Live Stats (Northern)
Live Stats (Augie)
Live Stats (Wayne)
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this week with three doubleheaders. MSUM will play at Northern State on Wednesday and then play at Augustana on Saturday and Wayne State (Neb.) on Sunday to conclude the weekend.
MSUM's doubleheader with Northern State was originally scheduled for Tuesday in Moorhead, Minn., but has been moved to Aberdeen, S.D., on Wednesday. The Dragons will be the home team in both games. The twinbill starts at 3 p.m. at the Presentation College Field in Aberdeen, S.D. Saturday's doubleheader against Augustana begins at noon in Sioux Falls, S.D., while Sunday's doubleheader at Wayne State will begin at noon in Wayne, Neb.
The Dragons are off to a 4-5 start on the season after going 4-3 at the Dot Richardson Spring Games in Clermont, Fla., last week.
Junior center fielder
Mollie Annen leads the Dragons with a .296 average while freshman first baseman
Lauren Meeker is hitting .278. Sophomore designated hitter
Kristy Bruni leads with three homers and four RBI. Through nine games, MSUM is hitting .206 with seven homers and 17 RBI.
MSUM's pitching has been solid. Sophomore
Morgan Nybo is 3-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 34.1 innings. She has 27 strikeouts. Sophomore
Kristen Nordby is 1-3 with a 4.45 ERA in 22 innings. MSUM's team ERA is 3.36, a vast improvement from a year ago.
Former Dragon standout
Kelsey Fehl is in her fourth season as MSUM's head coach.
About the opponents:
Northern State: The Wolves are 7-9 to start the season (0-0 in the NSIC) and are coming off a 3-3 performance at the Missouri Western tournament on March 21-23. Freshman Rachel Albright is hitting .419 with three homers and 11 RBI for Northern while sophomore Kelsey Gale is hitting .333. The Wolves are hitting .254 as a team with eight homers and 52 RBI. On the mound, junior Kami Smesmo is 5-3 with a 2.10 ERA in 50 innings. She has 30 strikeouts. Kristi Villar is in her fourth season as Northern State's head coach with a record of 64-89 at the school.
Augustana: Augustana is 17-4 overall and 0-0 in the NSIC. The Vikings will face Wayne State in a twinbill prior to facing MSUM. Junior Mackenzie Alstott is hitting .456 with a .500 on-base percentage, while sophomore Carly Peterson is hitting .406. As a team, the Vikings are hitting .297 with 10 homers and 83 RBI. On the mound, sophomore Carley Pickett is 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA, while junior Jenelle Trautmann is 11-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 65 innings. Gretta Melsted is in her eighth season as Augustana's head coach with a record of 268-138.
Wayne State: The Wildcats are 14-8 overall. They will face Augustana and Northern State in doubleheaders prior to facing MSUM on Sunday. Melanie Alyea and Kaiti Williams each are hitting .377 for the Wildcats while Kelcie Bormann is hitting .323. Wayne State is hitting .301 as a team with 10 homers and 104 RBI. On the mound, Kelcie Bormann is 8-1 with a 2.12 ERA in 72.2 innings. Krista Wood is in her eighth season as Wayne State's head coach with a record of 249-144 at the school.
