Independent file photo SMSU’s Emma Grote swings at a pitch during their game against Minnesota Crookston on April 1, 2019. SMSU will face Bemidji State and UMC this weekend.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team (10-6, 1-1 NSIC) will be back on the road in back-to-back doubleheaders playing Bemidji State (5-11, 1-1 NSIC) Friday and Minnesota Crookston (5-11, 1-1 NSIC) Saturday. Friday’s opening pitch is slated for 1 p.m., while Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 12 p.m.

•Following Saturday’s games, SMSU will play Augustana at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 7.

Game coverage

•Live video and stats for all four games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.

About Bemidji State

•Bemidji State, picked 12th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches’ poll, is 5-11 this season going into Friday’s doubleheader.

•Bemidji State split in a doubleheader on Monday against Minnesota Crookston. BSU won game one 8-4, but suffered a 4-3 defeat in eight innings in game two.

•BSU is led by Lisa Kossan, who is batting .364 with a team-high 16 hits and 11 runs.

•Emmarie Yeager is hitting .326 with 14 hits and seven RBI’s.

•BSU is batting .248 and averaging 4 runs per game, while the pitching staff has a 4.43 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 104 1/3 innings.

Series history vs. Bemidji State

•SMSU and BSU have meet 87 times since the 1981 season with SMSU leading in a 65-22 all-time series.

•SMSU leads the series 6-4 since the 2016 season with SMSU winning the previous three games.

•The longest win streak held by SMSU was 17 straight from 2002-09.

•SMSU swept a doubleheader in the last meeting during the 2019 season.

About Minnesota Crookston

•Minnesota Crookston, picked 14th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches’ poll, is 5-11 this season going into Friday’s doubleheader versus Sioux Falls.

•Minnesota Crookston split in a doubleheader on Monday against Bemidji State. UMC lost game one 8-4 but then rallied back and earned a 4-3 victory in eight innings.

•UMC is led by Dana Zarn, who is batting .354 with a team-high 17 hits and is tied with Cassie Querry for a team-high seven RBI’s.

•Hannah Macias is hitting .296 with eight hits and six RBI’s.

•UMC is batting .240 and averaging 4.4 runs per game, while the pitching staff has a 3.77 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 102 innings.

Series history

vs. Minnesota Crookston

•SMSU and UMC have meet 43 times since the 2000 season with SMSU leading in a 41-2 all-time series.

•SMSU leads the series 9-1 since the 2016 season winning the previous seven matchups.

•The longest win streak held by SMSU came from 2000-09 winning the first 22 games in the series. •UMC’s two victories have come on April 25, 2010, and April 18, 2016.

•SMSU swept a doubleheader in the last meeting during the 2019 season.

SMSU diamond notes

•SMSU looks to bounce back after splitting its doubleheader Monday against Sioux Falls winning game one 3-1 and losing game two 5-3.

•Megan Cull again pitched a complete game, her fourth this season, to start the doubleheader, she recorded nine strikeouts with only allowing five hits.

•SMSU earned 17 hits in the twinbill with 10in the first game and seven in the second.

•In the opener, Bailey Johnson had a two-run single to left field putting SMSU up 3-0, and finished the game with two hits.

•Jillian Noel had an RBI single with Emma Grote and Kaylee Hentges each earning two hits.

•In game two, Bailey Johnson had three of the team’s seven hits, with Kali Tomlinson, Lileya Kebos, and Megan Bull all earning one RBI.

•Allison Christians suffered the loss in game two, recording five strikeouts and allowing four hits through five-plus innings.

SMSU season numbers

•Overall, through 16 games, SMSU is averaging 5.3 runs per game, batting .320 with 26 doubles, six triples and nine home runs.

•The SMSU pitching staff has a 3.20 ERA in 102 2/3 innings with 83 strikeouts.

•Lileya Kebos is batting a team-high .438 with a team-high three triples.

•Emma Grote is hitting .436 and leads the team in base-hits with 24.

•Kali Tomlinson is batting .351 with five home runs a team-high 20 RBIs and is tied with Kebos for team high doubles at seven each.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications