March 6, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan softball team (2-6 overall record) returns to action for the first time in two weeks as they play their first outdoor contests after playing their first two games held inside the dome.  The Trojans play their first road contests of the season, playing a doubleheader at Peru State (Neb.) (2-5 overall record).  The games are held at La Vista City Park (7629 Josephine St.) in La Vista, Neb.

Dakota State then plays eight games in a span of four straight days from Monday through Thursday in the Stars & Stripes Spring Break Classic, held in Branson, Mo.  The Trojans will face Missouri Valley, Crowley's Ridge (Mo.), Harris-Stowe State (Mo.), No. 17 ranked Evangel (Mo.), Doane (Neb.), and Mission (Mo.).

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State returns to action for the first time since Feb. 21 as they prepare for their busy schedule.  The Trojans play their first games outside after playing their first eight games inside the dome (held in Sioux Center, Iowa).

*DSU faces Peru State (Neb.) in the first doubleheader of the year with a same opponent on Saturday.  The Bobcats won the previous meeting on March 4, 2023, in the Friends (Kan.) Invitational, where Peru State opened with an 11-0 lead after three innings before the Trojans rallied back with five runs in the bottom fourth inning.  PSC held on to win by the score of 11-5.

*Dakota State will play in their final preseason tournament of the season next week.  The Trojans compete in the Stars & Stripes Spring Break tournament held at Branson, Mo.  

*DSU will play four straight days of competition, with two games on each day.  The Trojans play a doubleheader on the first day on March 9 versus Missouri Valley.  DSU then plays Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) and Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) on March 10.

*Dakota State plays No. 17 ranked Evangel (Mo.) on March 11, followed by a contest with Doane (Neb.) for the second time this season on the same day.  The Trojans close out the tournament versus Mission (Mo.) in a doubleheader on Thursday before coming home on March 14 versus Waldorf (Iowa).

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Peru State is coached by Renita Closner. She enters her fourth season as head coach of the Bobcats.

Peru State has won their last two games coming into this matchup, sweeping a doubleheader against Waldorf (Iowa).

The Bobcats are hitting .362 as a team and carry a 3.89 team ERA.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Kelly James-Crumbaugh enters her third year leading the Missouri Valley softball program. He is a Missouri Valley alum.

The Vikings play a doubleheader against Columbia (Mo.) on Saturday before clashing with the Trojans.

Missouri Valley is hitting .239 as a team and is pitching to a 7.91 team ERA.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Ryan Hargrove enters his first season at the helm of the Crowley's Ridge softball program. He brings 15 years of coaching experience, having previous been at Missouri State-West Plains and North Arkansas College.

The Pioneers have yet to win a game this season coming into this matchup with the Trojans.

Crowley's Ridge has a team batting average of .218 and is pitching to an 11.29 team ERA.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Larry Young is the head softball coach for Harris-Stowe State. This is his second stint at Harris-Stowe State.

The Hornets are 1-3 on the year. Their last game was a 2-0 win against Principia College, where their pitcher Symone Abraham threw a perfect game.

The Hornets are batting .324 as a team and have a 5.65 team ERA.

SCOUTING THE VALOR
Jay Halbrook is the head coach of the Evangel softball team. He enters his tenth season at Evangel with a record of 274-176-1.

Evangel has had an excellent start to the season. The Valor have gone 14-4 with signature wins against #2 Oklahoma City and #9 USAO (Okla.).

Evangel is batting .290 as a team and is pitching to a 2.26 team ERA.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Samantha Valadez-Haralabidis enters her first season as the head coach after being an Associate Head Coach since 2023. She played collegiate softball for her alma mater from 2014-17.

Doane comes into this weekend off a weekend split at the Top Gun Midwest College Classic.

Doane is batting .285 and pitches to a 4.20 team ERA.

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
Mission University's head softball coach is Dana Meinders. She is in her third season leading the program.

The Patriots have a record of 3-5 this season. Mission is batting .257 and has a team ERA of 3.96.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State played in a pair of American State Bank Sports Complex dome tournaments, hosted by Dordt (Iowa) in Sioux Center, Iowa.  The Trojans kicked off their season with a split on both days in the first preseason tournament.

DSU earned a 3-2 eight innings victory over Briar Cliff (Iowa) to start the season, recording a walk-off victory to give the head coach Hunter Lambdin his first career collegiate coaching victory.  It was the first time that the Trojans had won the season opening game held at ASB Dome, with the last season opening victory coming in 2022 at the Presentation (S.D.) dome in Aberdeen, S.D.

