SPEARFISH, S.D.- Black Hills State softball begins its season in Minot, N.D. at the 2026 Bubble Invitational. The three-day tournament starts Friday, January 30 and goes to Sunday, February 1. BHSU will play six games over the three days versus UMary, Minot State, and MSU Billings. This will be the second year in a row BHSU starts the season in Minot.
 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Date/Time/Location (All Times MT): UMary: Friday, January 30 at 11 AM and 1 PM in the Air-Supported Dome in Minot, N.D.
Minot State: Saturday, January 31 at 4 PM and 6 PM in the Air-Supported Dome in Minot, N.D.
MSU Billings: Sunday, February 1 at 9 AM and 11 AM in the Air-Supported Dome in Minot, N.D.
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased online at the link above.
RMAC Network: Beginning in the 2025-26 season the RMAC Network will now move to Pay-Per-View. Fans can purchase a single game pass ($10), monthly ($25) or annual subscription ($130). Individuals with bhsu.edu or yellowjackets.bhsu.edu email address can still take advantage of the Peak Pricing Promotion by using the code Y26-RMACEDU.
StatBroadcast: Fans looking to view live stats can view them on the stats broadcasts link posted above.
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• The Yellow Jackets are playing in their first game after playing in an RMAC tournament for the first time in team history. The team took BHSU to their first ever RMAC tournament last season after leading BHSU to a 27-27 (25-19 RMAC) record, which finished sixth in the conference. They had five All-RMAC players, one RMAC Pitcher of the Year, and one All-Region player last year.
• Last year, the Yellow Jackets set 20 separate team records. They were single-season doubles (102), single-season triples (12), single-season walks (177), single-season wins (27), single-season road wins (20), single season RMAC wins (25), single-season hits (468), single-season RBIs (272), single-season runs (290), single-season total bases (699), single-season at-bats (1487), single-season games played (52), single-season pitcher strikeouts (295), single-season sacrifice flies (20), single-season sacrifice bunts (43), single-season hit by pitches (39), single-season batting average (.315), single-season on-base percentage (.397), and single-season slugging percentage (.470).
• BHSU landed at seventh in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 64 points. It is the highest ranking BHSU has received in a preseason coaches' poll in their RMAC history.
• BHSU beat UMary 7-1 in the season opener last year, which is the first season opening win since 2021 and is the largest margin of victory in a season opener in our D2 history. 
• Desi Hernandez is coming off an excellent freshman season where she was named All-RMAC honorable mention. Hernandez finished with a .353 batting average, .471 slugging percentage, .431 on-base percentage, 18 walks, 60 hits, 44 RBIs, and 11 doubles. On the fielding side, she was one of the best catchers in the RMAC ranking third in caught stealings and 33^rd in the country with 11. She had a career-high four hits twice going 4-4 in both games against New Mexico Highlands and Colorado School of Mines. She scored four runs in a game against Adams early in the season and had a career-high five RBIs against CSU Pueblo.
• Carly Reyes Mims is also coming off a major freshman season and was also named All-RMAC Honorable Mention last season. She hit .298 with a .489 slugging percentage, which was third on the team last year. She had 39 hits, 25 runs scored, 21 RBIs, and 11 doubles. She started 45 games last year out of the 45 she played in and had a .936 fielding percentage. She finished third in the RMAC in sacrifice bunts per game (.24) with 11 sacrifice bunts. She had a career-high three hits in a game twice with the most recent being against Fort Lewis, where she also had a career-high three runs scored. Her career-high for RBIs in a game is three which she had in the last series of the season versus Mesa. She is in the record book once for being tied for fifth in single-season doubles (11).
•  Alyssa Wong was a preseason player to watch last year and followed it up by hitting .354 with 21 RBIs, 25 runs scored, 29 walks, and a team-high .511 on-base percentage. She was named to All-RMAC Gold Glove Team for her performance in right field, where she had a perfect fielding percentage and 63 putouts. Her 29 walks was second all-time in a single-season in team history. 
