LIVE COVERAGE

This Week marks the final home and regular season games for the University of Mary softball team. U-Mary will host Wayne State College in a Northern Sun doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m. The Marauders and Wildcats games will serve as Breast Cancer Awareness Day. U-Mary will conclude the regular season on Saturday in an NSIC doubleheader with Augustana College. Saturday will serve as Senior Day for the Marauders Allison Brown and Cherlyn Trujillo as well. Residence Life will also be grilling on Saturday from approximately 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
 
Follow Along with livestats for both doubleheaders at goumary.com/coverage. Saturday's doubleheader will also have live video available at goumary.com, weather permitting.
 
Social: In game updates will be posted on the Marauders official Twitter page @umarysports. You can also check out the Marauders official Facebook page "Marauder Athletics". Be sure to give softball's official Twitter a follow as well @umary_softball.
 
Breast Cancer Awareness Day will be used to honor Elaine Sortino, who was head coach KJ Kelley's college coach and mentor at University of Massachusetts. One of foremast influencers in the history of college softball, Sortino won over 1,100 games in her career and was elected to the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2004. Aside from wins and awards, Sortino's influence came from impacting those around her with her passion and dedication. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, Sortino succumbed to the disease on August 18, 2013 at the age of 64.
 
Senior Day will mark the final home games for seniors Allison Brown and Cherlyn Trujillo, who have both made immeasurable impacts on the Marauders softball program. Between games Brown and Trujillo will be recognized for their dedication to U-Mary softball.
 
Brown, who recently earned a tryout with the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), has more career home runs (34) than any other player since U-Mary transitioned to the NCAA in 2006. An all-conference and all-region performer, Brown has the program's highest career on base percentage (.433) and slugging percentage (.650) over the same time period.
 
Trujillo, who transferred from Mission College, is completing just her second season for the Marauders, but had her mark on the program. The 2013 NSIC Newcomer of the year, Trujillo was named 2014 NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. In her two seasons Trujillo has already racked up 30 wins and 358 strikeouts, while maintaining a career ERA of 1.81.
 
BBQ: U-Mary Residence has volunteered to grill on Saturday. From midway through the first game (about 1 p.m.) to midway through the second game (about 3 p.m.) ResLife will be providing food for fans.
 
Records:
U-Mary                                 28-18, 13-9 NSIC (8th place)
Wayne State                        32-14, 18-6 NSIC (3rd place)
#24 Augustana College       36-11, 19-7 NSIC (4th place)
 
The Series:
vs. Wayne State                  7-10 Overall, 6-8 NSIC, 2-2 Home, Streak W1
vs. Augustana College        2-10 Overall, 2-8 NSIC, 0-4 Home, Streak W2
 
Last year vs. Wayne State: With a two game lead over Northern State for the 10th and final playoff spot, U-Mary needed a split against Wayne State on the final day of the season to guarantee a spot in the postseason. After losing the first game by a score of 2-0, the Marauders rallied late in game two to pick up a 4-0 win to secure a spot in the playoffs. Cherlyn Trujillo pitched all 13 innings for U-Mary striking out 14 and allowing just two earned runs. In game two Erin Keen picked up what would be the game-winning hit in the seventh with a single up the middle. Keen had a team-high three hits on the day going 3-for-7.
 
Last year vs. Augustana: Tied for the 10th and final playoff spot, the University of Mary softball team answered the call with a sweep of fifth place Augustana. U-Mary took the first game 3-2 and followed in the second with a 4-2 victory. The Marauders Cherlyn Trujillo picked up her 15th and 16th wins of the season going the distance in both games and allowing just three earned runs. The lefty scattered 10 hits on the day while striking out 12. Allison Brown continued her stellar offensive season going 3-for-5 and blasting her 9th home run of the year. Brown finished with 2 RBI and scored 3 runs.
 
