THE OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth plays the University of Sioux Falls to open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament on Thursday, May 3 at 12:00 p.m. The top 10 teams in the NSIC received an invitation to play for the NSIC crown and the winner will earn an auto bid for the NCAA Central Region field. The third-seeded Bulldogs, who are 38-11 and finished 20-6 the conference, look to capture its fifth NSIC tournament title and first since 2002 when action starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.

SCOUTING REPORT ON SIOUX FALLS: The Cougars are 30-17 overall and finished sixth in the NSIC at 15-9. They were swept by the Bulldogs earlier in the year, part of a five-game losing skid, but have rebounded to finish the season with five straight wins heading into postseason play. Sioux Falls is coached by Kelsey Thompson, who is in fourth season with the Cougars.
Kerrigan Hoshaw will likely get the start in the circle. Hoshaw is 9-5 with a 3.45 ERA in 19 starts. She has a team-high 88 strikeouts in 111.2 innings of work. Hoshaw was roughed up for 10 runs in six innings in her outing against UMD, striking out seven and walking three. Hoshaw will have the bat in her hand. She is hitting .351 on the season with eight home runs and a team-leading 43 RBI. She went 4-for-8 with 5 RBI in the double header with the Bulldogs. Ashley Meyer (.329) can also be a threat at the plate with her power. She has 11 home runs, a team-high, and has 42 RBI. 

FARING IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs have won the tournament four times, the last title coming in 2002. The others came in 1984, 1996 and 2000. UMD is 43-31 all-time in the postseason. The 43 wins is the second-most behind Winona State (57). Last year, the Bulldogs went 1-2 defeating St. Cloud State but losing to Minnesota State-Mankato and Bemidji State.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and the rest of the NSIC competition stack up with its respective records, in the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll and the NCAA Central Region Rankings

WATCH LIVE: The NSIC Tournament will be available for free via a web stream with live stats capabilities. The stream can be viewed at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LIVE STATS: Live stats for the NSIC Tournament will be hosted by Sioux Falls and Augustana at both its respective fields:

Bowden (Augustana): www.sidearmstats.com/augie/softball/
Sherman (Sioux Falls): http://www.sidearmstats.com/siouxfalls/softball/

NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS: UMD was ranked third in the second installment of the NCAA Central Region Rankings. The central region is comprised of 42 teams from the NSIC, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC), where eight-teams will be selected to the NCAA Central Region field.
Each conference tournament champion receives automatic bids to the tournament, leaving five at-large bids. The NCAA softball selection show will be streamed online on Monday, May 7 at 9:00 a.m. on NCAA.com. The top two seeds will host the regional tournament on May 10-12.

LAST TIME UP: The Bulldogs capped off the 2018 regular season going 2-2 at home. UMD won 12-4 and 9-6 to sweep Wayne State. No. 13 Augustana got the best of the Bulldogs as the Vikings won 4-1 and then 5-1 to close out the season. Sunday's sweep by Augustana was the first time all season UMD was handed consecutive losses and its first sweep on the season. 

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On March 14, the Bulldogs received the program's first National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Player of the Week. Jessica Bren captured the prestigious distinction after going 12-for-18 (.667) with seven home runs and a triple. She knocked in 15 RBI and scored 11 times to go along with five stolen bases. Bren posted a .684 on-base percentage and a 1.944 slugging percentage. She is one of two freshmen this season to take home the honor.

NSIC WEEKLY HONORS: No other team in the NSIC has more conference player of the week honorees this season than UMD (5). The Bulldogs lead the way with four players recognized by the league. Becky Smith (2/20 and 4/24), Jessica Bren (3/12), Valerie Hohol (3/12) and Breanna Swint (4/2) were all recognized by the league. 

IRONMAN TORCH PASSED ON: Becky Smith and Natalie Wright broke Tyra Kerr's mark of most consecutive games started  (209) and career games started (209) at UMD. The duo, since they have stepped foot on campus as freshman in 2015, have started and played in every single game throughout their illustrious Bulldog careers. They are now at 210 consecutive games started. They are two games from tying Jordan Rice's mark of 212 games played in a career.

MILE MARKER 100: Jen Walter became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins. Walter reached the historical mark in the first game against Northern State on Thursday. She attained 100 victories in 145 games while former head coach Jen Banford reached 100 wins in 182 games. 

PILING UP THE HITS UNDER WALTER: Since the arrival of the new manager, UMD is 88-6 when it out-hits the opposition. That is roughly 62.3 percent of the total games under Walter's tenure (94 of 151).

