SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back NSIC champion Augustana softball team begins its postseason quest on Thursday afternoon at Bowden Field. The Vikings will take on 10th-seeded MSU Moorhead at 12:30 p.m., in the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals.

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play.

Augustana, the No. 1 seed, went 25-3 in NSIC play to wrap up its fifth-straight regular season championship. The team is littered with top talent in the NSIC, led by the NSIC Pitcher of the Year in Grace Glanzer.

Glanzer, a senior from Sioux Falls, S.D., was named NSIC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season after finishing the NSIC slate with a 1.10 ERA and 13 wins. She allowed just 14 earned runs through 15 starts and struck out a league high 110 batters with 33 looking in league play. Against 324 batters, the opposing batting average was an NSIC best .167 while having six shutouts and 10 complete games.

In addition to the major award winners, Norah Christiansen, Desi Cuevas, Liz Dierks, Andrea Cain and Lexi Lander were all named First Team All-Conference. Ashton Dorman and Stella Harber secured Second Team honors. Dorman was also named to the NSIC All-Defensive team.

About the Vikings
The No. 8-ranked Augustana (43-9) comes into the week on an 18-game win streak after a sweep over Minnesota State.

Desi Cuevas is hitting .390 with a 1.169 OPS and 11 home runs with 42 RBI and 19 stolen bases to lead the team. Liz Dierks has been a consistent presence on the bases in the No. 9 hole, batting .359 to slot just behind Cuevas in batting average.

Andrea Cain has thrived in the lead off spot with eight home runs and a .350 average with a 1.124 OPS. Stella Harber has played all over the infield and has hit .328 with nine home runs and Ashton Dorman has added a .325 average with 36 RBI.

Grace Glanzer and Lexi Lander have been a two-headed monster in the circle, leading a Viking staff that is second  in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.50), third in ERA (1.25), fourth in shutouts (17), sixth in WHIP (1.00) and 11th in strikeouts per seven innings (7.40).

Glanzer ranks fifth in the country with nine shutouts, seventh with 7.84 K/BB, eighth in the country with a 1.16 ERA, ninth with a .85 WHIP, 10th with 21 victories, 13th with 196 strikeouts and 14th with 1.00 walks per seven innings.

Lander is 11th in the country with a 1.19 ERA, 24th with five shutouts and 19th in wins with 19. She has also recorded a 1.12 WHIP and 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

With a win on Thursday, the Vikings would move onto Friday to play in the semifinals at noon against the winner of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. For a full bracket, click here.