• Carli Maley hit .308 in her freshman season and had 36 hits and 16 RBIs. She finished seventh all-time in single-season hit streaks when she had a 15 game on-base streak last year.
• Audrey Fouras finished with a .256 batting average and 11 doubles, which put her fifth all-time in single season doubles. She also had 19 walks and 18 RBIs on 30 hits with a .453 slugging percentage.
• Lily Simmons is the current BHSU walk leader. She broke the record for career walks early in the season and now sits at 66 total walks drawn, which is 15 more than the next highest free base getter. She also broke the single-season record for walks drawn with 31 last year. She finished with 33 total runs scored last year which puts her in fifth for single-season runs scored and the sixth for career runs scored.
• Sophia Honse, a pitcher from Western Illinois, made 17 pitching appearances in 2023 and 2025 and redshirted in 2024. In 2023, she had a career high of innings pitched at 3.1 versus Wichita State, while also striking out two. She had a very good relief outing versus South Dakota in 2023 where she pitched two innings, only allowing one hit and striking out two without giving up a run. She had a career with 30.2 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts for her time as a Leatherneck.
• Head Coach Ashlyn Englehorn is the first Jacket head coach to win Coach of the Year since Amy Gurney did it in the DAC in 2008. She is entering her third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets and has a overall record of 62-108 (.365), a BHSU record of 42-59 (.416), and a RMAC record of 39-47 (.453). She led BHSU to first RMAC Tournament berth in program history in 2025 after being picked to finish ninth in preseason coaches poll. Helped the Green & Gold finish with their first winning record in program history since 2009. In her first two seasons as head coach, she has won nine RMAC series, with six being this year. In the previous 12 seasons, BHSU had won a total of eight RMAC series. She also helped BHSU break their program wins record, program road wins record, and program RMAC wins record, along with multiple other program statistical records. 

 
UMARY STORYLINES

• UMary is coming off a season where they finished 15^th in the NSIC and finished 9-44 (2-26 NSIC). They had two conference wins versus Wayne State and Sioux Falls and then ended the season on a 24-game losing streak. Their last win was versus Wayne State on March 23, 2025.
• Mary has a very new team this year with seven freshman and three transfers entering the team this year. They have 14 returners this season and finished last season top 100 in triples and triples per game and were a good baserunning team last year.
• Mary was predicted to finish 16^th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 27 points. They are just behind Jamestown and Minnesota Crookston in the preseason predictions.
• Janelle Bergmann is the top hitter for the Marauders and is the player to watch for them this year. The senior hit .310 last year with 31 RBIs and six home runs. She hit .346 on-base percentage and a .563 slugging percentage leading her team with a .909 OPS. She played in 46 games last year. She had a 3-3 day versus Wayne State, a 4 RBI night with a triple versus Wayne State as well, and a three-run home run versus Crookston.
• Madison Hunter was another top hitter for UMary last year. She led the Marauders in batting average with a .342 batting average. She had 50 total bases last year, 39 hits, and had 11 RBIs with two home runs, one triple, and three doubles. She had a .439 slugging percentage and a .398 on-base percentage. Hunter had a historic game versus West Virginia Wesleyan when she went 2-3 with a home run, a triple, and five RBIs.
• Their top pitcher and their pitcher to watch this year is Arria Johnson. Johnson made 27 appearances last year and 13 starts with a 1-12 record, a 5.09 ERA, and had 32 strikeouts to 29 walks. She had an impressive 2.00 WHIP. She had 2 complete games and only 56 earned runs in 77 innings pitched. She had one shutout versus Minot State, where she pitched all seven innings, didn't allow a run, and allowed ten hits.
• Amy Scmeckpeper is entering her third season as head coach of the Marauders. She has a current record of 19-82 with a .188 winning percentage.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Yellow Jackets and UMary faced each other for the first time last year with the two teams splitting their matchups in the 2025 Bubble Invitational. The Yellow Jackets took the season opener 7-1 before losing the second game of the double-header 2-5.
