March 20, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (March 20, 2024)—The Dakota State University (S.D.) Trojan softball team (5-12 overall record, 2-2 North Star Athletic Association record) continues their North Star Athletic Association action with a four-game series with Dickinson State (N.D.) (8-14 overall record, 3-1 NSAA conference record).  They were originally scheduled to play at Thue Field Saturday and Sunday, but with impending winter storm that will impact the Midwest region this weekend had prompted the relocation and adjust the schedule.

Dakota State and Dickinson State will be playing a four-game series at the Nelson Family Bubble on the campus of the University of Jamestown (N.D.) (6000 College Lane) in Jamestown, N.D.  They kick off the series on Thursday evening with a doubleheader at 6 p.m. and wrap up on Friday morning at 9 a.m. with another doubleheader.  The Trojans are scheduled to face rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (11-13 overall record) next Wednesday (March 27) in a make-up doubleheader.  The doubleheader starts at 3 p.m. at Drake Field in Mitchell, S.D.

Dakota State kicked off the North Star Athletic Association with a four-game series split with Mayville State (N.D.) at Thue Field.  The Trojans won the first game in an 8-7 walk-off fashion, followed by a 5-4 setback to the Comets on March 14.  MSU defeated DSU 12-6 in the first game on March 15 before the Trojans earned an 11-10 thrilling victory in nine innings.

DiSU opened their league action with a 3-1 record at Viterbo (Wis.) on March 15-16.  The Blue Hawks won the first two games 10-6 and 6-2 before falling 8-7 in the third game.  Dickinson State won the final game 15-1.

Next Up:  Dakota State hosts Morningside (Iowa) next Saturday (March 30) in a doubleheader at Thue Field.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ The last time Dakota State (S.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.) met in a neutral site in Jamestown, N.D., was on May 2, 2014, as part of the NAIA Unaffiliated Conference Tournament.
+ The Blue Hawks had won the last five meetings with the Trojans, including a four-game series sweep in Dickinson, N.D., on April 23-24, 2023.
+ Dickinson State rallied back for a 4-3 nine-inning victory over Dakota State in the last meeting on May 7, 2023, in the second loser's out contest in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament at Bravera Field in Dickinson.
+ The Trojans are seeking for their first win over the Blue Hawks since April 24, 2022, when Dakota State went 2-1 record in the three-game series at Thue Field.
+ Dakota State and Dakota Wesleyan are tentatively scheduled to play Wednesday, March 27, in their make-up doubleheader from March 12.
+ The Tigers defeated the Trojans 5-0 in their last meeting at the American State Bank Sports Complex in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Feb. 17. 
+ The last time DSU and DWU both played in Mitchell was on April 4, 2013. 
+ Dakota State and Dakota Wesleyan had altered their victories in the last four meetings, with the Tigers winning the previous meeting.  DSU defeated DWU 9-7 in the second game at The Field on March 24, 2022. 
 
Noteworthy...
AROUND THE NORTH STAR:  The North Star Athletic Association had officially kicked off last week.  Bellevue (Neb.) went 3-1 record with Valley City State (N.D.), while Dickinson State (N.D.) also went 3-1 record with Viterbo (Wis.).  Mayville State (N.D.) and Dakota State (S.D.) split their four-game series to go 2-2 on the opening weekend.  Waldorf (Iowa) began their conference play March 19 with a 0-3 record with VCSU.

DSU IN THE NORTH STAR TEAM RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Wednesday, Dakota State ranks fourth in batting average of .299 during the league.  The Trojans are tied for third most hits in the conference with 38 hits with Dickinson State (N.D.).  DSU leads the North Star conference with 11 doubles and second with 12 extra-bases hits during league play.  Dakota State records the most stolen bases in the NSAA conference with eight stolen bases.   

LOOKING AHEAD TO BUSY APRIL SCHEDULE:  Dakota State have 18 games scheduled during the month of April, including the non-conference finale doubleheader at Mount Marty (S.D.) on April 10.  The Trojans play a total of four weekend four-game series in the North Star Athletic Association play, with three weekend series on the road at Valley City State (N.D.) on April 6-7, at Viterbo (Wis.) on April 13-14, and at Bellevue (Neb.) on April 27-28.  DSU hosts Waldorf (Iowa) in the only home April four-game series on April 20-21.
 
DAKOTA STATE-DICKINSON STATE SERIES MEETING:  Dickinson State (N.D.) won the last six meetings with Dakota State, with two of those meetings went to extra innings through nine innings.  The Blue Hawks won the most recent victory with a walk-off hit with two outs in the NSAA postseason loser's out game.  The Trojans produced their first-ever series victory during the 2022 season with a 2-1 record over DiSU.

