LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The beginning of the 2013 softball season for Black Hills State University came in the Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas.  The tournament included 28 teams from 14 different states, making it the largest run tourney in NCAA Division II by a single school (Montana State Billings). 

BHSU was one four schools making their debut in the tournament  along with Azusa Pacific, Cal-State Dominguez Hills and Western New Mexico.

Each school was guaranteed five games to be played over the three days and include contests versus different regional teams only, where no games could be played against conference opponent.  The RMAC brought a total of six teams to the tournament, most by any conference.

This was the first time BHSU competed in the Desert Stinger, a tournament that featured a trio of 2012 conference champions in Montana State Billings (GNAC), Dixie State (PacWest) and Fort Lewis who won the RMAC a season ago.

The Yellow Jacket softball team took on California's Notre Dame de Namur (L 17-13), in their first game of their double header on Friday, Feb. 8, followed by St. Cloud State (L 11-3).  Another double-header came the next day on Saturday, Feb. 9, where they took on Academy of Art (L 11-2) in the afternoon and they had a close loss to Northwest Nazarene (6-3) in a night game to finish out the day.  The weekend in the desert ended on Sunday, Feb. 10, at the hands of Western Washington in a 10-3 loss.

The 13 runs scored by the Jackets in their opening game were the most scored in 79 games.  The last time the Jackets scored that many runs was on March 11, 2011 in a 14-10 win over Siena Heights in the Tuscon Invitational.

While the weekend did not end in the win-loss column the way the Yellow Jackets anticipated, there were many improvements and signs of a 2013 squad that has the potential to make great strides as their second season in the RMAC and Division II gets underway.

Head Coach, Amy Gurney, in her seventh season at the helm, was encouraged by flashes of solid performances but knows where her team can improve after the tournament.

"I saw some good things. We know our offense can make up for our mistakes - we hit the heck out of the ball.  But defensively and pitching we have to step up to give our offense a chance," Gurney said.

The 2013 squad began the weekend with seven new players and many playing positions they have never seen live action in prior to these last five games.  They also entered the weekend having to replace their number-one pitcher from last season. Some players that came in and made an immediate impact were freshman, 3B Erica Everson (Rapid City, SD), junior transfer C Sara Schmid (Dacono, CO) and freshman 2B Katie Campo (Las Vegas, NV).

Everson who started at third-base most of the weekend, her first time in the field as she has traditionally been a catcher, was error free through the five games. She made some noise in the batter's box as well as she batted a team-high average of .450 (9-of-20) with five RBIs and three runs scored.

Another player who showed promise and a strong arm was the Colorado transfer, Sara Schmid.

The junior catcher threw out five-of-seven players that attempted to steal.  On the weekend, Schmid had a total of seven defensive assists. She batted .200 average with one RBI and scored four runs.  Schmid found herself on the base-path ten total times out of 16 trips to the plate (.625).  However, due to reaching on errors and or fielder's choices, her official on-base percentage was .350.  Either way, she totaled 22 bases in the five games, walked twice, was hit by a pitch to reach, and had one stolen base.

"Sara Schmid was our most consistent player; she caught four of five games and was our leadoff hitter.  She had a high on base percentage and threw out the five runners trying to steal," Gurney said.

Las Vegas native, Katie Campo, saw her first colligate action also, starting at second-base the entire weekend and notching six total defensive assists along the way.

"She was excited to play in front of her family," Gurney said, "She had a good weekend at the plate and was clutch."

Campo had a .333 average (5-of-15) with two RBIs, three doubles, three runs scored and three walks. The true freshman will work to establish a consistent middle infield next to another junior transfer, SS Ryan Cook (Rock Springs, WY). 

Cook wasn't shy when it came to an aggressive swing.  She batted a .400 average with two homeruns and three RBIs, scored three runs and had an .800 slugging percentage.  The two middle infielders will be relied upon heavily this year to solidify the defensive unit as coach Gurney alluded to as it was her "first priority" when it came to recruiting.

"Cook finished the weekend strong for us, she was five of seven from the plate her last two games with those homeruns," Gurney said.

The next game for the Yellow Jackets will come on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1:00 pm MT at Regis University in the team's first RMAC contest of the season. Later that day in the second game of the double header, the Green and Gold will take on Adams State at 3:00 pm MT.

In the few weeks off, coach Gurney will be looking to improve the pitching of her squad, along with making sure the defense stays consistent going into conference play.

"We will be working on throwing more strikes instead of too much movement from our pitchers so the other team has to earn their runs.  We'll also be looking to have Cook and Shmid continue to communicate and develop into the leaders in our infield defensively," Gurney said.