North Dakota State
Nicholls State
Bison Softball Heads to Houston for Hilton Plaza Invitational
2/19/2014 12:35:00 PM | Softball
| 2014 Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational |
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Friday, Feb. 21: North Dakota State (4-5) vs. Nicholls State (3-7) 11:30 a.m. CT | Houston, Texas Live Stats Friday, Feb. 21: North Dakota State vs. Columbia [N.Y.] (0-0) 2 p.m. CT | Houston, Texas Live Stats Saturday, Feb. 22: North Dakota State vs. Nicholls State 2 p.m. CT | Houston, Texas Live Stats Saturday, Feb. 22: North Dakota State at Houston (5-1) 7 p.m. CT | Houston, Texas Live Stats |
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Sunday, Feb. 23: North Dakota State vs. Columbia [N.Y.] 9 a.m. CT | Houston, Texas Live Stats |
| Social Media: @NDSUAthletics | @NDSUsoftball |
| Complete Game Notes (PDF) |
Setting the Scene
- NDSU softball will travel to Houston, Texas, to participate in the University of Houston Hilton Plaza Invite Friday, Feb. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 23.
- The Bison are coming off a week that saw them go 1-4 in the Florida State Renegade Classic.
- NDSU defeated Southern Miss in the opening game of the classic before dropping three games against then 13th-ranked Florida State and another contest against Southern Miss.
- The Bison will play two games against Nicholls State and a pair of contests against Columbia (N.Y.) and face the host team Houston once in the Hilton Plaza Invite.
Series History
- Nicholls State: The Bison's two games against the Colonels will mark the second and third meetings all-time. NDSU is 0-1 in the series, falling to Nicholls State last season, 2-1.
- Columbia (N.Y.): The pair of games with Columbia University will be the first and second meetings.
- Houston: NDSU's tilt with the Cougars Saturday will be the third meeting all-time in the series. The Bison trail, 0-2, losing to Houston in 2010, 4-3 and 6-3.
Scouting the Opponents
- Nicholls State: Nicholls State enters the Hilton Plaza Invitational with an overall record of 3-7. The Colonels three wins came against Alabama State and Southern University twice. Brittany Marcet is leading hitter for Nicholls State, hitting .469 with 15 hits in 32 at bats, 11 RBI, three home runs and three doubles. The primary pitcher for the Colonels is Jackie Johnson. She has pitched 32 innings, allowing seven earned runs with 23 walks and 26 strikeouts. Johnson has an ERA of 1.97 and is 1-5 overall with four complete games and one shutout.
- Columbia (N.Y.): The Lions have yet to play a game this season and will officially begin their 2014 campaign in the Hilton Plaza Invite. Last season Columbia posted an overall record of 22-26. Columbia returns its leading hitter from 2013 in Alix Cook, who hit .363 with 58 hits in 160 at bats. She drove in 20 runs with one triple and four doubles. Emily Snodgrass also returns for the Lions. Snodgrass hit .308 with 29 RBI, six homers, one triple and 11 doubles. She was also 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts. In the circle, the Lions return leading pitcher Emily Kenyon. Kenyon posted a 2.70 ERA in 140.0 innings of work. She struck out 146 while walking 58. Kenyon was 10-11 overall with 14 complete games and one shutout.
- Houston: The Cougars enter the Hilton Plaza Invite with an overall mark of 5-1 and are receiving votes in the latest NFCA/USA Today Division I Top-25 Poll. Houston is led offensively by Selena Hernandez. Hernandez is hitting .476 with 10 hits in 21 at bats. She has 10 RBI with two home runs and four doubles. Houston's two primary pitchers are Diedre Outon (0.82 ERA, 2-0 record, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 2 ER, 17 IP, 6 K, 2 BB) and Summer Groholski (4.00 ERA, 2-0 record, 2 CG, 14 IP, 8 ER, 4 K, 3 BB).
Catching-up with the Bison: The Bison enter the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational with an overall record of 4-5 after going 1-4 last weekend in the Florida State Renegade Classic. NDSU is paced offensively by Alex Sobrero, who is hitting .448 with 13 hits in 29 at bats. She has six RBI, one homer and three doubles and is a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts. Dani Renner has driven in five runs while Logan Moreland, Jenina Ortega, Cheyenne Garcia, Maritza Lopez-Portillo and Amanda Grable all have four RBI for NDSU. Through nine games, the Bison are led in the circle by Krista Menke. The Friend, Neb., native has a 1.99 ERA in 31.2 innings of work, allowing nine earned runs while striking out 29 and walking 16. She is 3-1 overall with three complete games and two shutouts.
Bison in The Summit League Statistics
Relevant Team Statistics:
- Batting Average: 3rd (.289)
- Home Runs: T-2nd (5 HR)
- RBI: 4th (36)
- Stolen Bases: 3rd (12 SB)
- Slugging Percentage: 4th (.413)
- Innings Pitched: 2nd (53.2 IP)
- Hits: 5th (56)
- Earned Runs: 6th (34)
- ERA: 6th (4.43)
- Strikeouts: 6th (51)
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 827. 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 43. 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 313 batters.
Up Next
The Bison travel to Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 28 - March 2 to play five games in the University of New Mexico Invitational.
