Independent file photo SMSU’s Emma Grote slides around a Concordia-St. Paul opponent during their April 2017 game. The Mustangs head to Florida for a nine-game road trip next week.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (3-3) will play outside for the first time in 2018, traveling to the state of Florida to play nine games from March 4-8.

•SMSU’s first six games have all been played indoors at the West St. Paul Dome in West St. Paul.

•SMSU opens the trip with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. The two teams will play a single game on Monday starting at 5 p.m.

•On Tuesday, March 6, SMSU will play a doubleheader at the University of Tampa with first pitch at 1 p.m.

•SMSU will then face Warner University in Lake Wales, with a twinbill starting at 1 p.m.

•SMSU closes out the trip with a doubleheader at Rollins College in Winter Park with first pitch at 4 p.m.

•All games are Central time.

MEDIA COVERAGE

•Live statistics can be found at smsumustangs.com.

•Updates can also be found by following @smsusoftball on Twitter.

SERIES HISTORY

•SMSU has never faced Eckerd or Warner.

•SMSU is 0-2 all-time versus Tampa, losing 2-0 and 5-4 last season.

•SMSU lost to Rollins, 7-1 in 2003, in the only meeting between the two teams.

HEAD COACH

•Jamie Dunn is in her fifth season as head coach at SMSU and has compiled an 87-118-1 overall record and a 52-65-1 record in the NSIC.

•Dunn has led the Mustangs to three straight NSIC tournament appearances.

•Prior to SMSU, Dunn spent the 2013 season as assistant coach at NCAA Division II Colorado Christian University.

ABOUT THE

MUSTANGS

•SMSU is 3-3 on the season with all six games being played at the West St. Paul Dome.

•SMSU was swept in a doubleheader by Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 5, before rebounding with a 3-1 record in four games last week at the Dragon-Beaver Battle.

•SMSU defeated MSU Moorhead (10-2) and Bemidji State (5-3) to open the tournament on Feb. 22.

•On Feb. 23, SMSU lost to Concordia-St. Paul (6-2), before rebounding with a 4-3 win over Bemidji State.

•For the season, freshman Bailey Johnson is batting a team-high .467 with three doubles and an on-base percentage of .600.

•Sophomore Kali Tomlinson is hitting .444 with three doubles, one home run and a team-high seven RBIs.

•Sophomore Emma Grote is also off to a strong start with a .389 batting average.

•Junior Athena Golling has a team-low 3.27 ERA in 15 innings with 11 strikeouts, while recording a 1-1 record with one save.

•Junior Shelby Crank has two victories in three starts and has a 3.34 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.

MUSTANGS

AT HOME

•SMSU is scheduled to play a total of seven doubleheaders at Mustang Field with the home opener set for March 30 versus Upper Iowa.

NSIC SCHEDULE

•SMSU is scheduled to play a 30-game conference schedule this season.

•The team will play seven four-game weekend series along with five mid-week.

SMSU PICKED 8TH IN NSIC POLL

•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish eight in the NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

•SMSU freshman infielder Bailey Johnson and junior pitcher Athena Golling were both named “Players to Watch” in the conference this season.

•Winona State was chosen as the preseason favorite earning 221 points, including 11 first place votes.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications