Dakota State prepares for 4-game Frontier Conference softball at Dickinson State (N.D.)

Softball 4/17/2026 5:21:00 PM Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

DSU softball stays on the road in Frontier Conference play, takes on conference leader in four-game series

Dakota State (S.D.) visits Dickinson State (N.D.) in four-game series at Bravera Field

April 17, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dakota State University Trojan softball team (13-27 overall record, 5-15 Frontier Conference record) stays on the road in the Frontier Conference play Sunday and Monday. The Trojans travel to Bravera Field to take on the conference's leader Dickinson State (N.D.) (28-12, 16-4 Frontier Conference) in a four-game series in Dickinson, N.D.

The doubleheader starts Sunday at 3 p.m. (Central Time)/2 p.m. (Mountain Time) and 1 p.m. (CT)/12 p.m. (MT) on Monday.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State stays on the road in their Frontier Conference action. The Trojans had been on the road in the conference play since April 10-11 with a four-game series at Carroll (Mont.) and a doubleheader at Bellevue (Neb.) on April 14.

*DSU takes on the Frontier Conference leader Dickinson State (N.D.), who has won 12 straight league games, including a four-game series sweep with Valley City State (N.D.) on April 10-11 followed by a doubleheader sweep at Bismarck State (N.D.) on April 15.

*The Frontier Conference softball season is heading into their final two weekends of regular season play. The conference postseason tournament returns to Bravera Field in Dickinson, N.D., on April 30 through May 3.

*Dakota State has six more wins from last year, producing most wins since the 2023 season (15 wins).

*The Trojans had won three times in the last four games, including their first home doubleheader sweep since April 21, 2024.

2025-26 STATS COMPARISON


Batting Average	.351	.283
Runs	300	143
On-Base %	.431	.354
Slugging %	.505	.395
Home Runs	22	15
Hits	379	281
Doubles	75	45
Triples	13	11
Stolen Bases	75	41
Walks	134	104
Fielding %	.968	.943
ERA	3.48	6.16

SCOUTING THE BLUE HAWKS
Kristen Fleury enters her 16th season as Dickinson State (N.D.) head softball coach. The Blue Hawks finished second in the final year of the North Star Athletic Association last season.

Dickinson State has won twelve straight contests coming into this matchup. The Blue Hawks are coming off a Frontier Conference doubleheader sweep of Bismarck State on April 15. The Blue Hawks took the mid-week contests by scores of 9-5 and 12-5. Their last setback came at Carroll (Mont.) in Helena on March 28.

Dickinson State's offense is led by Brooke Lijewski, who is batting .453 with a 1.314 OPS and eight home runs and 49 RBI on the season. The Blue Hawks' pitching staff is pitching to a 3.48 team earned run average and a .282 batting average against.

Dickinson State won all four matchups against Dakota State last season. The Trojans are seeking to snap their 14-game losing skid in the series meeting with the Blue Hawks.

Dakota State's last win with Dickinson State was on April 24, 2022, where the Trojans rallied back for a 9-8 victory at Thue Field and went on to win the series with 2-1 record. Dakota State is also seeking for their last win in Dickinson, N.D., since April 24, 2021.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State (S.D.) kicked off their season-long 10-game road trip in Frontier Conference action with a four-game series at Carroll (Mont.) on April 10-11. The Fighting Saints held on to earn a 3-1 series victory, despite wet weather on the second day of the series.

The Trojans kicked off their four-game series by edging the Saints 3-2 on April 10. DSU took a 3-0 lead heading to the bottom sixth inning and held off CC's late comeback. Gabrielle Ortega-Alves led the team with a double, single, and RBI. Ally Morrissey, Brenley Goebel, and Alexis Resseguie each had two hits. Goebel and Resseguie each collected an RBI. Maycee Bricker tossed a complete game victory in the pitching circle, allowing two runs on five hits and recording three strikeouts.

Carroll shut down Dakota State 3-0 in the second game of the series, holding the Trojans to two hits in the game. The Saints scored once in the bottom second, fourth, and fifth innings. Quincy Hartley and Resseguie each had a single. Grace Kitterman pitched a complete game in the circle for DSU.

