May 2, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (May 2, 2024)—The Dakota State University (S.D.) Trojan softball team (11-28 overall record, 8-14 North Star Athletic Association record) gets ready for their postseason play.  The Trojans prepare for the North Star Athletic Association Softball Postseason Tournament, which returns to Bravera Field on Sanford Sports Complex (220 1st Ave.) for the second straight year.  The postseason tournament is hosted by Dickinson State (N.D.).

Dakota State kicks off the NSAA opening round Friday afternoon as the No. 5 seed, taking on No. 4 seed Mayville State (N.D.) (14-29 overall record, 9-15 NSAA).  The first pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. (Central Time)/12:30 p.m. (Mountain Time), with the winner moving on to Saturday winner's bracket game against Bellevue (Neb.) (30-16 overall record, 19-3 NSAA conference record) at 1 p.m. (CT)/12 p.m. (MT).

Dakota State is coming off from their North Star's doubleheader split with the conference's leader Bellevue (Neb.) on April 27.  The Trojans earned their first ever road victory at Bellevue by the score of 1-0 in the first game and fell short in the second game, despite a walk-off 2-1 victory by the Bruins with one out in the bottom seventh.  Their third and fourth games of the series were canceled on April 28 due to wet conditions.

The North Star Athletic Association softball postseason tournament is a double elimination format through Monday.  There will be five games being played on Saturday, followed by three contests on Sunday.  The championship game is slated for Monday at 1 p.m. (CT)/12 p.m. (MT).

Next Up:  The NSAA's postseason tournament champion will represent in the NAIA Opening Round on May 13-16.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) had won the North Star Athletic Association Softball postseason tournament's opening round for the past three seasons, including a 3-1 victory over Mayville State (N.D.) in the 2021 conference tournament in Bellevue, Neb.
+ The Trojans defeated Waldorf (Iowa) in the conference postseason tournament's opening round in 2022, held in Watertown, S.D.  Last season, DSU defeated Viterbo (Wis.) in the opening round held in Dickinson, N.D.
+ Dakota State went 2-2 record in last year's conference tournament, despite falling short to Dickinson State (N.D.) in extra innings, finishing fourth place in the tournament.
+ Dakota State and Mayville State (N.D.) split their NSAA"s four-game series at Thue Field on March 14-15.  The Trojans opened the series with an 8-7 walk-off victory followed by a 5-4 setback in the second game.  MSU won the third game of the four-game series before the Trojans rallied for a 11-10 nine-inning thriller in the finale.
+ Hannah McFarland ranks third overall in the North Star conference in batting with .398 for Dakota State.  Michelle Evdos is fifth in the league with .376 batting average.
+ McFarland leads the North Star Athletic Association in stolen bases with 25 stolen bases this season, which is currently fourth most stolen bases in  single season in the DSU softball record book.
+ Dakota State closed the North Star conference schedule by winning four games in the last six conference contests.  The Trojans defeated Waldorf (Iowa) three times, while earning a doubleheader split at Bellevue (Neb.) on April 27.
 
Noteworthy...
NORTH STAR CONFERENCE SEASON RECAP:   Dakota State (S.D.) finished the North Star Athletic Association schedule by winning four times in the last six games, including a doubleheader split with the league's leader Bellevue (Neb.) on the road.  The Trojans finished 8-14 record in the North Star contests.  The Trojans tied with Mayville State (N.D.) in the NSAA conference season in batting average of .275.

AUTOMATIC BID:  The North Star Athletic Association softball have one automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Tournament Opening Round, which is slated for May 13-16 at ten different campus sites announced by the NAIA national office Wednesday.  The NSAA postseason tournament's winner will receive the automatic id to the national tournament, with the conference tournament running May 3-6.

TROJANS IN IN THE NORTH STAR RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Hannah McFarland was second during the North Star's conference season with .471 batting average (33-of-70 at-bats).  She led the league with 17 stolen bases and 1.000 fielding percentage during the conference season.  Michelle Evdos was fifth with .409 batting average for the Trojans (27-of-66 at-bats) and drove in 19 runs.  Dakota State tied for fourth most doubles in the conference with 30 doubles during the league.
 
DSU IN THE PITCHING CIRCLE:  A pair of Dakota State's pitchers tossed a complete game during their North Star's doubleheader at Bellevue (Neb.).  Maycee Bricker earned her third straight complete game victory for the Trojans, including two victories over Waldorf (Iowa) on April 20-21 and a 1-0 shutout over the conference's leader Bellevue (Neb.) on April 27.  Delaney Barrett tossed a complete game at BU on April 27, despite a 2-1 setback.  She also tossed a complete game at Viterbo (Wis.) and versus Waldorf.

