North Dakota State
Southern Miss
NDSU Softball Travels to Florida for Florida State Renegade Classic Feb. 14-16
2/12/2014 1:46:00 PM | Softball
| 2014 Florida State Renegade Classic (Revised Schedule) |
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Friday, Feb. 14: North Dakota State (3-1) vs. Southern Miss (0-3) 12:30 p.m. CT | Tallahassee, Fla. Friday, Feb. 14: North Dakota State at No. 13 Florida State (4-1) 5:30 p.m. CT | Tallahassee, Fla. Live Stats Saturday, Feb. 15: North Dakota State vs. Southern Miss 11 a.m. CT | Tallahassee, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 15: North Dakota State at No. 13 Florida State 1:30 CT | Tallahassee, Fla. |
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Sunday, Feb. 16: North Dakota State at No. 13 Florida State 2 p.m. CT | Tallahassee, Fla. |
| Social Media: @NDSUAthletics | @NDSUsoftball |
| Complete Game Notes (PDF) |
Setting the Scene
- After going 3-1 in the Auburn Plainsman Invite last week to open the season, the Bison will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take part in the Florida State Renegade Classic Feb. 14-16.
- The Bison posted wins over Morehead State, 10-3; Tennessee Tech, 13-0; and Notre Dame, 4-1; while falling to Auburn, 11-3, in the Auburn Plainsman Invite.
- Both Auburn and Notre Dame entered the season receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today Top-25 Poll.
- The Bison were originally supposed to face Hofstra Friday, but, due to inclement weather, the Pride had to cancel their travel to Tallahassee.
- The revised Renegade Classic schedule will pit the Bison against No. 13 Florida State three times and NDSU will face Southern Miss twice.
Series History
- No. 13 Florida State: NDSU's three games against the Seminoles will be the second, third and fourth meetings all-time. FSU leads, 1-0, after defeating the Bison in 2012, 2-1.
- Southern Miss: The two games against the Golden Eagles will mark the first and second meetings all-time between NDSU and Southern Miss.
Scouting the Opponents
- No. 13 Florida State: The Seminoles enter the Renegade Classic with an overall mark of 4-1, recording wins over New Mexico State, UTEP, Saint Mary's and No. 9 Nebraska. FSU also fell to Nebraska in its first game of the season. Florida State is ranked 13th in the latest NFCA/USA Today Softball Top-25 Poll. FSU is led by Maddie O'Brien, who is hitting .500 with four homers, 12 RBI and 20 total bases. She has a slugging percentage of 1.250 and an on base mark of .700. Pitcher Lacey Waldrop leads the Seminoles in the circle, posting a 0.78 ERA with a 2-1 record, including two complete games. She has pitched 18 innings and allowed only two earned runs while striking out 11 and walking four.
- Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles enter the week with an overall record of 0-3, dropping a trio of games to 24th-ranked Arizona last week in Tucson. Sarah Evans has driven in the lone run so far for Southern MIss. The primary pitcher for the Golden Eagles is Samantha Robles. In six innings of work, Robles has an ERA of 10.50 with three walks and two strikeouts. She has allowed nine earned runs.
Catching-up with the Bison: NDSU began the season last week at the Auburn Plainsman Invitational in Auburn, Ala. The Bison posted a 3-1 record, defeating Morehead State, Tennessee Tech and Notre Dame. The lone loss was against Auburn. Alex Sobrero paced the NDSU offense, going 6-for-13 with her first home run of the season and a double. She drove in five runs and was 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts. Jenina Ortega, Maritza Lopez-Portillo, Amanda Grable and Dani Renner each had four RBI.
Right-hander Krista Menke pitched 15.1 innings to lead the Bison pitching staff, posting a 2-1 record with two complete games. She allowed just four earned runs and recorded 12 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.83.
Bison in The Summit League Statistics
Relevant Team Statistics:
- Batting Average: 1st (.374)
- Home Runs: T-4th (4 HR)
- RBI: 2nd (28)
- Stolen Bases: T-3rd (6 SB)
- Slugging Percentage: 1st (.566)
- Innings Pitched: 2nd (24.2 IP)
- Hits: 4th (27)
- Earned Runs: T-4th (14)
- ERA: 5th (3.97)
- Strikeouts: 5th (27)
Bison Tabbed First in Summit League Softball Preseason Poll
Two-time defending regular season champion, North Dakota State was tabbed as the favorite to win the 2014 Summit League Softball Championship in a poll of the league's seven head coaches.
The Bison tallied 33 total points and four first-place votes after winning their second-consecutive regular season title and third in the last six years.
NDSU returns 13 players from last season's team that went 33-16 and 17-1 in league play, including first team all-league honoree Jenina Ortega and second team selections Brandi Enriquez, Amanda Grable and Cheyenne Garcia.
Omaha was picked second and received one first-place vote. The Mavericks welcome back a quartet of all-league members, including the 2013 Summit League Freshman of the Year Campbell Ditto. Joining Ditto are Dana Elsasser, Amber Lutmer and Allie Matthewson.
Fort Wayne, the 2013 Summit League Tournament champion, was tabbed third and collected two first-place votes. The Mastodons return four all-league performers in Alex Bousquet, Ashleigh Bousquet, Larissa Franklin and Miranda Kramer.
South Dakota and Western Illinois tied for fourth while IUPUI and South Dakota State rounded out the poll at sixth and seventh.
Record Watch
Senior catcher Jenina Ortega currently ranks sixth in career putouts at NDSU with 803. Junior third baseman Amanda Grable is ninth in most home runs with 20. Junior pitcher Krista Menke currently sits in ninth place for most complete games in a career with 42. She also ranks seventh in most strikeouts per seven inning game with an average of 5.8 per game, lowest opponent batting average, holding opposing batters to a .219 average and most strikeouts, retiring 296 batters.
Up Next
NDSU treks to Houston, Texas, to participate in the Houston Invitational Feb. 21-13.
