South Dakota returns to the diamond this week following a one-week hiatus. The Coyotes will play five games in three days starting Friday at the University of Memphis in Nashville, Tennessee. USD enters play with a 12-3 record and a ranking of 37 in the first NCAA RPI listing of the season. That ranking will be tested against foes that include 10^th-ranked Oklahoma State, a participant in the Women's College World Series last season.
 
Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana – Friday's opponents – are familiar. The Coyotes dropped games to UCA in Florida in both 2019 and 2020. SELA took three out of four from USD at the start of last season. Both those teams have speed that will test the Coyotes' defense.
 
Oklahoma State topped South Dakota twice in Los Angeles back in 2018. USD hasn't seen Memphis since 2014.
 
Weather: A winter weather advisory is expected to hit the area Friday evening and could bring a few inches of snow into Saturday morning. Several games of the tournament are taking place Thursday as a result. Saturday's tournament schedule has three games including USD and Oklahoma State at 1 p.m.
 
The Coyotes: South Dakota has equaled the best start in program history and is one win shy of its 2021 total. New pitchers Clara Edwards (7-2, 0.79 ERA) and Kynlee Marquez (3-1, 0.45 ERA) lead a staff that ranks seventh nationally with a 1.28 ERA. Edwards has 47 strikeouts in 62 innings. She has pitched in all but two games this season.
 
The bats are led by senior outfielder Courtney Wilson and freshman second baseman Tatum Villotta who boast identical .360 averages. Aleesia Sainz ranks second in the Summit with an OPS of 1.311. She has five home runs and 14 RBIs to go with a .351 average.
 
The schedule and a deeper dive into the four opponents follow:
 
Friday
9 a.m. – Central Arkansas – Live Stats
11:30 a.m. – Southeastern Louisiana – Live Stats
 
Saturday
1 p.m. – No. 10 Oklahoma State – Live Stats
 
Sunday
Noon – Memphis – Live Stats
2 p.m. – Memphis – Live Stats
 
Central Arkansas (12-7, 2022 RPI: 114)
The Bears were runners-up in the Southland a year ago, but have since transitioned to the ASUN conference and are picked to finish third. Early season wins against Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and nationally-ranked LSU behind all-conference pitcher Kayla Beaver stand out. UCA also has a 7-3 win against Kansas City and a 1-0 loss to Omaha. The top of the Bears' lineup has fantastic speed in left-handed hitting outfielders Jenna Wildeman and Tremere Harris. Wildeman led the nation with 56 steals a year ago. She has 21 already this season to go with a .483 average that ranks 17^th nationally. All-conference second baseman Mary Kate Brown bats third and has a team-leading 18 RBIs.
 
Southeastern Louisiana (13-6, 2022 RPI: 66)
The Lady Lions scored 45 runs in taking three out of four from USD to start the 2021 season before going on to finish 28-23 in the Southland. Familiar names are back including all-conference performers Lindsey Rizzo, Aeriyl Mass, Audrey Greely and pitcher Heather Zumo. Sophomore outfielder Cam Goodman leads all hitters with a .422 average. Newcomer Madison Rayner is also batting over .400. Zumo is 8-0 with a 1.44 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 50 innings. She is one of four starting pitchers the Lady Lions have utilized this season. Early season results include a split with Nebraska during a week two trip to New Mexico and an 8-0 win against Summit newcomer St. Thomas at the end of February.
 
Oklahoma State (14-5, 2022 RPI: 5)
The 10^th-ranked Cowgirls advanced to the Women's College World Series last year where they topped Georgia in their opening contest before dropping back-to-back games against James Madison and Florida State. Only eight of the team's top-nine bats return, and Katelynn Carwile, who earned 11 at bats all season last year, sits at the top of this year's lineup with a .424 average (14-of-33). Ace Carrie Eberle, who went 26-4 last year, has moved on, but southpaw and first-team all-region pitcher Kelly Maxwell is back. She's 6-0 with a 1.04 ERA in 53 innings of work. For insurance, Oklahoma State added all-American Miranda Elish who pitched at Oregon and Texas before moving to Stillwater this year. Elish just threw her fourth collegiate no-hitter against Minnesota Wednesday.
 
Memphis (8-13, 2022 RPI: 187)
The Tigers are one win away from equaling their total from last season. They opened the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Beaver and Central Arkansas Thursday afternoon and square off with Oklahoma State Thursday night. Memphis has managed to lower its team ERA nearly three runs from last year to 4.67 through 21 games. Hallie Siems is off to a solid start in year two with a 3-5 record and 3.17 ERA in 10 starts, and freshman Mikayla Hoschak has a 4.42 ERA in 14 appearances and 38 innings. Senior Grace Morton is batting .403 with three doubles. The Tigers are batting .275 as a team with three home runs.