SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana University softball (36-12) is set to begin postseason play with the 2017 NSIC Softball Tournament. The Vikings earned the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 seed Bemidji State (24-17) on Thursday, May 4, at 12 p.m. at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls.
 
Augustana is co-hosting the NSIC Tournamnet with the University of Sioux Falls May 4-6 at Bowden Field and Sherman Park. 

NSIC PLAYER(s) OF THE WEEK
• Freshman infielder Christina Pickett was named NSIC Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday, May 1
• Pickett batted .667 with two doubles and two home runs in four games last week
• She drove in seven runs and scored five while compiling a .714 on-base percentage and a 1.333 slugging percentage
• Sarah Kennedy was named NSIC Player of the Week for the second straight week on Monday, April 17
• 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

KENNEDY NAMED TO SCHUTT SPORTS/NFCA PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP 25 WATCH LIST
• Senior shortstop Sarah Kennedy was named to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year Top 25 Watch List on April 27
• Kennedy was named to the NFCA Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the award
• As a sophomore in 2015, Kennedy advanced as a top-10 finalist for the NFCA National Player of the Year Award
• The Top 10 finalists will be announced on Thursday, May 11 with the top three announced May 17

AUGUSTANA IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
• Augustana has advanced to the NSIC Tournament every season since joining the NSIC in 2009
• Augustana is 21-15 all-time in the NSIC Tournament
• Augustana advanced to the NSIC Tournament Championship game in 2014 and 2015
• Augustana won the 2011 NSIC Tournament Championship, its only NSIC Tournament title since joining the league

NCAA CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
• Augustana remained at No. 7 in the second release of the Central Region rankings released on April 26
• The top eight teams all remained the same from the first release, with Harding earning the No. 1 spot
• Minnesota State, Mankato was ranked second, Central Oklahoma third and Winona State fourth
• The third set of NCAA Central Region rankings will be announced on May 3
• 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

LAST TIME OUT
• Augustana finished the regular season going 3-1 at home last weekend
• Augustana's regular season finale against St. Cloud State was canceled due to cold temps and rain on Sunday
• The Vikings opened the week with a sweep over USF giving head coach Gretta Melsted her 500th career win with a 12-4 win in five innings in game one
• The Vikings swept the twinbill with a 7-1 win in game two
• In game one against USF, the Vikings opened up a 10-0 lead in the third inning before the Cougars got on the board with a four-run fifth
• Augustana ended the game by run-rule in the bottom of the inning after a two-RBI double by Christina Pickett
• The Vikings scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to an early lead over the Cougars in game two
• Olivia Wolters struck out seven batters to improve to 15-6 on the season holding USF to just one run on four hits
• Augustana returned to action on Saturday earning a split against Minnesota Duluth
• The Vikings won the opener 6-1 before falling 8-6 in game two
• Augustana hit three home runs in the opener, led by Pickett who was 3 for 3 with a home run
• Sarah Kennedy and Shannon Petersen each hit their 13th home run of the season in game one
• Augustana tied the game at 6 in the bottom of the fourth inning after a 30-minute delay before the Bulldogs scored a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to go in front 8-6

ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE
• Bemidji State enters the NSIC Tournament with a record of 24-17 
• BSU finished 14-12 in conference play to finish sixth in the final league standings earning the No. 6 seed in the NSIC Tournament
• Bemidji State ended the regular season falling twice at USF on April 29. The Beavers lost game one 3-0 before falling 6-4 in game two
• BSU is batting .319 as a team with 362 hits on the year, including 65 doubles, six triples and 20 home runs
• Jessica Yost leads BSU at the plate batting .383 with a team-high 12 doubles to go along with 23 RBI
• Yost also leads BSU in the circle, owning a 1.20 ERA and a 21-6 record
• Yost has tossed 20 complete games and has struck out 262 batters in 163.2 innings of work
• Kelsey McAllister and Alayna Krejci are the top run producers in the BSU lineup, each with 25 RBI on the year
• Rick Supinski is in his fifth season as the head coach at Bemidji State

SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday's game between Augustana and Bemidji State will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two teams
• Augustana and Bemidji State did not meet during the regular season in 2017
• The Vikings and Beavers were scheduled to play in Bemidji on April 23, but the doubleheader was canceled due to snow
• Augustana is 19-0 all-time against Bemidji State
• Augustana and Bemidji State first met on April 4, 1998