SPEARFISH, S.D.- The Black Hills State Yellow Jackets (5-10 (2-2 RMAC)) are continue RMAC play on the road in Pueblo, Colorado where they will face the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves (6-8 (2-2 RMAC)). The Yellow Jackets are currently on a two-game winning streak after winning the last two against Adams State. BHSU has two RMAC weekly awards in four weeks of the season and are seeing some key players perform well.
 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Date/Time/Location (All Times MT): Saturday, February 28 at 12 and 2 PM at the Rawlings Softball Complex in Pueblo Colorado
Sunday, March 1 at 11 AM and 1 PM at the Rawlings Softball Complex in Pueblo, Colorado

Live Streaming: 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: Live Stat links for all games can all be found at the links above
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• Black Hills State currently sits at 5-10 after splitting their first RMAC series versus Adams State losing the first two games of the series and winning the second two series. The Yellow Jackets fell in game one after losing a 9-2 lead, and then fell in game two as well, but they came out on fire on day two going .347 from the plate including going .409 in game four while run-ruling Adams 9-1 in five innings. On the pitching side, besides one inning where they allowed five runs in game three, BHSU held Adams to only one run in the other 12 innings.
• The Yellow Jackets are currently top 60 in the country in seven different stats. They are tenth in hit by pitches (15), 33^rd in strikeouts per seven innings (6.55), 39^th in hit batters (3), 45^th in walks (52), 47^th in doubles (22), 52^nd in RBIs (72), and 56^th in on-base percentage (.403).
• 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. They are currently in a five-way tie for fourth.
• The three wins in the first weekend at the Bubble was the most wins in the first weekend in the D2 era. It is also the second time BHSU has entered the second weekend at .500.
• Kaitlyn Geschwill, a newcomer for the Yellow Jackets, made probably the biggest impact a newcomer can make in her first weekend with her new team: she won RMAC Pitcher of the Week. She has a 4.16 in 35 innings and has appeared in 12 of the 15 games this season. She has an RMAC-leading 49 strikeouts compared to only 21 earned runs. She has only allowed five extra base hits. Besides strikeouts, she's also leading the conference in pitching appearances (12), and strikeouts per seven innings (9.7), while ranking top  The Central Lakes College transfer had a huge weekend out of the bullpen for BHSU in her RMAC POTW weekend. She pitched in five of the six games, threw 15 innings with a 2-1 record, only allowing two earned runs and seven hits on a .93 ERA and 22 strikeouts. She bounced back after a rough outing in Oklahoma, where she had a 3.15 ERA, 17 strikeouts and only six earned runs in 13.1 innings, including a complete game shutout in game four versus Adams.
• Sammie Kaufman-Warner, a freshman, is absolutely dominating for BHSU and is continuing to make a big impact early. She has a .408 batting average, a .714 slugging percentage, a .474 on-base percentage, and has 20 hits, 18 RBIs, and 12 runs scored with six doubles and three home runs. This includes a walk-off inside-the-park home run versus Adams in game three. She is tied for second in the conference in doubles (6), third in doubles per game (.40), and is third in home runs (3), and fifth in home runs per game (0.22). She is leading the RMAC in RBIs (18), and is second in RBIs per game (1.2). She has a run in 11 of 15 games, a hit in 12 of 15, an RBI in 11 of 15, and has reached base in 14 of 15. She earned her first RMAC Player of the Week nod this past weekend for going off in Broomfield with a .636 batting average, a 1.071 slugging percentage, nine RBIs, five runs scored, three doubles, and a walk-off, inside the park home run.
• Freshman Jessica Melendez is sitting in second on the offense with a .389 with nine runs scored, four RBIs and two doubles. She is currently riding a five game hit streak and is coming off a really strong Adams State series where she hit .429 with a .500 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. She had four runs scored and two RBIs. In game two, she went 3-for-4 with a run scored and then had two RBIs in game three.
• Carly Reyes Mims is also coming off a major freshman season and was also named All-RMAC Honorable Mention last season. She is in the record book once for being tied for fifth in single-season doubles (11). Reyes Mims started the season off very hot. She is hitting .333 with a  OPS of .981 with a .489 slugging percentage and a .492 on-base percentage. She has 15 hits and 15 runs in 15 games with five RBIs, a home run, a triple, and two doubles. She is fourth in runs per game (1.00), and fifth in runs (15). In Edmond, she went 3-3 versus Oklahoma Baptist and 1-3 versus Central Oklahoma. In game one versus Adams, she went 1-for-2 with two runs scored.
• Caylee Mann was the top player for BHSU early and was another transfer who made an immediate impact. She has a .326 batting average, and has 12 RBIs with five runs scored, two doubles and a home run. She is ranked 25^th in the country in sacrifice flies with two. She had an RBI in five of the six games in the Bubble and she has two games with three RBIs while having three hits in both of those games. She had two RBIs in Broomfield and in game two, she went 2-4 with an RBI.
• Desi Hernandez is coming off an excellent freshman season where she was named All-RMAC honorable mention. Hernandez is hitting .324 with five RBIs, two doubles, a home run, three runs scored, and 17 total bases. She has a .459 slugging percentage. On the fielding side, she had one caught stealing. She had a career-high four hits twice going 4-4 in both games against New Mexico Highlands and Colorado School of Mines. She has a hit in 10 of 11 games this year and has reached base in all 11 games. In Edmond, Hernandez had five hits and went 2-for-4 against Cameron.
•  Alyssa Wong was named to All-RMAC Gold Glove team and started this year with a .281 batting average, .541 on-base percentage with 14 walks, nine hits, three doubles, and seven runs scored. She is 12^th in walks per game (1.0) and second in the RMAC in on-base percentage (.541). She has reached base in all but two games and this past weekend, she went 3-for-8 with four walks and four runs scored.
• 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 67-118, a BHSU record of 47-69 , and a RMAC record of 41-49. 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. 

