MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead softball will look to collect four valuable NSIC wins to end the regular season as the Dragons hit the road for doubleheaders against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. MSUM is slated to play the Golden Eagles beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday before battling the Beavers at noon on Friday. 

Live stats and video will be available at msumdragons.com. 

The Dragons are coming off a 4-2 week which saw them sweep Minot State on Thursday before earning splits with Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State over the weekend. MSUM is currently 28-18 overall with a 15-9 mark in NSIC play, making them the number six seed in the NSIC Tournament. With four wins this weekend, MSUM could potentially move up as high as the three seed thanks to tiebreaking scenarios. 

In The Circle

Azalya Lopez is continuing her stellar season on the bump for MSUM, earning three more wins last week to move her record to 16-5 this season. Lopez now sits three wins short of tying the single-season record for pitching wins, held by Julie Vancura (19). Lopez's win total is the fifth-most in the NSIC this season while her 2.22 ERA is the seventh-lowest in the league. The stellar sophomore has struck out 114 batters so far this season, which is the sixth-highest total in the NSIC in 2024. Lopez dazzled in her last start, pitching 10 innings in a thrilling 4-3 Dragon win over St. Cloud State on Sunday. The Corona, Calif., native held the Huskies without a baserunner across the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings in that game. 

Teagan Clemmons also continues to turn in strong outings for MSUM, working towards a 7-6 overall record this year with a 3.65 ERA and 52 strikeouts. Clemmons has pitched a total of 78.2 innings this season. Evey Evans will also see considerable time in the circle for MSUM, having pitched 39.1 innings so far this season with a 2.67 ERA.

At The Plate

Lopez and Chloe Makinney are the lone players on the roster hitting over .300 for the season with Makinney leading the way with a .336 average. After a nice week at the plate, Lopez upped her averaged from .299 to .310 in 2024. Lopez has driven in 26 runs this season, which is second-best on the roster to only Mack Gallagher, who has brought home 27 runs. Gallagher also leads the team in doubles (11) and is tied for the team lead in home runs with Evans (4). Gallagher is hitting .343 in NSIC games this season with a .582 slugging percentage. 

Annika Norman has found her swing in conference games as well for MSUM, slashing for a team-best .354 average in NSIC contests with 28 total hits and 12 RBIs. Norman has also scored 13 runs in NSIC play this year. In total, Norman has driven in 17 runs this season and has 17 runs scored in 2024. Eliyah McCarthy has also been timely at the plate for MSUM, driving in a 11 runs in 41 at-bats during NSIC play. 

In The Field

While the Dragons had moments of struggle on defense this past weekend, they are still one of the top defensive teams in the NSIC. MSUM holds the second-best fielding percentage in the NSIC this season with a .972 clip. The league leader, St. Cloud State, holds a .973 fielding percentage. The Dragons have committed 37 errors this season while opponents have committed 56 when playing MSUM. Eight Dragons still hold a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage this year (Makinney, Teagan Pranchke, Avery Steffen, Ella Holiman, Hannah Losee, Brynna Farman, Grace Oeltjen and Reece Dahl).

Mike Armitage is in his third season as MSUM's head softball coach.