Spearfish, S.D. – The regular season for Softball is officially here. Black Hills State will begin their season with a three-day tournament trip to Minot, North Dakota to face UMary on Friday, Minot State on Saturday, and MSU Moorhead on Sunday at the Beaver Bubble Invite.
GAME DETAILS
• Location: Minot, North Dakota (Air-Supported Dome)
• First Pitch Friday: 12 PM and 2 PM MST
• First Pitch Saturday: 3 PM and 5 PM MST
• First Pitch Sunday: 1 PM and 3 PM MST
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES
• Black Hills State enters this season ranked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll and is coming off the best season in the program's D2 history after going 15-32 (14-28 RMAC) last season.
• Head Coach
Ashlyn Englehorn enters her second season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, she has a record of 15-32 with BHSU and a career 35-81 record as a head coach after spending two years with Crown College.
•
Alyssa Wong is one of the top returning players for Black Hills State this year. After spending her first year with Fort Lewis, Wong joined the Yellow Jackets and was a standout player for us and was All-RMAC Honorable Mention last season after posting a .339 batting average with 21 RBIs.
• Junior shortstop
Lily Simmons made a massive leap last season posting a .319 batting average with 29 runs scored and started all 47 games for the Yellow Jackets last season. She had 15 RBIs to go with her stellar breakout season and finished with .914 fielding percentage.
• Senior First Baseman
Ashlynn Pauwels is coming off a record breaking 2024 season where she finished with a BHSU single season record of 14 doubles. She was tied for the team lead in home runs with six, including a two-home run game versus Regis, second on the team with 44 hits, third in batting average (.303), and had a team-best .552 slugging percentage with a team high 34 RBIs to go with it.
• Sophomore Pitcher
Laci Peskey broke into the top 10 in BH history with a bunch of historic single-season stats. Peskey finished second in BHSU history in games started with 23, third in innings pitched with 138.2, tied for third in games pitched with 28, fourth in complete games with 16, fifth in wins with seven, seventh in shut outs with 1, and ninth in strikeouts with 85. All of those were single season records. She became the first Yellow Jacket to complete 130 or more innings since 2018 and had a team best 7-15 record with a 5.60 ERA.
UMARY STORYLINES
• UMary is coming into this season after going 10-38 last season with a 3-23 record in the NSIC, which was their best record since the Covid shortened 2020 season
• Marauders Head Coach Amy Schmeckpeper is entering her first season as head coach for UMary she comes from being the head coach at Garden City Community College in Kansas, where she had 17 All-Region Athletes and an All-American. Schmeckpeper was very successful at GCCC, winning the KJCCC West Division Championship in her first season.
• Junior third basemen Francesca Villaneda was the team leader in batting average and on base percentage last season with a .357/.405 split. She also led the team in hits and was second in total bases.
• Junior catcher Emily Schommer was the team leader in home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. She posted two home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .440 slugging percentage.
• Senior pitcher Hannah Chambers was the team leader in innings pitches with 72, games started with 17, complete games with four, and was second on ERA with 5.74.
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday will be the first meeting between the Yellow Jackets and the Marauders.
MINOT STATE STORYLINES
• Minot State is entering this game after having another winning season last year going 24-19 (18-10 NSIC). It was their eighth straight winning season.
• Head Coach Sal Rodriguez is entering his second season with the team after being named interim head coach in the Spring of 2023, and official Head Coach in the summer of that year. He has a career record of 28-21.
• Junior catcher Anna LaCount is the top returning player for Minot State. LaCount was one of only three players named to NSIC All-Conference teams from MSU, she's the only returner out of the three. LaCount was on the Second Team All-Conference team for the NSIC last season. She finished with a .347 batting average with 24 RBIs and a .968 fielding percentage.
• Senior outfielder Abby Lohse was third on the team in OPS last season, while also being third in slugging, RBIs, and on base percentage. She was second on the team in hits, total bases, and home runs.
• Senior pitcher Reegan Floyd was the top pitcher for the Beavers last season, pitching 132 innings to a 10-9 record with a 2.60 ERA with 14 complete games. She had 66 strikeouts to only 18 walks.
SERIES HISTORY
• Black Hills State is 5-24 versus Minot State in the season series. Minot State has won 18 of the previous 20 matchups versus the Yellow Jackets
• The most recent matchup between the Yellow Jackets was on February 8th, 2020, where BHSU had one of their only two wins in the last 20 with a 5-4 win in Minot.
MINNESOTA MOORHEAD STORYLINES
• Moorhead is coming of their best season since 2004, where they went 33-19 (19-9 NSIC). It was their second straight 30-win season.
• The Dragons Head Coach Vanessa Kellems is entering her first season as head coach of Minnesota Moorhead after their previous head coach took a D1 head coaching job. Kellems was hired this season and is taking over for a team that has won a lot in two years.
• Annika Norman is the top returning player for MSUM, the senior infielder was named to the Second Team All-Conference team this past season after batting .313 with a .666 OPS and a .333 OBP, she had 19 RBIs, 49 total bases and only had eight strikeouts in 147 at bats.
• Teagan Clemmons is the top returning pitcher is Sophomore Teagan Clemmons. She pitched 90 innings last year to a 3.42 ERA and a 9-6 record with a 1.58 walk and hits/innings pitched. She had two complete game and three saves.
SERIES HISTORY
• Black Hills State is 1-0 all time versus Minnesota Moorhead with that sole game being played on February 16th, 2017, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where Black Hills State won 7-3.
