SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 1 ranked Augustana softball team takes a short trip to Sherman Park on Thursday to face Sioux Falls in a road doubleheader. The first pitch on Thursday is slated for 2 p.m.
 
The Vikings are 27-3 on the season while holding a 15-1 mark in the NSIC, a full three games in first place of the standings.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana, coming off a weekend sweep at UMary and Minot State, looks to extend its current 13-game winning streak. Backed by the reigning NSIC Player of the Week, Mary Pardo, the Vikings lead the NSIC with 41 home runs on the season. Pardo is the league's leader with 13 four-base hits in 2021, just four off her career-best season during her freshman campaign.
 
Pardo earned the league's weekly hitting honor after belting five home runs, scoring 11 runs and totaling eight hits over a six-game span.
 
For the season, Kendall Cornick is the team's best hitter in terms of average (.484), hits (45), doubles (13) and on-base percentage (.542). Pardo is hitting .356 while Torri Chute holds the team lead with 34 RBI with eight home runs and eight doubles.
 
In the circle, Amber Elliott is the NSIC leader with 14 wins and her 14-1 record. She has pitched to a 2.12 ERA while striking out 88 in 89.1 innings pitched. Ashley Mickschl holds a 2.16 ERA and a 13-2 record while throwing 97.1 innings and holding opponents to a .209 batting average.
 
About the Cougars
Sioux Falls is 14-15 on the season and holds an 8-7 record in the NSIC while sitting in eighth place of the league standings. After falling in three-straight games, USF has won two-straight while pouring on the runs. First, it was a 14-2 win over Northern State on April 17, then it was a 14-0 win over MSU Moorhead the following day before game two got cancelled due to wintery weather.
 
In the batter's box, Damaris Cuevas holds a .458 batting average, totaling 33 hits and racking up a team-best 44 total bases. The Cougars rank toward the bottom of the NSIC with 10 home runs.
 
In the pitching circle, Hanna Cress and Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag are the two leaders with Cress holding the better ERA at 3.23. She holds a 6-7 record while striking out 81 in 82.1 innings pitched. Van Der Zwaag is 8-7 with a 3.33 ERA while striking out 83 in 94.2 innings pitched.
 
Up Next
After a trip into North Dakota, then the doubleheader a few blocks from the Augustana campus, the Vikings return to Bowden Field on Saturday to host MSU Moorhead. The following day, AU welcomes Northern State to its home field. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at noon.