SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – After having a schedule change as part of the Missouri Western Tournament, the Augustana softball team will now travel to a pod of the tournament set to take place in Warrensburg, Missouri. The Vikings are set to compete against Northeastern State and Central Missouri on UCM's home field on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Previously, the Vikings were slated to go to St. Joseph, Missouri, for games Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
 
The Games
The Vikings open play Saturday at 10 a.m. against Northeastern State, then will play the finale of the day at 4 p.m. against Central Missouri. On Sunday, it'll be against the same two schools, except a 2 p.m. start against NSU and a 4 p.m. first pitch with UCM.
 
Live stats will be provided for all contests, with information found at GoAugie.com/Live.
 
The RiverHawks
Northeastern State enters with a 12-11 record in 2022. Having opened MIAA action last week, the RiverHawks are 0-2 in conference play.
 
Sydney Balderrama leads the team with a .380 batting average with 27 hits. Chloe Bohuslavicky is the team leader in home runs at seven, just 23 games into the season. In the circle, Gail Young leads with the most wins at 5-3 while Savannah Evans, who owns a 2-7 record, has the top ERA at 2.37.
 
The Jennies
Central Missouri is 7-14 on the season and has played four MIAA contests with a 2-2 mark. Most recently, the Jennies split with Pittsburg State, a 6-3 win and a 10-2 setback.
 
Aubrie McRoberts is the team leader in average at .362, compiling 17 hits in 47 at-bats. The Jennies haven't hit for power in 2022, totaling six home runs with two each from MaKenzie Cooper and Bailey Lovelace. However, UCM has tallied 34 extra-base hits and plated 77 runs, an average of 3.67 per game.
 
In the circle, Kyleigh Lay owns a 3-3 record with a 2.90 ERA, both team bests.
 
The Vikings
Augustana is 13-4 in 2022 and currently ranked No. 10 in the country. The Vikings are led by Gracey Brink's average of .429 while seven of the Vikings' hitters all hit over .300. Delaney Young, the reigning NSIC Player of the Week, owns a .404 average with 27 RBI. Her 1.59 runs batted in per game ranks her sixth in the country.
 
Augustana gets power from several spots in the lineup, totaling 18 home runs thus far in the season. Young is the team leader at five while Torri Chute and Abby Lien each have four.
 
Amber Elliott and Ashley Mickschl continue to provide a 1-2 punch in the pitcher's circle for AU with Elliott holding a 4-1 record and a 1.48 ERA while Mickschl is 3-1 with a 1.54 ERA.
 
One Last Thing
With Augustana having seven players hitting over .300 in its lineup, it ranks 19^th in the nation with a team batting average of .343. That easily tops in the NSIC during preseason action with Minot State coming in at second, 10 points lower at .334.