The game was knotted at 0-0 in the bottom third inning on the second day (April 11) and was halted to a 2-hour lightning delay. When the game resumed, the Saints scored 11 total runs in the bottom third and fourth frames to defeat the Trojans 11-0 in five innings. DSU was held to one hit in the game, a single from Ortega-Alves. Bricker, Makenna McGee, and Mason Usselman pitched in the game.

Carroll closed the four-game series with a 9-2 victory, thanks to their five-run production in the opening inning. The Trojans scored once in the top second and third innings to trim their deficit to 5-2, while the Saints added four more runs to secure the victory. Julia Maldonado and Hartley each had a hit and an RBI. Hannah McFarland, Emmalynn Rabe, and Morrissey each had a hit. Kitterman worked for 3 2/3 innings in the circle, while McGee pitched 2 1/3 innings in relief.

Dakota State returned home on April 14, hosting Waldorf (Iowa) in their final non-conference games of the season. The Trojans earned their first home doubleheader sweep since April 2024 (by the same team, Waldorf) with 7-3 and 11-8 wins.

DSU highlighted the first game with back-to-back RBI triples by Alexia Hayden and Rabe in the bottom fifth inning. Ortega-Alves finished the game with three hits and two RBIs. Rabe added a triple and an RBI. Hartley had a bases-clearing 3-RBI double in the opening inning. McFarland, Maldonado and Goebel each had a single. Bricker tossed a complete game victory in the circle for Dakota State.

The Trojans trailed 5-2 after three innings in the second game of the doubleheader, but exploded for eight runs in the bottom fourth inning. DSU held off WU's late comeback for an 11-8 win. Six Trojan players had at least two hits in the game, led by Hayden and Goebel with three hits each. McFarland, Ortega-Alves, Rabe, and Morrissey each had two hits. Kitterman earned a complete game victory in the circle for DSU.

Dakota State returned to Frontier Conference play on April 15, earning a doubleheader split with Bellevue (Neb.). It was the second straight year that both teams split a doubleheader at their home site (DSU and BU split doubleheader earlier this season at Thue Field on March 30.

Both DSU and BU tied the game 2-2 after the first inning, while the Bruins took a 4-2 lead after the second inning. The Trojans attempted to come back but fell short, despite scoring a run in the top sixth inning. Rabe finished the game with two singles and swiped one base. McFarland, Ortega-Alves, Morrissey, and Resseguie each had a single. McGee pitched a complete game in the circle for the Trojans.

Dakota State answered with a 4-1 victory in the second game of the doubleheader at Bellevue. The Trojans opened with a 3-0 lead after three innings, highlighted by Hartley's 2-run home run and Hayden's RBI double. After the Bruins scored a run in the bottom fourth with a solo home run, DSU added a run in the top fifth inning with a double steal with McFarland stealing for second base and Goebel stealing home for a 4-1 lead.

McFarland and Rabe each had two hits for DSU. Hartley had a home run and drove in two runs. Hayden had a double and an RBI. Goebel recorded a double and a stolen base. Bricker earned a complete game victory for Dakota State, limiting the Bruins to one run on seven hits. She registered three strikeouts.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Dakota State's outfielder ties for fourth most stolen bases in the Frontier Conference. She is also eighth in the conference with .409 batting average for the Trojans. Emmalynn Rabe ties the most triples in the conference with six triples.

Maycee Bricker is ninth in the Frontier Conference with 4.10 earned run average (ERA). She is also second in the league in total innings pitched with 97 1/3 innings. Alexia Hayden is tied for seventh most runs batted in (RBIs) with 32.

DSU is fifth in the conference with 281 total hits and 241 total innings pitched this season.

2026 DSU SOFTBALL TEAM LEADERS

· Hits: Hannah McFarland—47 hits

· Batting Average: Hannah McFarland—.409 batting average (47-of-115 at-bats)

· Slugging Percentage: Alexia Hayden—.645 slugging percentage (4 home runs, 3 triples, 13 doubles, 20 singles)

· Runs Batted In (RBI): Alexia Hayden—32 RBIs

· Doubles: Alexia Hayden—13 doubles

· Triples: Emmalynn Rabe—6 triples

· Home Runs: Quincy Hartley—5 home runs

· Total Bases: Alexia Hayden—71 total bases

· Runs Scored: Emmalynn Rabe—26 runs

· Walks: Hannah McFarland—21 walks

· Hit-by-Pitch: Julia Maldonado—4 hit-by-pitches