February 27, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 27, 2025)—The Dakota State University (S.D.) Trojan softball team (3-9 overall record) are set to play a total of six games in a span of three days this weekend in the state of Kansas.  The Trojans play their first games outdoor, starting Friday afternoon as they take on Sterling (Kan.) (4-6 overall record) of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.  The doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. at SC Softball Field in Sterling, Kan.

The Trojans then play their final preseason tournament of the season as they play four games in the Friends (Kan.) Invitational.  The two-day tournament takes place at Two Rivers Youth Complex (1700 N Ridge Road) in Wichita, Kan. 

Dakota State faces another two opponents from the KCAC Conference Saturday afternoon, facing Ottawa (Kan.) (6-6 overall record) at 1:20 p.m. on Field #6 and Friends (Kan.) (4-2 overall record at 3:40 p.m. on Field #5.  The Trojans conclude their tournament on March 2, facing Morningside (Iowa) (6-2 overall record) of the Great Plains Athletic Conference at 12:20 p.m., and Bethany (Kan.) (5-4) of the KCAC conference at 2:40 p.m. on Field #3.

DSU went 2-2 record in their final American State Bank Sports Complex softball dome tournament in Sioux Center, Iowa, last weekend.  The Trojans defeated York (Neb.) of KCAC conference by the score of 9-1 in five innings and fell short to Mount Marty (S.D.) 3-1 on Feb. 21.  DSU also earned a split on Feb. 22, defeating College of Saint Mary (Neb.) 5-4 and falling to Hastings (Neb.) 9-4.

Next Up:  Dakota State is off until Tuesday, March 11 as they return to South Dakota.  The Trojans remain on the road as they visit Mount Marty (S.D.) in a doubleheader at Yankton, S.D.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) will be playing their first outdoor contests this weekend after playing their first 12 games of the season indoors at the American State Bank Sports Complex in Sioux Center, Iowa.
+ The Trojans' remaining non-conference contests features members from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
+ DSU and Sterling (Kan.) will be meeting for the first time since March 22, 2014, where the Trojans earned a doubleheader sweep in Sterling, Kan.  Dakota State had won three times in the last four meetings with the Warriors.
+ The Trojans are playing their first meeting with Ottawa (Kan.) in the Friends (Kan.) Invitational on Saturday.
+ Dakota State plays in the Friends (Kan.) tournament for the third consecutive year.  The Trojans are seeking for their first win over the host team Falcons in the series meeting.  The first all-time series began on March 16, 2013 in Hutchinson, Kan.
+ The Trojans defeated Morningside (Iowa) in both teams' last meeting held in Sioux Center, Iowa, in the American State Bank Sports Complex.  DSU won by the score of 6-1.
+ DSU's first 12 games of the season are held indoors, while the Trojans play their first outdoors next weekend in Kansas.
+ Bethany (Kan.) won the lone all-time meeting with Dakota State on March 21, 2014 in Lyons, Kan.
+ After the Friends Invitational, Dakota State plays four more road contests before playing their first home contests at Thue Field.  The Trojans visit Mount Marty (S.D.) on March 11 and Waldorf (Iowa) on March 18.

Noteworthy...
TROJANS IN THE PRESEASON TOURNAMENTS:   Dakota State played 12 of the first 18 contests of the season against members of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, with all of those 12 teams played in the preseason tournament this season.  Dakota State also played four opponents from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference in the preseason tournament.  The Trojans are 1-0 record against members of the KCAC conference this season (defeated York, Neb., on Feb. 21).

NSAA SOFTBALL CONFERENCE SEASON OPENS IN ONE MONTH:  The North Star Athletic Association softball conference season officially opens in one month with a 20-game slate.  The Trojans open their conference season at home with an eight-game home stand versus Valley City State (N.D.) on March 29-30, followed by a four-game series versus Jamestown (N.D.) on April 5-6.  DSU then play ten straight home games, four at Dickinson State (N.D.) on April 12-13, Mayville State (N.D.) on April 18-19, and Bellevue (Neb.) on April 25 before returning home on April 27 versus Bellevue.

FOR THE RECORDS:  Michelle Evdos extended his all-time doubles at Dakota State, racking up a total of 54 doubles during her career since 2022.  She broke the previous all-time doubles held by Nicole Stewart from 2017-20.  Hannah McFarland surpassed Mackenzie Sims (44 stolen bases) for fifth most stolen bases in school history.  McFarland had swiped 48 bases during her career prior to this weekend's games.
 
