Bismarck, N.D. - With the final week of conference play at the plate for the University of Mary Softball team, festivities will highlight the close of the 2016 regular season as the Marauders push for a spot in the NSIC Tournament.

Starting on April 20, the Marauders will make their final road trip of the to the University of Minnesota Crookston, followed by a non-conference home doubleheader on April 21 against Dickinson State University.

The main events, however, start on Saturday, April 23, for U-Mary's Breast Cancer Awareness Day against St. Cloud State University with first pitch scheduled for 1 PM CDT. In addition to the doubleheader, the Marauders will have a fundraiser for the Bismarck Cancer Foundation for the duration of the day. Fans will have an opportunity to win one of two quilts honoring those who have been affected by breast cancer during the break between games one and two.

During the first game, fans can purchase baseballs for $5 apeice and will have a chance to throw the baseballs as close as they can to a target marked on the U-Mary Softball Field. The two closest baseballs to the target will receive the quilts.

As of now, Senior Day is scheduled for April 24 during the doubleheader against the University of Minnesota Duluth. Alana Norman and Demaree Rodriguez will be celebrated during the day as they wrap up their careers as members of the University of Mary Softball team.

At The Plate: The University of Mary Softball team will wrap up the final week of the regular season capped off with their Breast Cancer Awareness and Senior Day doubleheaders over the weekend.  The Marauders will start their week with their final road trip against the University of Minnesota Crookston on April 20, followed by a non-conference doubleheader against Dickinson State University on April 21, culminating in their Breast Cancer Awareness Day against St. Cloud State University on April 23 and Senior Day against the University of Minnesota Duluth on April 24.

For The Record: U-Mary had an extremely busy week as they finished their four doubleheaders with a 5-3 record, improving their overall mark to 14-28, 8-15 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles went 2-6 last week with splits against the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University after dropping a pair of games to Bemidji State University and Minnesota Duluth for a 9-35, 3-21 NSIC record. The Bluehawks are currently riding a 13-game win streak against NAIA opponents as they own an impressive 32-7 record on the year. The Huskies went 1-5 during the week with their split against Augustana University but were swept by Bemidji State and Wayne State College for a 23-26, 9-15 NSIC mark. The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games after sweeping Minnesota Crookston and Augustana, but split with Wayne State for a 27-12, 16-6 NSIC record.

In The Past: The Marauders have lost only once in 16 games against the Golden Eagles, back in 2010, as U-Mary has won seven straight after their sweep last season in Bismarck.  Though the Bluehawks are former DAC-10 opponents of U-Mary, the teams have only met six times since the Marauders transitioned to Division-II with the most recent result in 2011 favoring U-Mary in the doubleheader sweep. The Huskies have gone back-and-forth with the Marauders with the 13-10 all-time record favoring U-Mary, but St. Coud State has won five of the last seven meetings since 2013. The Bulldogs have dominated the matchup since 2008 as U-Mary is 5-20 all-time against Minnesota Duluth with only two wins in the last nine meetings since 2013

Last One Up: U-Mary was riding high early in the week with a sweep against Northern State University and a game one win against Minot State University, but the Beavers took the 12-inning game two marathon to force the split. The Marauders bounced back as they rallied for a pair of comeback wins against Concordia University-St. Paul as Taylor Mendez had a two-run shot in the seventh to tie the game, capped off with a three-run jack in the ninth for the win in game one, while Lex Hubbard had the game-winning home run in the top of the seventh in game two against the Golden Bears. Unfortunately, U-Mary ended their week on a low note as Minnesota State University rolled for a pair of run-shortened wins.

On Deck: The NSIC Tournament is scheduled to start on April 28 with the top 10 teams in the conference receiving an invite. As it currently stands, U-Mary sits 12th in the standings and 2.5 games out of the 10th spot.

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