Softball 3/27/2026 6:08:00 PM Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

DSU prepares for busy Frontier Conference schedule; visits VCSU this weekend and plays home opener Monday

Dakota State (S.D.) travels to Valley City State (N.D.) Saturday and Sunday; hosts Bellevue (Neb.) in home opener at Thue Field Monday

March 27, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan softball team (7-15 overall record, 1-3 Frontier Conference record) prepares for their busies Frontier Conference schedule with six games on three consecutive days. The Trojans travel to Valley City State (N.D.) (12-13 overall record, 2-2 Frontier) Saturday and Sunday for a four-game series at Softball Complex (101 College Street SW) in Valley City, N.D. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 2 p.m., followed by another doubleheader on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Dakota State plays their first home games of the season Monday in a Frontier Cofnerence doubleheader versus Bellevue (Neb.) (12-13, 2-2 Frontier) at Thue Field. The first game of the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State continues their busy Frontier Conference schedule with another four-game series this weekend. Originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the Trojans travel to Valley City State (N.D.) Saturday and Sunday for their first league's road four-game series.

*The Trojans will play on three consecutive days, starting Saturday with a doubleheader at VCSU. DSU then plays another doubleheader at VCSU on Sunday before returning home Monday versus Bellevue (Neb.).

*DSU plays their first home games at Thue Field on Monday. The Trojans kick off their six-game home stand in the Frontier Conference.

*Dakota State is scheduled to play a total of 12 home games at Thue Field this season, including 10 Frontier Conference games. The Trojans host Waldorf (Iowa) in a make-up home doubleheader on April 14 and close their home schedule versus Bismarck State (N.D.) on April 24-25.

*DSU prepares for a busy April with 20 total games scheduled before their conference tournament on April 30-May 3 in Dickinson, N.D.

2025-26 STATS COMPARISON


Batting Average	.324	.298	.334
Runs	137	84	140
On-Base %	.394	.363	.408
Slugging %	.437	.407	.488
Home Runs	11	9	12
Hits	227	161	224
Doubles	38	28	55
Triples	4	2	6
Stolen Bases	26	27	19
Walks	77	55	83
Fielding %	.947	.930	.960
ERA	4.87	6.64	3.22

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Matt Gable enters his fourth season as Valley City State (N.D.) softball head coach. The Vikings finished fourth in the final year of the North Star Athletic Association last season. Gable has recorded 25+ wins in each of his first three seasons at Valley City State.

The Vikings are coming off a series split against Bellevue in their opening weekend of Frontier Conference action. The Vikings fell 4-1 in the opening game of the series before responding with a 6-5 victory in game two. Valley City then went on to take game three by a score of 4-1, before falling in the series finale 12-6. The Vikings are currently in a four-way tie for second place in the Frontier after the first weekend of conference play.

VCSU went 4-0 record in last year's four-game series in Madison, S.D. The Vikings outscored the Trojans 39-7 in those contests.

DSU is seeking its first win against Valley City State since an extra-innings thriller on April 29th, 2023, where the Trojans won 5-4 in eight innings.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
Michala Cimino enters her 17th season as Bellevue (Neb.) softball head coach. The Bruins finished third in the final year of the North Star Athletic Association last season. Cimino has recorded 29 or more wins in every season as head coach of the Bruins.

The Bruins are coming off a series split against Valley City State in their opening weekend of Frontier Conference action. The Bruins won 4-1 in the opening game of the series before dropping a 6-5 decision in game two. Bellevue then went on to lose game three by a score of 4-1, before taking the series finale 12-6. The Bruins are currently in a four-way tie for second place in the Frontier after the first weekend of conference play. Bellevue also competed against Concordia (Neb.) in mid-week action, besting the Bulldogs by a score of 8-2.

BU went 2-2 record in last year's meetings in Madison, S.D. and Bellevue (Neb.). The Bruins split both meetings at home and on the road.