THIRD INNING IS OUR INNING: The Bulldogs have a plus-47 run differential in the third inning this year. UMD has scored 80 runs, the highest total of any inning this season, and has given up 33.

SHUT 'EM DOWN: For the season, the Bulldogs have allowed fewer runs the later games go. They have given up 39 runs in the first and that tickles down to 10 in the last inning.

SHUT 'EM DOWN II: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 36-10 in the final inning.

EXTRA! EXTRA!: UMD is 14-4 in extra innings dating back to the 2013 season. Only one game this season  -- a 4-3 win over Upper Iowa -- has been needed to decide a game in the eighth inning or later. Last season, the Bulldogs won the only game that didn't finish in seven (8-7 over Northeastern State in eight innings).

RUNNING AWAY IN A ROUT: The Bulldogs are 24-1 this season in games decided by five or more runs. They have beaten teams via the mercy rule 14 times.

... AND WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: UMD has gone 16-6 in one-run games over the last three seasons. It has won eight of the last nine one-run decisions.

SCORE FIRST: Scoring first doesn't always lead to victories but it is close. The Bulldogs have a combined 95-19 (.833) record dating back to 2015 when scoring first including 27-6 in 2018.

TAKING CHARGE: Grabbing the lead early, results in positive outcomes. When leading after four complete, the Bulldogs are 32-1. When tied or trailing, they are 6-10. The only blemish can in the 8-7 loss to Minot State when UMD allowed six runs in the fifth.

NO EXTRA OUTS: UMD is 20-2 this season when it is perfect in the field and doesn't commit an error.

BOMB SQUAD: The Bulldogs have launched the ball out of the park. They rank first in the NSIC in home runs with 59. That is 15 more than the next closest NSIC squad in Sioux Falls. The program record for homers in a season sits at 61 set in 2013.

BOMB SQUAD II: UMD circled the bases a season-high six times is a 17-2 thrashing of LIU Post. The six home runs is tied for fifth-most in Division II. In that game Jordyn Thomas smashed three consecutive home runs including two in an inning. She is the first Bulldog to homer in three consecutive at-bats and the last to hit multiple dingers in an inning since Ashley Lewis accomplished that feat back on March 26, 2016.

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD: The trio of Jessica Bren, Becky Smith and Jordyn Thomas are all ranked in the top four in the conference in home runs. Bren, the league leader, has sent out 16, which is single season record, edging the 15 by Kierra Jeffers (2013). Smith has 12, reaching a personal best and Thomas has 11 in her first year. This is the second time is school history with three players with double digit home runs (2011).

BREN BOMBER: Jessica Bren is first among freshman in homers. Her 16 homers is eighth among Division II players. On a per game basis, the Victoria, Minn., native has sent a homer out at a pace of 0.33 per game, which is 12th best. 

THE TEAM OF STEAL: Not many teams are as aggressive on the base paths than UMD. After setting the program mark for steals with 112 last year, the Bulldogs upped the ante. They have 114 stolen bases, which is tied for 11th nationally. They are swiping 2.33 bags per game, the 13th-best mark.

SWOOPING IN UNNOTICED: On a per game basis, Hannah Schmoll is swiping 0.78 bases, which is the best in the NSIC and 15th in the entire Division II landscape.

RIPPING IT EVERYWHERE: Four batters -- Hannah Schmoll (.440), Becky Smith (.414), Sammi Sadler (.395), and Natalie Wright (.392) -- have an average above the .370-mark. Only three other players in the NSIC have a better batting average than Schmoll, who is sixth in the NSIC in hits (73) and leads the conference in runs (56). 

RIPPING IT EVERYWHERE II: eight batters have a slugging percentage over .500 with Jordyn Thomas (.758), and Becky Smith (.757) leading the way. Thomas and Smith would both break the single-season slugging record. In fact, UMD has a team slugging percentage of .557, which would crush the single-season record set by the 2013 Bulldogs (.489).

SEND THEM PACKING: The nine strikeouts recorded by Valerie Hohol in the season opener against SMSU and against Minnesota Crookston and by Breanna Swint against Georgian Court were both collegiate highs. Hohol eclipsed her previous mark of eight strikeouts last year against the University of Minnesota Crookston. Swint bested her high of seven strikeouts done last season against MSU Moorhead.

OFFENSIVE BOMBARDMENT: For only the third time in the last decade, the Bulldogs eclipsed the 20-run mark in their 22-12 shelling of Missouri Western State on Feb. 15.
The last time UMD had that many runners cross the plate was on March 4, 2006 when it put up a 25-spot on Marian College. The combined 34 runs were the most in program history since UMD and Upper Iowa tabbed 39 runs back in April 15, 2007.

