It is easily the most anticipated Summit League softball weekend of the season as all four top teams are in action against one another. North Dakota State (7-4) is hosting defending champion South Dakota State (10-2) in Fargo, while right here in Vermillion South Dakota (8-4) hosts Omaha (8-4). Both series have Saturday doubleheaders starting at noon with game threes at 11 a.m. Sunday.
 
The top six Summit League teams qualify for the postseason tournament, and the top-two teams get a bye and instant access to the four-team, double-elimination portion of the event. Teams that finish third and fourth play elimination games against teams five and six to reach double-elimination play. Throw in the fact that the regular season champion gets to host next year's tournament and every hit and out will be an important one this weekend.
 
South Dakota and Omaha have reached this point with identical records against identical opponents. Both swept North Dakota, took two of three from NDSU and St. Thomas, and took one of three from SDSU. But the methods to those results are different. South Dakota is hitting a league-best .317 and has outscored teams 89-60. Omaha boasts the top pitcher in the league, has a 2.08 team ERA and has outscored its foes 46-26. That's 43 more runs for South Dakota and 34 fewer runs allowed by Omaha against the same teams. Thus, this weekend at Nygaard should be a good one.
 
About the Mavs
Junior pitcher Kamryn Meyer was 2-6 as a freshman, 10-8 as a sophomore and this year stands 14-5. She is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the country and ranks seventh nationally in strikeouts per seven innings. She punched out 18 (of 21 outs) in a 5-1 win against St. Thomas last weekend and has reached double-digit Ks nine times this year. She also ranks fifth nationally in hits allowed and her 1.27 ERA ranks 14^th.
 
Offensively, Izzy Eltze is back along with veterans Sydney Ross, Jamie White and Lexi Burkhardt. Eltze leads the team with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. White has a team-high OPS of 1.186 with six homers and 18 RBIs. Another returner, Lynsey Tucker, is 11-for-11 on the base paths and collectively Omaha leads the league in steals with 35 in 38 tries.
 
About the Coyotes
Eight of South Dakota's nine starters are batting .317 or better in Summit play. At the top of the list is third baseman Aleesia Sainz, and indeed, she and White represent two of the top candidates for Summit Player of the Year. Sainz has 11 home runs on the year and is right behind White on the leaderboard for OPS (1.183). She also has 10 doubles, 38 RBIs and scored 28 runs. Sainz has been walked 22 times.
 
During the past two Summit series, Gabby Moser is 10-for-21 with two homers and four doubles. Fellow outfielder Courtney Wilson is on a seven-game hitting streak where she's batting .385 (10-for-26) with nine runs scored. USD's third outfielder, Rylee Nicholson, has reached base safely in 12 in a row.
 
In the circle, freshman Clara Edwards is 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in Summit play. She has started games one and three in all four prior series. Grace Garcia and Kynlee Marquez have combined to start the other four. Both have tossed 11 innings in Summit play. They will likely face sophomore Sydney Nuismer for Omaha in game two. Nuismer allowed a total of three runs in her last two starts against North Dakota and St. Thomas.
 
Eamiguel Nearing 200 Hits
Garcia and shortstop Lauren Eamiguel are two of four seniors who will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony to take place between games one and two Saturday. Eamiguel is expected to make her 200^th career start at short and enters play with 199 career hits. One more and she will be one of eight in program history to reach the 200 milestone.
 
Outfielder Gabbi Holbert and first baseman Jadyn DeWitte are the other half of the Coyotes' senior quartet. Wilson, a fifth senior, announced she will utilize a fifth year of eligibility in 2023.