Bellevue and Dakota State last met in the opening round of the North Star Athletic Association conference tournament in Dickinson, N.D., where BU defeated DSU by a score of 8-2.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State (S.D.) kicked off their Frontier Conference last weekend versus Mayville State (N.D.). Despite moving the home opener to Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Trojans opened their four-game series with one victory in the four-game series with the Comets.

Mayville State began the series opener with a 5-0 lead through four-and-half innings. The Trojans snapped their scoring drought with two runs scored in the bottom half of the fifth inning to trim their deficit to 5-2. DSU attempted a comeback in the final inning after Alexia Hayden's solo home run but fell short by the score of 5-3.

Hayden finished the game with a home run, double, and drove in three runs for DSU. Emmalynn Rabe added three singles. Julia Maldonado and Katie Hansen each tallied a single. Ally Morrissey recorded two singles and scored a run. Grace Kitterman took the setback after working 4 1/3 innings, while Makenna McGee tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.

Mayville State used a fast start, racing to an 11-1 lead after the first two innings in the second game of the four-game series. The Comets never trailed in the game and earned a doubleheader sweep after a 14-4 five-inning victory. Morrissey led the Trojans with two hits and two RBIs. Maldonado added two hits and an RBI. Gabrielle Ortega-Alves recorded a single and an RBI. Quincy Hartley had a double. Brenley Goebel and Hannah McFarland each had a hit.

Dakota State earned their first Frontier Conference victory on the second day of the four-game series in Sioux Falls. The Trojans led 5-3 after three innings and held off the Comets by the score of 7-4. DSU outhit MSU 15-8 in the game, with five players earning multi-hit games.

Rabe led the Trojans with three hits, including a home run, and drove in a run. Ortega-Alves, McFarland, Hayden, and Hartley each collected two hits. Hayden also had a home run and drove in three runs. Maldonado, Makynna TenEyck, Alexis Resseguie, and Goebel each recorded a hit. Maycee Bricker pitched a complete game victory in the circle for DSU.

Mayville State edged Dakota State in the four-game series finale to earn a series victory. Both teams scored twice in the third inning, while the Comets shut down the Trojans 4-0 in the final four innings to earn a 6-2 victory. Rabe (two doubles) and McFarland (double) each recorded three hits in the game for Dakota State. McFarland drove in two runs. Maldonado and Morrissey each added a hit. Kitterman and McGee each worked in the pitching circle for DSU.

Dakota State played a pair of exhibition contests on March 25, falling to NCAA Division I North Dakota in Grand Forks by the scores of 9-0 and 8-0.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Dakota State ranks second in the Frontier Conference with .366 batting average during four conference games this season. The Trojans are also second in the league with .423 on-base percentage during the league, and third with .509 slugging percentage.

DSU ranks second in the Frontier Conference in fielding percentage of .973 with 111 total chances, 78 put-outs, and 30 assists.

Hannah McFarland ranks fifth overall in the league with .435 batting average for the Trojans. She also ranks fourth in the conference with 10 stolen bases. Alexis Hayden ranks fourth in the Frontier Conference with 23 runs batted in (RBIs) and tied for fourth most home runs with three home runs.

2026 DSU SOFTBALL RETURNING TEAM LEADERS

· Hits: Hannah McFarland—27 hits

· Batting Average: Hannah McFarland—.435 batting average (27-of-62 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage: Alexia Hayden—.746 slugging percentage (3 home runs, 2 triples, 8 doubles, 10 singles)

· Runs Batted In (RBI): Alexia Hayden—23 RBIs

· Doubles: Alexia Hayden—8 doubles

· Triples: Alexia Hayden—2 triples

· Home Runs: Quincy Hartley, Alexia Hayden—3 home runs

· Total Bases: Alexia Hayden—44 total bases

· Runs Scored: Emmalynn Rabe—16 runs

· Walks: Hannah McFarland—11 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch: Julia Maldonado—2 hit-by-pitches