is in his fifth season as the head coach at Bemidji State

INSIDE THE SERIES
• Augustana is 16-0 all-time against Minnesota Crookston
• Augustana and Minnesota Crookston first met on March 29, 2009 in Sioux Falls
• Augustana is 6-0 all-time against Minnesota Crookston on the road
• Augustana is 19-0 all-time against Bemidji State
• Augustana and Bemidji State first met on April 4, 1998
• Augustana is 6-0 all-time against Bemidji State in games played in Bemidji