MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this week with three doubleheaders on the road. The trip starts Thursday with a doubleheader against Northern State, which will be held at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The twinbill with Northern State is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday. After that, MSUM is scheduled to face Wayne State on Friday for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. in Wayne, Neb. The weekend concludes with a doubleheader against Augustana beginning at noon on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The games are the first action for MSUM (2-13) since March 14 at the Rebel Spring Games in Florida.
The young Dragons -- with just one senior and two juniors on their active roster -- are led offensively by sophomore
Moriah Bruns, who is hitting .364 with a homer and seven RBI. Freshman
Kelly Watson is hitting .286 in 21 at-bats, while freshman
Kristen Nordby is hitting .268 with one homer and seven RBI. As team, MSUM is hitting .231 with five homers and 32 RBI.
On the mound, freshman
Katie Edison is 0-3 with a solid 2.24 ERA in 25 innings for the Dragons, while Nordby has a 2.76 ERA and an 0-2 record in 12.2 innings. Freshman
Morgan Nybo has a 2-2 mark and 3.96 ERA in 23 innings pitched.
Kelsey Fehl is in her third season as MSUM's head coach.
About the opponents:
Northern State: The Wolves are 8-10 overall on the season. They enter Thursday's doubleheader with MSUM on a six-game losing streak. Northern's offense is led by Kelsey Robling, who is hitting .316 with three homers and 18 RBI. Caitlin Moran is hitting .314, while Gale is hitting .304 with 10 RBI. As a team, Northern is hitting .231 with eight homers and 69 RBI in 18 games. On the mound, Kami Smesmo is 5-4 with a 2.84 ERA in 56.2 innings. Kristi Villar is in her third season with a record of 46-67 at the school.
Wayne State: The Wildcats are 9-5 overall. Wayne State split a doubleheader with Nebraska-Kearney on March 20 in Kearney, Neb. Kelcie Bormann leads Wayne State with a .447 average, while Sam O'Brien is hitting .400 with four homers and 20 RBI. As a team, Wayne State is hitting .320 with four homers and 75 RBI in 14 games. On the mound, Bormann is 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched. Krista Wood is in her seventh season as Wayne's head coach with a record of 216-125 at the school.
Augustana: The Vikings are off to an 11-4 start, although they have lost eight games to weather postponements so far. They will face Wayne State and Northern State prior to facing the Dragons. Theresa McMahon leads the Vikings with a .400 batting average, while Jenny Brown is hitting .365. As a team, Augustana is hitting .298 with 11 homers and 70 RBI. On the mound, Jenelle Trautmann is leading the Viking pitching staff with an 10-3 mark and 1.33 ERA in 84.1 innings. Gretta Melstad is in her seventh season as Augustana's head coach with a record of 230-121 at the school.