Trojans split with NSAA's conference leader Bruins
Omaha, Neb. (April 27, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) and Bellevue (Neb.) battled through a pair of pitcher's duel at Roy Smith Field.  The Trojans captured their first ever road victory at the conference's leader Bellevue (Neb.) by a 1-0 shutout in the first game.  BU registered a 2-1 walk-off victory in the second game, earning a doubleheader split.

Both teams were unable to score in the first six innings of the game, going scoreless.  The Trojans scored a run in the top seventh, thanks to a lead-off single by Quincy Hartley.  She advanced to second after Alexus Foster's sacrifice bunt.  Mason Usselman hit an RBI single to score pinch runner Kamryn Petersen for a 1-0 lead. 

Usselman had a single and an RBI for DSU.  Hannah McFarland, Michelle Evdos, Hartley, and Ally Morrissey each recorded a single.  Maycee Bricker (W, 3-10) tossed a complete game victory, limiting the Bruins to five hits in the game.

Dakota State took the first lead of the game in the second game after Rosie Philop's RBI single to score McFarland.  The Bruins rallied back with a run in the bottom fifth and earned a walk-off victory with one out in the bottom seventh.

Delaney Barrett (L, 7-11) fell short in a complete game for DSU.  Philop had a single and an RBI.

NSAA Softball Postseason Tournament Overview
Dickinson, N.D. (May 2, 2024)—The 2024 North Star Athletic Association Softball Postseason Tournament returns to Bravera Field on Sanford Sports Complex for the second straight year, hosted by Dickinson State (N.D.).

Bellevue (Neb.) is the top seeded team in the postseason tournament and will receive an opening round bye.  The Bruins play on Saturday against the winner of No. 5 seed Dakota State (S.D.) and No. 4 sed Mayville State (N.D.) on Friday afternoon. 

Other Friday's contests include No. 2 seed Valley City State (N.D.) taking on No. 7 sed Viterbo (Wis.), followed by No. 3 seed Dickinson State hosting No. 6 seed Waldorf (Iowa).

The double elimination tournament format continues through Monday with the championship game.  The championship game is set for 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time).

The league tournament's champion will receive the North Star's automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Tournament Opening Round, which is scheduled for May 13-16 at campus sites.

Three DSU athletes earn NSAA softball awards
Dickinson, N.D. (May 2, 2024)—Three Dakota State (S.D.) athletes received honors at the North Star Athletic Association Softball awards ceremony on the eve of the postseason tournament at Biesiot Activities Center. 

Two Trojans were named to NSAA Softball All-Conference First Team—sophomore Hannah McFarland and junior Michelle Evdos.  Alexus Foster was the DSU's recipient to the North Star Athletic Association Softball Champions of Character.

It was the second straight year that McFarland was selected to the NSAA All-Conference team (Second Team in 2023).  Evdos earned her third consecutive NSAA All-Conference First Team selection, the first time Xitlali Lopez where she was named to First Team All-Conference for the Trojans (2018, 2019, and 2021—2020 was canceled due to COVID).

Both McFarland and Evdos rank in the North Star Athletic Association Top 5 in batting average for Dakota State.  McFarland leads the conference in stolen bases with 25 stolen bases.

2024 Dakota State Softball Team Leaders

· Hits:  Hannah McFarland—45 hits

· Batting Average:  Hannah McFarland—.398 batting average (45-of-113 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Michelle Evdos—.484 slugging percentage (25 singles, 10 doubles)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Michelle Evdos—25 runs batted in (RBIs)

· Doubles:  Michelle Evdos—10 doubles

· Triples:  Alexus Foster—2 triples

· Home Runs:  Alexus Foster—2 home runs

· Total Bases:  Hannah McFarland—54 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Hannah McFarland—34 runs

· Walks:  Hannah McFarland—22 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Hannah McFarland, Michelle Evdos—3 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Hannah McFarland—25 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Hannah McFarland—.507 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Delaney Barrett—98 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Delaney Barrett—4.86 ERA (68 earned runs in 98 innings)

· Strikeouts (Pitching):  Maycee Bricker—35 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):  Delaney Barrett—7 complete games

· Wins:  Delaney Barrett—7 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