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Bismarck, N.D.— With nearly three weeks passing since their last game, the University of Mary softball team will finally have a chance to get back on the diamond this week as they host a trio of Northern Sun opponents. U-Mary will open NSIC action on Thursday Mar. 28 against Minot State. The Marauders will take on Southwest Minnesota State on Friday and Sioux Falls on Saturday.
 
Thursday's doubleheader will be played at the Bismarck Community Bowl beginning at noon. Friday's match-up with Southwest and Saturday's contest against Sioux Falls will be played on the University of Mary campus.

Following Along: Periodic updates will be posted on the U-Mary Twitter page. You can also follow along with live stats by clicking here.
 
Tracking Trujillo: Cherlyn Trujillo has been stellar so far this season. The transfer from Mission College has made an immediate impact posting a 7-2 record and the 17th best earned run average in the country at 1.27.  The lefty has showed impeccable control leading the nation in walks per seven innings pitched at 0.13. Trujillo has struck out 59 batters in 55.1 innings, while allowing just one walk.
 
Bombs Away: U-Mary is 14th in that nation with 1.19 home runs per game. Five of the Marauders 20 home runs have come off the bat of Brittney Hadley. Allison Brown, Kristin Ormsby and Julissa Perales have each added three. Nine different players have hit home runs this season for U-Mary.
 
POWer Surge: Brittney Hadley was named NSIC Player of the Week after leading the Marauders to a perfect 5-0 record at the MSUB Desert Stinger. Allison Brown received the honor for her efforts in U-Mary's spring trip to Clermont, Fla. Holding down the middle of the Marauders' lineup, Hadley and Brown have combined to hit .368 with 38 runs batter in and eight home runs, while maintaining a .684 slugging percentage and a .407 on-base percentage.
 
Youth Movement: With the loss of several key players from last year's roster, U-Mary had substantial holes to fill in their order. Holding the slack for the Marauders have been freshmen Demaree Rodriguez and Alana Norman. Rodriguez is leading the team with a .404 batting average and a .509 on-base percentage. After a slow start, Norman exploded during the Marauders spring trip hitting .471 average over the ten game span and a .550 on-base percentage.
 
Senior Streak: The Marauders lone senior, Jessica Alvarado, is currently riding a nine game hitting streak. During that streak Alvarado has four multi-hit games and is hitting at a team-high .500 with a .559 on-base percentage.
 
5: The Marauders have a perfect 11-0 record when scoring five or more runs. When U-Mary scores four or fewer runs they are 0-6 this season. The Marauders are 32nd in the NCAA with 6.41 runs per game.
 
Defense: U-Mary has struggled at times defensively this season, but when they commit two or fewer errors they have a 9-2 record.
 
History vs. Minot: Since 2006, U-Mary has played Minot State seven times, and have won six of those meetings, including the last five. The Marauders defeated the Beavers 4-0 and 5-1 last season. This is the first time the two teams will play as members of the NSIC.
 
Minot State: The Beavers are off to an incredible 18-1 start so far this season and are riding a 15-game winning streak. MSU has been led by a pair of dominant pitchers in Mandy Greenberg and Jenn Friesen and one of the best sluggers in the country in Jen Dixon.  NFCA National Pitcher of the Week last week, Greenberg is leading the nation in earned run average at 0.26 and strikeouts per seven innings at 12.8. Friesen holds a 7-2 record and is 11th in the nation in ERA at 1.12. Leading the Beavers' offensive attack, Dixon, an outfielder, is leading the nation in batting average (.567), on-base percentage (.614) and slugging percentage (1.117).

History vs. Southwest: Since 2006, U-Mary has played Southwest 13 times winning six of them. The Marauders have won three straight meetings including both games last season. U-Mary defeated SMSU 8-4 and 7-4 last season on the road.
 
Southwest: The Mustangs are riding a six game winning streak heading into the week and are 11-5 on the season. As a team, Southwest is batting .286 and averaging 4.4 runs per game. Leading SMSU's offensive attack, Amy Dreessen has team-highs in batting average at .421 and slugging percentage at .684. The Mustangs pitching staff has struggled this season with a team ERA of 4.06 and an opponent's batting average of .327. Rachel Hoeppner leads the pitching staff with a 3.81 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched.
 
History vs. Sioux Falls: U-Mary and Sioux Falls have not played since the Marauders joined DII. This will be the first time the two teams have met as members of the NSIC.
 
Sioux Falls: The Cougars are off to a 5-9 start this season. Offensively Sioux Falls is hitting .289, but have scored just 3.29 runs per game. Outfielder Shelby Thompson has paced the USF offense with a .395 average and a .442 on-base percentage.  The Cougars pitching staff has a 4.83 ERA and a .289 opponent's batting average. Amanda Walters has started eight games for USF and pitched a team-high 50.2 innings.

Up Next: U-Mary will host Minnesota Crookston on April 2.

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