April 18, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (April 18, 2024)—The Dakota State University (S.D.) Trojan softball team (7-24 overall record, 4-12 North Star Athletic Association record) plays their final home contests at Thue Field this weekend.  The Trojans host Waldorf (Iowa) (4-24 overall record, 3-12 NSAA conference record) in the North Star conference's four-game series.  DSU is playing their first home games since March 14-15 when they split their four-game series with Mayville State (N.D.).

The NSAA's four-game series begins on Saturday at 2 p.m. with a doubleheader, followed by another doubleheader on Sunday at 12 p.m.  The Trojan softball team will be honoring their four seniors on Sunday—Alexus Foster, Olivia Peterson, Rosie Philop, and Mackenzie Sims—as they play their final home collegiate games at Thue Field.

DSU kicks off the final week of regular-season play with a make-up non-conference doubleheader at Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (13-24 overall record) on Wednesday afternoon.  The doubleheader kicks off at 3 p.m., held at Caldwell Park (W 13th Ave. and N Minnesota St.) in Mitchell, S.D.

Dakota State split their North Star's four-game road series at Viterbo (Wis.), winning the second game of the doubleheader on each day on April 13-14.  Waldorf was swept in the North Star's four-game home series by Bellevue (Neb.) on April 13-14 in Forest City, Iowa.  Dakota Wesleyan was swept at No. 13 ranked Midland (Neb.) on April 12 and at Concordia (Neb.) on April 13

Next Up:  Dakota State concludes their regular-season on the road, visiting the North Star's conference leader Bellevue (Neb. on April 27-28.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) and Waldorf (Iowa) will be playing in their final North Star Athletic Association four-game series this weekend at Thue Field.  WU leaves the NSAA conference and will join the Great Plains Athletic Conference next season.
+ The Trojans and Warriors split their last four-game series held in Clarion, Iowa, last season on March 24-25, 2023.  DSU won the last meeting by the score of 13-9.
+ Both DSU and WU split their NSAA's four-game series at Thue Field on March 26-27, 2022.
+ The previous five meetings between the Trojans and the Warriors were held at neutral sites, with Dakota State earning a 3-2 record.
+ Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) earned a 5-0 shutout victory over Dakota State in the last meeting held at the American State Bank Sports Complex on Feb. 17 in Sioux Center, Iowa.
+ The Trojans will be making their first trip to Mitchell's Caldwell Park for the first time since April 4, 2013.
+ DSU and DWU split their previous four meetings, with the last Trojans' victory over the Tigers on March 24, 2022, at Thue Field by the score of 9-7.
+ Dakota State is 2-2 record at home this season, earning the North Star Athletic Association's four-game series split with Mayville State (N.D.) on March 14-15.  Waldorf is 2-7 on the road.  Dakota Wesleyan is 2-5 record at home.
+ All seven North Star members will compete in the postseason tournament on May 3-6 in Dickinson, N.D.

Noteworthy...
TROJANS IN THE NORTH STAR CONFERENCE GAMES:   According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Hannah McFarland ranks second in the league in batting average with .500 during the North Star conference season for Dakota State (S.D.).  She is also eighth in the NSAA with .620 slugging percentage.  She leads the league with 14 stolen bases.  Michelle Evdos is fifth in the conference with .457 batting average. 

UPCOMING NSAA SOFTBALL POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT:  All seven members will be competing in the North Star Athletic Association Softball Postseason Tournament, which returns to Bravera Field on Sanford Sports Complex in Dickinson, N.D.  The opening round, where No. 1 seed will receive a bye, will open on May 3, followed by winner's and loser's contests on May 4.  The tournament continues on May 5, with the championship game set for Monday at 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time).

AROUND THE NORTH STAR CONFERENCE:  Bellevue (Neb.) currently leads the North Star conference with 14-2 record, followed by Valley City State (N.D.) at 12-3 record.  Dickinson State (N.D.) is third with 13-7 record.  Mayville State (N.D.) is fourth with 8-12 conference record, Viterbo (Wis.) fifth at 5-11 league record, Dakota State sixth at 4-12 NSAA record, and Waldorf seventh at 3-12 record in NSAA contests.
 
DAKOTA STATE-WALDORF SERIES MEETING:  Dakota State (S.D.) and Waldorf (Iowa) will be playing at Thue Field in the North Star Athletic Association four-game series for the second time in their all-time series since 2015 (2022 season at Thue Field).  The Trojans earned its only four-game series sweep over the Warriors during the 2021 season held in Forest City, Iowa.  DSU and WU played their first ten North Star meetings held in Forest City, Iowa from 2015 through 2017 season.