• In the win, Hernandez went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Simmons went 2-4 with a run scored and Audrey Fouras went 1-3 with 2 RBIs. Reyes Mims got her first RBI of her career in the loss and Maley also scored in the loss.

 
MINOT STATE STORYLINES

• Minot State is coming off an NSIC Tournament birth this past season where they finished seventh in the conference and earned a trip to the tournament, They fell in the first round of the NSIC to MSU Moorhead 4-1 and ended their season losing eight of the last ten games they played. They finished the season 27-25 (15-13 NSIC).
• The Beavers played four ranked games last season. They played two versus #13 Augustana, one versus #13 Central Oklahoma, and another versus #20 McKendry. They went 1-4 in those games to losing both to the Vikings, losing UCO, and then upsetting McKendry 3-1 in Branson, Missouri.
• The Beavers are returning almost all of their top hitters. Their five top qualified hitters are all returning this season and are all seniors and they only lost two qualified hitters. On the pitching side, MISU lost their top two pitchers who both had less than a 2.5 ERA to graduation. They brought in a great JUCO, and their only returner only pitched 27 innings last season.
• Minot State had one of the best defenses in the country last year. They were ranked 36^th in double plays (21), 33^rd in double plays per game (.40), 23^rd in fielding percentage (.971), and 50^th in WHIP (1.32). They also finished 28^th in triples (18), and 33^rd in triples per game (.35).
• MISU were picked to finish eighth in the NSIC in the preseason coaches' poll. They garnered 133 points just five behind Wayne State for seventh. This is coming after the Beavers went 15-13 last season in conference play.
• Anna LaCount is the star for Minot. She was named player to watch for the Beavers after leading the team in a variety of stats last year. She led in batting average with a .361, on-base percentage with a .424 mark, and OPS with a .972. She also had seven home runs and 56 hits. Adding to that she had a .548 slugging percentage, 28 RBIs, eight doubles, and 85 total bases. She also had ten caught stealings as a catcher which was second in the NSIC and 54^th in the country. She had eight multi-RBI games including a four RBI game versus Providence.
• The next top hitter returning for the Beavers is Sara Van Wickler. Wickler started 48 of the 49 games she played in and had a .342 batting average and led the team in slugging percentage (.584) and total bases (94). She also had 12 doubles, 6 triples, and 5 home runs with a .970 OPS. She had 55 hits and 28 runs scored while having 21 RBIs. She was 28^th in total triples in the country and 37^th in triples per game (.12). Van Wickler only had four multi-RBI nights and three three-hit games. Their win against Missouri Valley was the only time those two feats matched up. She went 3-3 with 2 RBIs.
• Paige Kellogg is the third top hitter returning for MISU. She had a .325 batting average in 50 games and 50 starts. She led the team with 31 RBIs, 22 walks, and 15 doubles, while putting up a .410 on-base percentage, an .866 OPS, 52 hits,  25 runs scored, and two home runs. Kellogg was fourth in doubles per game (.30), and seventh in total doubles (15) in the conference. She only had one three-hit game versus Minnesota Crookston late in the season and put up a season-high three RBIs in the season opener versus MSU Moorhead.
• Taylor Smith is the fourth hitter returning. She had a .323 batting average last year. Smith had a .525 slugging percentage last year with 51 hits, 8 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, 83 total bases and an .899 OPS in 49 starts for the Beavers. She only had 19 RBIs, but had a team-high 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts. She also finished 28^th in triples with six and 40^th in triples per game (.12). She had a 4-4 night versus UMary and then had a 2-2 night with four RBIs versus Cottey College. She had 15 multiple-hit games including six in a row midway through the season.
