Photos by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University catcher Ava Rud connects with a pitch during the first game of a doubleheader against UMary on March 28 at Mustang Field in Marshall. The Mustangs will head to St. Cloud this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.

ST. CLOUD — Looking to end a four-game skid, the Southwest Minnesota State University softball team heads out on the road this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheaders against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth on Saturday and Sunday.

The Mustangs enter the weekend at 22-16 overall and 4-8 in the NSIC, good for 10th in the conference. St. Cloud State slots in at eighth place at 26-11 (5-4 NSIC) while Duluth is one spot ahead at No. 7 at 25-11 (5-3 NSIC).

After a hot start to the season, SMSU has struggled over the last week at the plate as of late. They lost a pair of games to Minot State, 4-2 and 3-2, on Saturday before falling 9-1 in five innings and 4-1 to Wayne State in Nebraska on Tuesday.

In terms of ability to get on base, the Mustangs have put together a respectable .288 batting average, ranking seventh in the conference. Yet, they’ve struggled with pop; their 27 doubles and three home runs rank last and second-to-last. Still, they’ve produced 187 runs to rank sixth in the conference.

Abby Russell has been SMSU’s top hitter on the year, leading the team with a .364 batting average to rank 19th in the conference and an .871 OPS to rank 38th. Riley Kramolisch has also put together a .350 average while Emma Humpal’s 23 RBIs have her ranked 13th in the conference.

The Mustangs went 2-0 against St. Cloud State last season, claiming a 2-1 and 8-0 (6 inn.) sweep at Mustang Field in Marshall. Yet, they were swept 9-0 and 6-1 against Minnesota Duluth.

St. Cloud State enters the matchup coming off a split against Bemidji State on Tuesday. Last week, they swept Minnesota Crookston, split with No. 10 Augustana and lost their lone game against Wayne State 1-0. The second game of the doubleheader was canceled. 

Macey Clark led St. Cloud State last week with an 0.78 ERA with eight strikeouts and two walks over 18 innings in the circle. Two of her three starts were complete games, bringing her to 10 complete games and 10 wins on the season.

Brooke Holmes and Reese Holzhueter lead the Husky batters this season with a 1.116 and 1.000 OPS respectively. Holmes’ 31 RBIs are also fourth in the conference, putting her one spot ahead of teammate Sydney Roe’s 29. 

Minnesota State is riding a three-game win streak after sweeping No. 10 Augustana and splitting against Wayne State last weekend. Both of their scheduled games on Tuesday against Minnesota Crookston were canceled due to weather. 

Morgan McMillan starred at the plate for Minnesota Duluth last week, going 8 for 19 from the plate with a home run, a double and seven RBIs. In the circle, Alyssa Williams went 3-0 with a 1.15 ERA in 18 1/3 innings over three starts. She also struck out 15 batters while allowing just two extra-base hits. 

Nicole Schmitt has been the driving force of Minnesota Duluth’s offense this season, ranking second in the NSIC with a 1.281 OPS and second in home runs with 10. Her 49 RBIs on the year are a conference-high. McMillan also ranks second in steals with 17 and 13th in OPS at 1.020.

St. Cloud State, SMSU and Minnesota Duluth rank sixth, seventh and eighth in the NSIC in ERA at 2.34, 2.80 and 3.31. 

Justyce Porter’s 1.72 ERA over 44 2/3 innings for St. Cloud puts her sixth in the conference while Clark and Emma Eickhoff rank 12th and 15th at 2.09 and 2.33. Coming primarily in as a relief pitcher, Jordyn Marsh leads the Mustangs with a 2.30 ERA over 61 innings while Karlie Miller and Morgyn Otte’s 2.62 and 3.02 rank 20th and 23rd.

For the Bulldogs, Allyssa Williams ranks eighth in the NSIC with 72 strikeouts on 50 walks. Marsh and Miller are tied for 10th with 68, coming on 22 walks for Marsh and 50 for Miller.

Both Saturday’s games against St. Cloud State and Sunday’s games against Minnesota Duluth are scheduled to be played at the Husky Dome in St. Cloud. Saturday’s games are slated to begin at noon while Sunday’s were moved up to 10 a.m. Live video and stats from the games can be found online at SMSUmustangs.com.