Trojans end losing skid, earn first road victory
La Crosse, Wis. (April 13, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) was unable to hold on to their lead in the first game of the North Star Athletic Association softball action with Viterbo (Wis.) at Viterbo Outdoor Athletics Complex, but held on to earn the first road win in the second game of the doubleheader.

Dakota State led 6-2 after four-and-half innings in the first game before Viterbo poured in seven runs in the bottom fifth.  The V-Hawks held on to a 9-6 victory.

Hannah McFarland led the Trojans with three hits and two runs scored.  Mackenzie Sims and Michelle Evdos each added two hits and two RBIs.  Alexus Foster had two hits and an RBI.  The Trojans swiped eight times in the game, led by McFarland, Sims, and Olivia Peterson with two stolen bases each.

The Trojans scored four straight runs to break a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 lead in the second game.  DSU held off VU's late comeback to secure a 6-5 victory.

Delaney Barrett had three singles for Dakota State.  Rosie Philop added two hits and an RBI.  Sims had a single and two RBIs.  Jordyn Jeffries and Quincy Hartley each registered a hit and an RBI.  Barrett collected the victory in the pitching circle after working for 5 2/3 innings.  Jada Brown earned her first save of the season after tossing 1 1/3 shutout innings in relief.

DSU and VU split NSAA's four-game series
La Crosse, Wis. (April 14, 2024)—Viterbo (Wis.) poured in nine runs in the first game of the doubleheader at Viterbo Outdoor Athletics Complex, while Dakota State (S.D.) closed the four-game series with a victory to earn the split.

The Trojans took a 2-0 early lead in the first game of the doubleheader, while the V-Hawks poured in nine runs in the bottom first inning and held to a 9-4 victory.

Hannah McFarland tallied three hits in the game for the Trojans.  Michelle Evdos added a single and two RBIs.  Mackenzie Sims and Jordyn Jeffries each added a hit.  Alexus Foster and Olivia Peterson each recorded an RBI.  Analicia Burgos took the setback while Mason Usselman pitched in relief.  Maycee Bricker tossed five shutout innings in relief.

DSU used a four-run explosion in the top fourth inning in the series finale, earning a 7-4 victory over VU.

Foster was 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, double, single and two RBIs for the Trojans.  Evdos added three singles and two RBIs.  Sims, Rosie Philop, Jordyn Jeffries and Delaney Barrett each added a hit.  Barrett tossed a complete game victory for the Trojans.

Dakota State softball to honor four seniors Sunday
Madison, S.D. (April 18, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) will be honoring their four seniors on Sunday afternoon as they play their final home career collegiate softball games at Thue Field versus Waldorf (Iowa).

The four DSU Trojan softball seniors are Alexus Foster, Olivia Peterson, Rosie Philop, and Mackenzie Sims.

All four DSU seniors had played a combined of over 550 career games.  Prior to this weekend's games, Philop had played in 170 contests since the 2020 season.  Sims was seen in action in 145 career games, while Foster played in 127 games.  Peterson played in 116 career games at DSU.

Philop, who primarily plays at first base,  holds the DSU all-time school record in put-outs with 883 putouts.  She broke the previous record of 721 put-outs by Brittany Hill from 2012-15.  Foster plays outfield for the Trojans, while Peterson and Sims play infield.

2024 Dakota State Softball Team Leaders

· Hits:  Hannah McFarland—36 hits

· Batting Average:  Hannah McFarland—.414 batting average (36-of-87 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Hannah McFarland—.506 slugging percentage (28 singles, 8 doubles)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Michelle Evdos—19 runs batted in (RBIs)

· Doubles:  Hannah McFarland, Alexus Foster—8 doubles

· Triples:  Alexus Foster, Jordyn Jeffries, Olivia Peterson—1 triple

· Home Runs:  Alexus Foster—1 home run

· Total Bases:  Hannah McFarland—44 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Hannah McFarland—25 runs

· Walks:  Hannah McFarland—20 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Ally Morrissey. Hannah Feser, Michelle Evdos, Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—2 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Hannah McFarland—20 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Hannah McFarland—.528 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Delaney Barrett—77 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Delaney Barrett—5.00 ERA (55 earned runs in 77 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):  Maycee Bricker—29 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):  Delaney Barrett—5 complete games

· Wins:  Delaney Barrett—5 wins

· Saves:  Maycee Bricker, Jada Brown—1 save

Follow Trojan Softball

· Twitter:  @DSU_Trojans

· Facebook:  DSUTrojans

· Instagram:  trojans.athletics

· Dakota State Softball Twitter:  @DSUSoftball

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

· Dakota State Softball Instagram:  dsu_softball