• Sal Rodriguez is entering his third season with the Beavers. After taking the job in 2023, he's had back-to-back above .500 seasons and has a 51-44 record with a .537 winning percentage.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Yellow Jackets are 6-25 versus the Minot State Beavers all time dating back to 2007. During this time, BHSU lost 15 in a row, but BHSU has won two of the last three games versus Minot, with a win in 2020 and a win this past year.
• BHSU met Minot State at the 2025 Bubble Invitational and split the doubleheader versus them. They fell in the first game 6-3, but then pulled out the second game 1-0 with Audrey Fouras hitting a sacrifice fly to score Andria Fitch in the sixth inning. The Yellow Jackets out hit Minot State 6-2 in that game.
• BHSU lost the opening game of the doubleheader, but Lily Simmons had a 2-3 day with 2 RBIs, and Maley went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

 
MSU BILLINGS STORYLINES

• MSU Billings is coming off a season where they barely made it into the conference tournament. They finished fourth in the conference with a 16-28 overall record and an 11-11 GNAC record. In the GNAC tournament they lost both games including to top ten Western Washington and Simon Fraser.
• The Yellowjackets played five games last season versus ranked opponents. All five were versus Western Washington. They won one of those five games winning 2-0 in game two of the four game regular season series. They also went 2-4 versus the RMAC last year losing all four games to MSU Denver.
• 19 of their 34 games last season finished in less than seven innings. There were run rules in over half of their matches. MSU Billings went 5-14 in such games including 0-4 versus MSU Denver in a combined 22 innings.
• MSUB was one of the top power hitting teams last year. They finished 11^th in the country in home runs per game (1.11), 18^th in the country in slugging percentage (.497), and 21^st in total home runs (50).
• The Yellowjackets were picked to finish fifth in the GNAC this year with 17 points, just ahead of Central Washington. They finished fourth last year with a 11-11 conference record.
• One of the best players in the GNAC, Marleigh Nieto, is back for her senior season with the Yellowjackets. In 40 games played, she finished with a .381 batting average, a .515 slugging percentage, a .414 on-base percentage, and a .929 OPS. She had 51 hits, 14 RBIs, 69 total bases, 28 runs scored and 10 doubles. She had a hit in 34 out of 40 games. She had a 3-5 game versus Western Oregon with a home run and two runs scored.
• Bryn Lucht, might be one of the other top players in the GNAC. Lucht had a 1.186 OPS with a .333 batting average, a .748 slugging percentage, 39 RBIs, and 14 home runs with 92 total bases. She was ranked 36^th in the country in slugging percentage (.748), 14^th in home runs per game (.32), and 31^st in total home runs (14). In a game versus Western Oregon, Lucht went 3-4 with seven RBIs. She had a three-run home run, a three-run double, and a solo home run, while also scoring on a wild pitch. She tied the Yellowjacket record for RBIs in a game.
• Wynter Hurst is the last top hitter remaining. She hit .314 with a .488 slugging percentage. She had 22 RBIs and 23 runs scored while reaching ten doubles and four triples which led the GNAC in triples per game (.09). She never had more than two hits in a game last year, but did have a 2-5 game versus Central Washington, where she had three RBIs. It was one of five multi-RBI games she had last season.
• Head Coach Joe Yegge is entering his second year with MSU Billings after spending the three previous years at Missouri Western. During his four years as a head coach, Yegge has a 114-90 record or a .559 winning percentage. He is 16-28 as a Yellowjacket after his first season with the team.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• BHSU is 0-3 in the battle of the Yellow Jackets. They played once in 2014 and then met twice last year losing all three.
• The matchup last year were midweek midseason games and The Yellow Jackets lost the two games by a combined score of 6-11. They only lost 0-2 in game one, before losing 6-9 in game two. BHSU outhit MSUB 6-2 in the 2-0 loss, but still fell as Hurst had an RBI and Nieto went 1-3 with a run scored.
• In game two, BHSU fell down 9-2 early and then scored four in the bottom of the seventh and had bases loaded with the winning runner at home before the game ended. Hernandez had an RBI walk in that seventh inning.