EDMOND, Okla. – The Augustana softball team, ranked No. 1 in the nation, begins action in the NCAA Central Regional Thursday with a noon contest against Southern Arkansas. The Vikings earned a bye into Thursday as the region's top-seed. Southern Arkansas defeated Central Missouri 1-0 to earn a spot in Thursday's game.
 
The Vikings, the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, are 44-6 on the season and are the NSIC Regular Season Champions. Southern Arkansas is 28-8 on the season and opened the year as the No. 1 team in the NFCA Division II poll, a position it held for five weeks. In the NCAA Central Regional, the Muleriders are the fourth seed.
 
Complete action of the tournament can be found at GoAugie.com/Live for free live video and live stats.
 
About the Muleriders
It was a 1-0 win for Southern Arkansas on Wednesday over Central Missouri to advance in the double-elimination regional. Victoria Taylor threw all seven innings giving up five hits and four walks but did not allow a run in the 100-pitch effort. The SAU offense mustered just two hits but was able to score the game's only run.
 
For the season, six hitters are hitting .300 or better with none higher than Alese Casper and her .394 average. She leads the team with 43 hits while driving in 19 RBI. The RBI leader is Christina Hill with 29 as Elisa Favela is the home run leader with nine.
 
Catch Laina Suesue and Taylor each earned All-Region honors from the NFCA. Suesue is hitting .353 with six home runs, eight doubles and 28 RBI.
 
Taylor owns a 12-2 record in the circle with a 2.12 ERA. She owns 108 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
 
Out of the Great American Conference, Southern Arkansas won the regular-season championship with a 22-5 conference record. In the latest NFCA Top-25 poll, SAU is No. 19.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is the region's top seed thanks to a 44-6 record and own 10 victories over nationally-ranked foes.
 
Led by the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year, Kendall Cornick, the Vikings have one of the most potent offenses in the country. The Vikings rank third in Division II with 65 home runs, fourth in total hits and 15^th in scoring. In addition, AU is third in the nation in stolen bases, totaling 116 through 50 games.
 
Cornick ranks sixth in the nation with 70 hits, 19^th with a .473 batting average and is second in the country with 33 steals. She has not been caught stealing in 2021, going a perfect 33-for-33.
 
Mary Pardo is third in Division II with 19 home runs, a mark that easily led the NSIC while Torri Chute is fourth in the nation with 60 RBI. One could say that one-through-nine in the Augustana lineup gets the job done.
 
In the circle, Augustana is led by NFCA All-Region selection Ashley Mickschl and NSIC First Team All-Conference honoree Amber Elliott. Mickschl is the nation's leader in victories with 24 while owning a 1.82 ERA. Elliott is 19-2 on the season with a 2.25 ERA while striking out 126 batters in 124.1 innings.
 
Up Next
With a win, Augustana would advance to Friday where it would play at noon against either Minnesota State, Central Oklahoma or Arkansas Tech. The loser of Thursday's contest will play again Thursday at 5 p.m. against any of those three schools.