Softball | 3/9/2016 7:39:00 AM
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team opens its annual Spring Break trip to Florida on Saturday with a pair of games in Clermont, Fla. MSUM will face Grand Valley State at 12 p.m. on Saturday and follow with a game against St. Thomas Aquinas at 2 p.m.
In all the Dragons will play 10 games in Florida against nine different opponents. MSUM will face Franklin Pierce twice during the week. MSUM is scheduled to open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on March 22 at home against Northern State.
MSUM is off to a 2-4 start in nonconference play after going 1-3 at the Dragon-Beaver Battle II on March 3-4 in West St. Paul, Minn. Senior pitcher
Kristen Nordby leads MSUM with a .417 average along with two homers and three RBI. Senior outfielder
Kristy Bruni is hitting .412 with a team-best five RBI, while junior
Jill Fox is hitting .286. Freshman shortstop Taylor Roddie has two doubles.
On the mound, Nordby is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA in 15.1 innings. Senior
Morgan Nybo is 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA. Both have one complete game apiece this season.
Former Dragon standout
Kelsey Fehl is in her sixth season as the MSUM head coach.
The opponents:Grand Valley State (9-1): The Lakers, who will play five more games in Florida before facing MSUM, are 9-1, with their only loss coming to Minnesota Duluth (5-0) earlier this week. Ellie Balbach is hitting .474 with a homer and 10 RBI for Grand Valley while Kelsey Dominguez is hitting .353 with five RBI. As a team the Lakers are hitting .315. Allison Lipovsky is 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 20.1 innings for the Lakers, who have a team ERA of 2.11. Dana Callihan is in her second season as the Grand Valley head coach with a record of 41-18 at the school.
St. Thomas Aquinas (0-0): The Spartans play four nonconference games this week before facing MSUM. They finished 11-30 a year ago. Samantha McDonald is the top returning hitter for St. Thomas, hitting .359 with nine homers and 26 RBI last season. Brittany Malloy also returns after going 2-6 on the mound with a 3.92 ERA a year ago. Malloy also hit .301. Kristen Sullivan is the St. Thomas Aquinas head coach.
Pace (0-0): The Setters were 25-17 last season and open the season in Florida on Friday. Pace's top returning hitter is Nikole Larm, who hit .350 with four homers and 20 RBI last season. Larissa Labs hit .306 with four triples last season. Caitlin McCann is the top returning pitcher after going 11-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 118.1 innings last season. Claudia Stabile is in her 35th season as the Pace head coach with a record of 643-670 at the school.
Mercy (2-4): The Mavericks, who will play five games in Florida prior to matching up with MSUM, are 2-4 so far. Marlena Marzigliano is hitting .455 for Mercy, while Joelle Salisbury is hitting .333. On the mound McKaily Cusumano is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings this season. Mike Fazio is in his sixth season as the Mercy head coach.
Franklin Pierce (0-0): Franklin Pierce opens the season in Florida. The Ravens were 8-19 last season. Erin Wood is the top returning hitter; she hit .338 last season. Cassidy Thorson hit .337 for the Ravens. On the mound, Tricia Hansen was 5-6 with a 3.71 ERA. Mike Pelland is in his third overall season as Franklin Pierce head coach with a record of 26-43 at the school.
Wayne State, Mich. (9-2): Wayne State is off to a 9-2 start in 2016. They are led at the plate by Jade McGarr, who is hitting .447 with one homer and eight RBI. Lyndsay Butler is hitting .432 with two homers and six RBI while also going 6-1 with an 0.32 ERA in 44.1 innings on the mound. Gary Bryce is in his 34th season as the Wayne State head coach with a record of 1,161-693-8 at the school.
Southern New Hampshire (0-0): SNHU opens the season in Florida. The Penmen were 35-9 last season. Mo Hannan hit .391 with three homers and 24 RBI last season while Katie Caruso hit .333 with four homers and 31 RBI. The top returning pitcher is Nicole Gubellini, who was 9-3 with a 1.59 ERA last year. Deb Robitaille is in her 11th season as the SNHU head coach with a record of 210-178 at the school.
Philadelphia (0-0): Philadelphia opens the season in Florida. The Rams were 19-25 last season. Kasia Smith is the top returning hitter; she hit .324 with two homers and 18 RBI last season. She is also the top returnee on the mound after going 5-6 with a 3.07 ERA last season. Larry Cooper is in his second season as the Philadelphia head coach.
St. Michael's (0-0). The Purple Knights open the season against MSUM. They were 2-29 a year ago. Christina Braseau returns after hitting .250 last season with a homer and three RBI. Danielle DelGreco hit .244 with four RBI. Danielle Brown was 2-25 with a 6.81 ERA last season and is the most experienced pitcher back for St. Michael's. Robyn Newton is in her 16th season as the St. Michael's head coach with a record of 158-404-1 at the school.