Dakota State led 2-0 after four innings before Briar Cliff tied the game at 2-2 in the top sixth inning.  Alexia Hayden hit an RBI walk-off single to score Lara Dolzeal for a 3-2 eight-inning victory.  Hannah McFarland finished the game with three hits.  Gabrielle Ortega-Alves and Hayden each added two hits and an RBI.

Grace Kitterman tossed six innings and allowed two runs on three hits. She recorded five strikeouts.  Maycee Bricker earned the win after shutting down the Chargers for two innings in relief.

Dordt defeated Dakota State 12-1 in five innings in the second game on Feb. 13.  McFarland tallied two hits in the game.

The Trojans held on to defeat Waldorf (Iowa) on Feb. 14, earning a 2-1 record start for the first time since the 2012 season.  It was the first time that DSU had won two games in the four-game tournament slate in Sioux Center.  The Trojans took a 2-0 lead after four innings before the Warriors rallied back for four runs to take a 4-2 lead in the top fifth.  DSU answered with three runs in the bottom fifth, highlighted by Ally Morrissey's 2-RBI single and Dolezal's RBI single for a 5-4 lead. 

McFarland, Quincy Hartley, and Morrissey each recorded two hits in the game for DSU.  Bricker started the game for the Trojans, tossing 4 1/3 innings.  Kitterman earned the win after working for 2 2/3 innings, giving up two unearned runs on three hits.

No. 17 ranked Northwestern defeated Trojans to close the first preseason tournament on Feb. 14.

Dakota State was unable to come up with a win in the second American State Bank Sports Complex Softball Tournament on Feb. 20-21.  The Trojans fell to Doane (Neb.), Northwestern, (RV) Morningside (Iowa), and Briar Cliff (Iowa).

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats website as of Friday, Dakota State's Hannah McFarland is leading the Frontier Conference in batting average.  She leads the team with .522 batting average.  Alexia Hayden is fifth in the league with .412 batting average.

Quincy Hartley ties for second most home runs in the Frontier Conference with two home runs.  Hannah McFarland ranks second in the league with six stolen bases.    

Dakota State is batting .273 as a team, which is fourth-best in the Frontier Conference prior to this weekend's games.   

DSU LOOKING FORWARD TO HOME STAND
Dakota State is looking forward to their first home stand at Thue Field this season.  The Trojans are scheduled to open their six-game home stand on March 14 versus former North Star Athletic Association member Waldorf (Iowa) in a doubleheader.

DSU begins their Frontier Conference four-game home stand series versus Mayville State (N.D.) on March 20-21.  The four-game series will consist of a doubleheader on both days, starting at 2 p.m. on the first day and 12 p.m. on the second day of the doubleheader. 

After their exhibition doubleheader at NCAA Division I on March 25 and conference's four-game series at Valley City State on March 27-28, Dakota State returns home for another six-game Frontier Conference home stand versus Bellevue (Neb.) on March 30 and a four-game series with Providence (Mont.) on April 2-3.

Dakota State closes out their home schedule on April 24-25 as they host Bismarck State (N.D.) in the Frontier Conference's four-game series.

2026 DSU SOFTBALL RETURNING TEAM LEADERS

· Hits:  Hannah McFarland—12 hits

· Batting Average:  Hannah McFarland—.522 batting average (12-of-23 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage:  Hannah McFarland—.609 slugging percentage (10 singles, 2 doubles)

· Runs Batted In (RBI):  Hannah McFarland—5 RBIs

· Doubles:  Hannah McFarland, Alexia Hayden—2 doubles

· Triples:  N/A

· Home Runs:  Quincy Hartley—2 home runs

· Total Bases:  Hannah McFarland—14 total bases

· Runs Scored:  Ally Morrissey—4 runs

· Walks:  Emmalynn Rabe, Alexia Hayden—4 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch:  N/A

· Stolen Bases: Hannah McFarland—6 stolen bases

· On-base percentage:  Hannah McFarland—.577 on-base percentage

· Innings Pitched:  Maycee Bricker—17 innings

· Earned Runs Average (ERA):  Maycee Bricker—4.94 earned run average

· Strikeouts (Pitching):   Maycee Bricker—10 strikeouts

· Complete Games (Pitching):   Maycee Bricker—1 complete game

· Wins:  Maycee Bricker, Grace Kitterman—1 win

· Saves:  N/A