Wayne State: The Wildcats enter the weekend losers of their last two games after being swept by on Tuesday by #20 Winona State. Offensively WSC is hitting .328 as a team and averaging just 5.7 runs per game. WSC allows 3.0 runs per game, 2.4 of which are earned. Kaiti Williams is leading the Wildcats offensively in batting average at .434 with 36 RBI. WSC's most effective pitcher has been Kelcie Bormann who has a 16-3 record and a 1.89 ERA, while striking out 138 in 129.2 innings of work.
 
Augustana The Vikings enter the weekend losers of three of their last four including a split against Upper Iowa on Tuesday. Offensively AC is hitting .314 and averaging 5.6 runs per game. The Vikings have allowed just 2.6 runs per game, 2.1 of which are earned. Lindsay Spanton is leading AC's offensive attach with a .385 batting average 37 RBI and 37 runs scored. With a 22-5 record, Jenelle Trautman has been the most reliable pitcher for the Vikings posting a 2.08 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 145 innings. 
 
Offensively the Marauders are having one of their best statistical seasons since transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2006. With a .337 team batting average and a .398 slugging percentage the 2014 team has the best marks in both categories over the past nine seasons. The Marauders have seven players hitting over .300 this season. With a .492 slugging percentage, this year's squad ranks second.
 
Defensively the Marauders have struggled committing 70 errors, but have allowed the second fewest runs and earned runs this season since their transition to NCAA Division II in 2006. U-Mary's catchers have allowed the second lowest stolen base percentage in that time frame at .680.
 
Pitching has been a strong point for U-Mary this season posting the second fewest earned runs over the past nine seasons (since transition to NCAA Division II) at 163 (2.77 ERA). With a .240 opponent's batting average, the Marauders pitchers rank first. The 2014 team ranks second in strikeouts.
 
Speed Kills: With 135 stolen bases this season U-Mary already has 54 more stolen bases than they have since transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2006. Through the end of the last week, the Marauders were second in the NCAA in stolen bases per game at 2.93. Leading the attack has been sophomore Alana Norman, who is seventh in the NCAA with 0.86 stolen bases per game.
 
Freshman Phenom: With a 6-for-7 performance in a doubleheader against Bemidji State, including a 4-for-4 effort in game one, Amber Gamboa has raised her batting average to a team-best .424. Gamboa is also leading the team in on-base percentage at .490 and is second in slugging percentage at .636.
 
Ouch: Getting hit by 27 pitches this season, U-Mary has been hit by five more pitches than it has any of the previous eight seasons. Leading the charge is Francine Villalobos, who has been hit by a team-high 12 pitches. Ten of 12 times Villalobos has been hit by a pitch have come in conference games, including three of which came in a doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth on April 19.
 
No-No: On April 18, 2014 junior pitcher Erin Keen tossed U-Mary's second no-hitter since making the move to NCAA Division II in 2006. Blanking St. Cloud State, Keen picked up three strikeouts and needed just 72 pitches to complete the no-hitter.
 
NPF: Having the best season of her career, Allison Brown has been invited by the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) to participate in their annual tryouts on May 25 in Rosemount, Illinois. The Chicago Bandits joined the NPF in 2005 and have fielded rosters that included Team USA stars Jennie Finch, Stacy May-Johnson and Monica Abbott.
 
Offensive Onslaught: Against Bemidji State on Tuesday, U-Mary put up 17 runs, its second most runs in a Northern Sun contest in school history. In the Marauders 17-1 win they pounded out a season-high 18 hits, including seven extra base hits.
 
Finishing Strong: Winners of eight of their last 10 games, the Marauders have outscored their opponents 64-20 down the stretch. During the 10-game stretch, U-Mary has outhit opponents .361 to .177. The Marauders pitchers have posted a 1.34 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 68 innings.
 
Looking ahead with a 13-9 record in conference play, the Marauders have guaranteed a top-10 finish in the NSIC and a spot in the 2014 NSIC Softball Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. May 1-3. Currently, U-Mary sits in eighth place. The Marauders could finish as high as fourth or as low as ninth.
 
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