 
CSU PUEBLO STORYLINES

• CSU Pueblo has started the season 6-8 and 2-2 in RMAC play after going 2-3 in each of their non-conference tournaments. They started the season in Irvine, California, where they lost in a run-rule in Cal State Dominguez Hills and then beat Biola and Chico State. They were outscored 15-26. They then went and hosted a home tournament in Pueblo where they went 2-3 losing to Pittsburgh State twice by a combined score of 13-3, going 1-1 against Kingsville with the win being in extras, and run-ruling Minnesota Crookston
• The ThunderWolves started their season with Chadron State where they went 2-2. In their two wins they outscored the Eagles 25-6 with game one being a run-rule and both of their losses were one-run losses and both of them were walk-offs in the seventh and eighth innings of the two games.
• CSU Pueblo is ranked top 65 in the country in seven stats. They are 22^nd in sacrifice bunts (13), 29^th in doubles (27), 32^nd in doubles per game (1.93), 44^th in home runs (10), 47^th in triples (4), 49^th in home runs per game (.71), 61^st in stolen bases (22), and 63^rd in slugging percentage (.469)
• CSUP was projected fifth in the RMAC Preseason Poll with 75 points just ahead of CSM and they currently sit in the big five way tie for fourth in the RMAC right now at 2-2.
• CSU Pueblo's star pitcher is McKenna James, who is the reigning RMAC Pitcher of the Week. James currently sits with a 1.91 ERA and has only allowed 12 earned runs with 32 strikeouts in 44 innings. James is leading the RMAC in innings pitched (44), she is second in strikeouts (32), third in pitching appearances (10), third in complete games (3), third in shutouts (1), and fourth in ERA (1.91). She earned RMAC Pitcher of the Week for appearing all four games, only giving up two runs and three hits in 9.1 innings and striking out 15 batters. She is also one of Pueblo's best hitters. She has a .298 batting average with 13 RBIs, two doubles, two triples, two home runs, five runs scored, and .553 slugging percentage. Against Chadron, she went 7-16 with four runs scored, a double, a home run, and four RBIs. In game three, she went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and three runs scored.
• Caitlyn Cole is one of the top hitters in the RMAC on the offensive side of the ball. She is hitting .412 with 17 runs scored, five RBIs, six doubles, two triples, and two home runs. She also has a .725 slugging percentage, a 1.148 OPS and eight stolen bases. Cole is currently ranked second in the RMAC in doubles (6), and doubles per game (.43), second in runs (17), and runs per game (1.21), third in total bases (37), fourth in hits (21), fourth in slugging percentage (.725), fourth in stolen base percentage (.889), fourth in stolen bases (8), fourth in triples (2), and fifth in triples per game (.14). Cole has a hit in all but one game this year and has a run scored in all but four. Against Chadron, she went 8-for-16 (.500) with six runs scored, two doubles, a home run, and two RBIs. In game three, she went 3-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and four runs scored.
• Reese Reimier has been the other top dog in the offense for Pueblo and one of only three players hitting over .300. Reimier is hitting .372 with eight RBIs, ten runs scored, five doubles, a home run, and a slugging percentage of .558. Reimier is also one of their top defenders. She is first in the conference in assists (38), and is third in assists per game (2.71)
• Head Coach Bianca Duran is in her fifth season at CSU Pueblo after one year at Louisiana Tech. Duran has a career record of 119-153 and just had her first winning season of her career last year going 27-26. She is 6-8 this year.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• BHSU is currently losing the series to CSUP 16-26, but have been on a good track for a couple of years winning six of the last seven and taking three of four from them in each of the last two seasons after losing five straight before that.
• Last season, the Green and Gold took it to the ThunderWolves winning three of four and each of the first three games of the series. BHSU won two games by one run and run-ruled them 10-2 in game three before being run-ruled in game four. Last year, Desi Hernandez had a five-RBI day in game three and Audrey Fouras also had three RBIs.