FRIENDS (KAN.) INVITATIONAL:  Dakota State will be playing in the Friends (Kan.) Invitational for the third consecutive year.  Including the four opponents this weekend, DSU had faced 11 different opponents in those three Friends tournaments, most teams consisted from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

DSU splits on first day of ASBSC Softball Classic
Sioux Center, Iowa  (Feb. 21, 2025)—Dakota State (S.D.) played their third indoor softball tournament, kicking off with a 9-1 rout in five innings over York (Neb.).  The Trojans fell short in the second game to in-state rival Mount Marty (S.D.) to earn a split on first day.

Dakota State opened the game with a 5-0 lead after the first two innings with York.  After the Panthers scored once in the top fourth, the Trojans plated four runs in the bottom fourth to secure the win.

Hannah McFarland led the Trojans by going 3-of-3 at the plate with a double, two singles, and scored three runs.  Quincy Hartley added two hits.  Hannah Feser and Michelle Evdos each had two hits.  Maycee Bricker earned the victory in the circle 

Mount Marty scored the two runs in the bottom first inning and held off the Trojans 3-1 in the second game.  The Lancers outhit the Trojans 11-5 in the game.

McFarland was 2-of-3 at the plate with two singles and a run scored for DSU.  Evdos added a single and an RBI.  Jordyn Jeffries and Katie Hansen each had a single.  Makenna McGee recorded the defeat in the pitching circle after tossing two innings.  Analicia Burgos pitched three innings in relief, while Bricker worked a scoreless sixth inning. 

Trojans earn another split to close tournament
Sioux Center, Iowa (Feb. 14, 2025)— Dakota State (S.D.) earned a split on the second day, closing out their indoor preseason tournaments at American State Bank Sports Complex, hosted by Dordt (Iowa).

DSU scored the game winning run in the top seventh inning and held on to defeat College of Saint Mary (Neb.) 5-4 in the first game.

Jordyn Jeffries was perfect at the plate by going 4-of-4 with at triple, double, two singles, and drove in two runs.  Hannah McFarland had a double, two run scored, and swiped one base.  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves tallied two singles.  Mason Usselman started the game and worked for two innings.  Maycee Bricker earned the win after pitching five innings in relief.

Hastings used a fast start in night cap, opening a 4-0 lead in the first inning.  The Trojans rallied back to tie the game at 4-4, but the Broncos plated five runs in the top seventh inning to secure the win.

McFarland was 3-of-4 with a double, two singles, and scored twice.  Ortega-Alves added three singles and two Rbis.  Hannah Feser had a single, RBI, rn scored, and a walk.

Trojans in the North Star conference ranks
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 27, 2025)—According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Hannah McFarland of Dakota State (S.D.) ranks second in the North Star Athletic Association in stolen bases.  Prior to this weekend's games, she swiped seven bases this season for the Trojans.

Gabrielle Ortega-Alves ranks fourth in the NSAA conference in batting average with .486.  McFarland also ranks 11th in the league's batting average with .400 batting average.  Ortega-Alves is ninth in the conference with .571 slugging percentage, while Michelle Evdos is 13th with .528 slugging percentage.

Evdos tied for fourth most doubles in the North Star conference with four doubles.  Ortega-Alves and Evdos are both tied for 13th in the NSAA conference in run batted in (RBIs) with seven RBIs.  Quincy Hartly is second in the North Star conference in put-outs, defensively.  She collected 73 put-outs this season for the Trojans.

2025 Dakota State Softball Team Leaders

· Hits:  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—17 hits

· Batting Average:  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—.486 batting average (17-of-35 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—.571 slugging percentage 1(4 singles, 3 doubles)

· Runs Batted In (RBIs):  Michelle Evdos, Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—7 runs batted in (RBIs)

· Doubles:  Hannah McFarland—5 doubles

· Triples:  Lara Dolezal, Jordyn Jeffries—1 triple

· Home Runs:  Michelle Evdos—1 home run

· Total Bases:  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—20 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Hannah McFarland—13 runs

· Walks:  Jordyn Jeffries—5 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  Hannah Feser—2 hit-by-pitches

· Stolen Bases: Hannah McFarland—7 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves—.526 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Maycee Bricker—27 1/3 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Mason Usselman—5.15 ERA

· Strikeouts (Pitching):  Maycee Bricker—14 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):  N/A

· Wins:  Maycee Bricker—2 wins

· Saves:  Maycee Bricker—1 save

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