DSU and MSU split one-run game in NSAA opener
Madison, S.D. (March 14, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) split their North Star Athletic Association softball opener at Thue Field. 

The Trojans rallied back for a thrilling 8-7 walk-off victory over the Comets in the first game.  Despite leading 7-3 heading in the seventh inning, MSU rallied back to knot the 7-7 while Michelle Evdos hit a walk-off RBI for an 8-7 victory.

Alexus Foster had a triple, double, single, and an RBI for the Trojans.  Evdos and Delaney Barrett each added a hit and an RBI.  Mackenzie Sims recorded a single and two RBIs.  Barrett earned the pitching victory after tossing 6 2/3 innings in the pitching circle.

Mayville State opened with a 4-0 lead in the second game of the doubleheader.  The Comets extended their lead to 5-0 in the top sixth inning before the Trojans exploded for four runs in the bottom sixth frame.  MSU held off DSU's comeback in the bottom seventh inning after leaving two runners on base.

Jordyn Jeffries had a triple and two RBIs for the Trojans.  Evdos added a single and an RBI.  Hannah McFarland, Foster, and Gabriella Ortega-Alves each recorded a single.  Analicia Burgos recorded the defeat in the pitching circle, while Maycee Bricker worked for 6 1/3 innings in relief.

Trojans close four-game series with split
Madison, S.D. (March 15, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) earned another doubleheader split on the second day of the four-game series at Thue Field on the conference opening weekend.

Mayville State pulled away past Dakota State 12-6 in the first game of the doubleheader, thanks to their six-run production in the top seventh inning.  The game was knotted at 2-2 after the first inning.

Jordyn Jeffries tallied three hits and three RBIs for the Trojans.  Hannah McFarland added two hits and an RBI.  Maycee Bricker recorded the defeat in the pitching circle.  Jada Brown, Mason Usselman, and Analicia Burgos also pitched in relief.  MSU outhit DSU 15-8 in the game.

Dakota State closed the four-game series with a wild finish, thanks to Rosie Philop's walk-off RBI single to earn an 11-10 nine-inning affair.  She finished with four hits and five RBIs., while Michell Evdos added four hits and two RBIs.  McFarland had three hits and an RBI.  Delaney Barrett tossed a complete game victory for the Trojans.

DSU produced six doubles in the game.  Both teams had 17 hits.

Dakota State in the North Star conference ranks
Madison, S.D. (March 20, 2024)—According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Wednesday, Jordyn Jeffries ranks fifth overall in the North Star Athletic Association in batting average with .375.  She is tied for third most doubles in the league with six doubles. 

Hannah McFarland ranks third in the NSAA conference with nine stolen bases.  Delaney Barrett also ranks third in the league in earned run average of 3.37.  She is tied for third most pitching wins in the conference.  Maycee Bricker ties for second most saves with one in the North Star.

McFarland records a batting average of .462 in conference contests, which is sixth batting average in the North Star conference.  Michelle Evdos is 15th with .400 batting average during conference play.

Barrett is fifth in the North Star conference with an earned run average of 1.79 during conference contests.  She is also second in the league with 15 2/3 innings pitching in the circle during NSAA action.
 

2024 Dakota State Softball Team Leaders

· Hits:  Jordyn Jeffries—18 hits

· Batting Average:  Jordyn Jeffries—.375 batting average (18-of-48 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Jordyn Jeffries—.542 slugging percentage (11 singles, 6 doubles, 1 triple)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Jordyn Jeffries, Rosie Philop—11 runs batted in (RBIs)

· Doubles:  Jordyn Jeffries—6 doubles

· Triples:  Alexus Foster, Jordyn Jeffries—1 triple

· Home Runs:  N/A—0 home runs

· Total Bases:  Jordyn Jeffries—26 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Hannah McFarland—14 runs

· Walks:  Hannah McFarland—12 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Ally Morrissey—2 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Hannah McFarland—9 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Hannah McFarland—.492 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Delaney Barrett—45 2/3 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Delaney Barrett—3.37 ERA (22 earned runs in 45 2/3 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):  Delaney Barrett, Maycee Bricker—12 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):  Delaney Barrett—3 complete games

· Wins:  Delaney Barrett—4 wins

· Saves:  Maycee Bricker—1 save

Follow Trojan Softball

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· Facebook:  DSUTrojans

· Instagram:  trojans.athletics

· Dakota State Softball Twitter:  @DSUSoftball

· Dakota State Softball Facebook:  @Dakota-State-University-Softball

· Dakota State Softball Instagram:  dsu_softball