Softball team to finish up season

Sitting in the middle of Summit League standings, the University of South Dakota softball team will be looking to close out their first full conference schedule with a record above .500.

Currently at 9-9 in the conference USD heads into its final two non-conference match-ups against North Dakota on April 21 and Nebraska-Omaha on April 23.

The Coyotes are coming off three losses in a series against Summit League leader North Dakota State University.

Suffering from a five-game losing streak that dates back to April 10 the Coyotes are looking for revenge against North Dakota as they fell to them twice 0-1 and 1-4.

Junior pitcher Missy Blackburn said the team will have to work on a few defensive aspects in order to pull out a win against North Dakota.

“We need continue to work on our communication throughout the game,” Blackburn said. “We also need to keep playing aggressive on defensive.”

While the team has showed it can compete with the best teams in the Summit League, it wont have the chance to prove it in the Summit League Championship tournament.

USD in ineligible for post-season play until next year after the D-I transition is complete.

Blackburn said the team would like to finish strong in their final conference games and pull out some more wins inside the Summit.

“We want to win every series inside the conference,” Blackburn said. “Every game is chance for us to improve and gain more experience.”

Following a series against Western Illinois on April 27 and 28 the Coyotes finish their season at the University of Indiana-Purdue Fort-Wayne on May 4 and 5.

Blackburn said the difference between mixing conference games and non-conference games during the season hasn’t been a problem for the team this year.

“Each game and series is important for us,” Blackburn said. “We will be looking to finish out the season strong no matter who we play.