SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana softball team, the NSIC Preseason favorites, opens conference action Tuesday at Wayne State. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. in Wayne, America.
 
Augustana has claimed the last two NSIC Championships and will be looking for its sixth NSIC and 15^th overall in the 2023 season.
 
A live video stream and live stats will be available at GoAugie.com/Live or on the GoAugie Fan App.
 
About the Wildcats
Wayne State enters the doubleheader with a 5-18 record. The Wildcats did win 8-7 in their last game out on March 20. Previously, WSC had dropped three-straight games prior to the victory over Northwest Missouri State. The game-winning run came in the top of the eighth inning as Paiton Tornberg singled to score Riley Holmbeg.
 
For the season, Holmberg leads WSC in batting average at .413 while recording 31 hits and 12 runs scored, both team bests. Kim Vidlak owns a .389 average while leading the Wildcats with 17 RBI. Grace Lucka and Samantha Felt each lead Wayne State in the pitching circle with two wins each. Lucka has the better ERA at 4.00 while Felt has the edge in strikeouts with 26 in 58.2 innings pitched.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana has won five-straight games and sits at 13-8 overall. The Vikings earned sweeps over Central Missouri by scores of 9-4 and 11-3, then followed up with a 7-0 and 2-1 sweep of Nebraska Kearney.
 
As part of those sweeps, Andrea Cain had a stellar outing in the batter's box with a .563 average while recording five extra-base hits in nine total hits.
 
For the season, Gracey Brink leads AU with a .431 average while belting six home runs and a team-best 23 RBI. Putting together a second-straight All-America campaign, Brink holds a .785 slugging percentage and a 1.308 OPS while reaching base in just over 52 percent of her at-bats.
 
In the circle, Hailey Houston is 6-2 with a 2.96 ERA and was 2-0 this past week with a 2.00 ERA.
 
One Last Thing
Houston, hailing from Long Beach, California, has been lights out for the Vikings in the circle over the last couple of weeks. In her last five starts, Augustana is 5-0 including a complete-game one-hit shutout this past Tuesday against Nebraska Kearney. In three-straight outings, all starts, Houston has tossed complete games while striking out 17 in 20 innings.