OFFENSIVE BOMBARDMENT II: For the second time in school history, the Bulldogs plated 12 runs in an inning, a program record. UMD scored 12 times in the seventh against Bemidji State. The 2014 Bulldogs put up 12 runs in the first inning against Lincoln. 

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE ALL SEASON: The Bulldogs have drew 189 walks this season, which is a single-season record. The 2012 Bulldogs had the previous record with 160 walks.

TAKE YOUR BASE: No one draws more walks for UMD then Lauren Oberle. She has 29 walks on the year, first in the NSIC and a UMD record. She has shown a keen eye at the plate with at least a walk in 22 games and multiple free passes in six of them. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native is 38th in the country in walks per game at 0.65. 

THE RBI QUEEN: Back on Feb. 15, Becky Smith set the career RBI record at UMD, jumping pass Ashley Johnson (2008-11) and Kierra Jeffers (2010-13) for most all-time. She now sits with 205 RBI surpassing the old mark of 149. Smith sits in fifth among her active Division II peers for RBI in a career. The Long Lake, Minn., native also set the single-season record on Apr. 25 with six RBI against Bemidji State. She has 65 RBI, tied for third in the country.

SPEED DEMON: The season and career record holder in stolen bases, Hannah Schmoll has one last year to etch her name higher into the UMD record books. Back in 2016, Schmoll smashed the single-season stolen base record with the new aggressive guidance by coach Walter. Schmoll stole 40 bases on 46 attempts during her sophomore campaign and last year the Grand Rapids, Minn., native notched 37 steals. She was at it again as Schmoll has swiped 38 this season. Schmoll has 142 stolen bags in 157 tries for her career. Both those marks are career highs at UMD. Among active leaders in Division II, Schmoll ranks with the third most stolen bases.

GOLD GLOVE MATERIAL: 2017 was a record-breaking year defensively for the Bulldogs. UMD closed out the year with a .974 fielding percentage -- the best mark in program history (the previous record was .971 set in 2002) - - to rank 11th among all NCAA Division II clubs. Leading the way for the Bulldogs and setting career highs in that department were Becky Smith (.982), Kalynn Tilton (.982), Hannah Schmoll (.978), Lauren Oberle (.971) and Natalie Wright (.965). 

THE HEAD COACH: In two short seasons at the controls of the University of Minnesota Duluth program, Walter has posted back-to-back 35-win seasons, accumulating a 70-37 overall record while going 39-17 in league play (including 18-10 in 2017 when it placed fourth in the 16-team standings).
Walter made quite the splash during her debut season at UMD as not only did the Bulldogs set a team record for NSIC victories by finishing 21-7 (good for a second-place finish and just one game back of league champion Minnesota State University-Mankato), but they returned to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2012. Along the way, they amassed a 35-17 overall mark and shattered or equaled nearly one dozen team and individual records.
On July 22, 2015, Walter signed on as just UMD's third head softball coach since the 1981-82 season. Walter certainly had proven herself the previous 16 seasons right down the road at the College of St. Scholastica, having directed the Saints to a 447-233 overall record (a .657 winning percentage), five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances (2006, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015), 15 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular season championships, 13 UMAC Tournament titles, and one trip to the NAIA National Tournament (2004). During Walter's tenure, CSS also eclipsed the 30-victory plateau on seven occasions. In addition, Walter helped produce three CSS All-Americans -- Laura Heise (2004 and 2006), Erica Kozacek (2006) and Rilee Dawson (2007) – 11 UMAC Player of the Year award recipients, 43 All-Region selections, 71 All-UMAC picks, and 81 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar-Athletes.
A native of Wadena, Minn., Walter played two years of softball at Golden Valley Lutheran College in Minneapolis, where she was a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American catcher, and continued her collegiate career at Augustana College (S.D.), attaining All-North Central Conference honors as a senior in 1985. She went on to serve as the head softball coach at Perham High School (1989-91) and the assistant softball coach at both the Breck School (1991-97) and Robbinsdale Armstrong  High School (1997-99).
Inducted as player into the 2010 Minnesota High School Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Walter received a B.A. degree in health, physical education and recreation from Augustana in 1986.

ON DECK: The Bulldogs hope to either win the NSIC Tournament and clinch a spot in the NCAA Central Region or get their name called for an at-large bid in the field of eight. If so, they will play in the national tournament for the second time in three seasons, which would begin May 10.