North Dakota State
Saint Louis
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NDSU Softball Journeys to Illinois for Fighting Illini Classic March 14-16
3/11/2014 9:40:00 AM | Softball
| 2014 University of Illinois Fighting Illini Classic (Revised Schedule) |
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Friday, March 14: North Dakota State (13-8) vs. Saint Louis (10-8) 11 a.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. Live Stats Saturday, March 15: North Dakota State at Illinois (12-6) 10:30 a.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. Live Stats Saturday, March 15: North Dakota State vs. Western Michigan (7-16) 3 p.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. Live Stats |
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Sunday, March 16: North Dakota State vs. TBA TBA | Champaign, Ill. (Game Schedule will be determined at a later date based on weather and team availability) Live Stats |
| Social Media: @NDSUAthletics | @NDSUsoftball |
| Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Classic Website |
Setting the Scene
- North Dakota State will trek to Champaign, Ill., to compete in the University of Illinois Fighting Illini Classic March 14-16.
- Due to weather concerns, the Bison are now scheduled to play three games instead of the originally scheduled five. NDSU will open the classic with a single contest against Saint Louis Friday, March 14, before facing Illinois and Western Michigan Saturday, March 15.
- NDSU is coming off a 3-2 showing in the Stanford University Louisville Slugger Classic last weekend. The Bison swept day one of the classic, defeating BYU and No. 22 Stanford by identical 4-0 scores, before dropping two contests on day two to BYU and UC Davis, 6-3 and 4-2. The Bison ended the classic with an 11-3 thrashing of Portland State.
Series History
- Saint Louis: The Bison's contest against the Billikens will mark the second meeting in the all-time series. The Bison won the inaugural meeting back in 2005, 6-2.
- Illinois: NDSU's game with the Fighting Illini will mark the second meeting in the all-time series. The Bison lost the first-ever meeting against Illinois last season, 6-3.
- Western Michigan: The Bison have an all-time record of 1-0 against the Broncos. NDSU took a 12-4 victory in the first meeting during the 2011 season.
Scouting the Opponents
- Saint Louis: The Billikens enter the weekend with a record of 10-8. Saint Louis, an A-10 member, is led by Lindsay Friedman (.385 avg., 20 H, 52 AB, 2 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 11-12 SB, .846 SLG%). SLU's primary pitcher is Brianna Lore (3.07 ERA, 6-6, 11 CG, 1 SV, 75.1 IP, 74 H, 33 ER, 23 BB, 51 SO, .247 b/avg.).
- Illinois: The Fighting Illini enter the week with an overall record of 12-6. Illinois, a Big Ten conference member, is paced by Alex Booker (.422 avg., 27 H, 64 AB, 4 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 9-9 SB, .672 SLG%) and Remeny Perez (.278 avg., 15 H, 54 AB, 4 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .574 SLG%). The primary pitcher for Illinois is Brandi Needham (1.29 ERA, 7-2, 6 CG, 2 SHO, 1 SV, 65.1 IP, 51 H, 12 ER, 8 BB, 35 SO, .213 b/avg.).
- Western Michigan: The Broncos come into the week with a 7-16 overall record. Western Michigan, a member of the MAC, is led by Sabrina Gamboa (.271 avg., 19 H, 70 AB, 7 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .500 SLG%) and Mackenzie Ritsema (.264 avg., 19 H, 72 AB, 2 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, .375 SLG%). The Broncos' main pitcher is Allyson Kus (3.38 ERA, 6-9, 11 CG, 1 SHO, 1 SV, 93.1 IP, 131 H, 45 ER, 14 BB, 46 SO, .322 b/avg.).
Catching-up with the Bison: North Dakota State begins the week with an overall record of 13-8 after a 3-2 showing in the Stanford University Louisville Slugger Classic last weekend in Palo Alto, Calif. The Bison are paced by five players with 12 or more RBI in Cheyenne Garcia (.387 avg., 24 H, 62 AB, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 9-9 SB, .548 SLG%), Amanda Grable (.339 avg., 20 H, 59 AB, 4 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .508 SLG%), Jenina Ortega (.283 avg., 17 H, 60 AB, 2 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, .417 SLG%), Alex Sobrero (.359 avg., 23 H, 64 AB, 6 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, .500 SLG%) and Logan Moreland (.329 avg., 23 H, 70 AB, 1 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, .429 SLG%). Leading the Bison in the circle are Krista Menke (1.76 ERA, 9-3, 9 CG, 3 SHO, 2 SV, 83.1 IP, 66 H, 21 ER, 32 BB, 67 SO, .220 b/avg.), Tabby Bayers (5.76 ERA, 2-3, 1 CG, 37.2 IP, 40 H, 31 ER, 22 BB, 34 SO, .274 b/avg.) and Katie Thun (4.80 ERA, 2-2, 11.2 IP, 14 H, 8 ER, 13 BB, 4 SO, .286 b/avg.).
Grable and Menke Named Summit League Players of the Week: North Dakota State infielder Amanda Grable and pitcher Krista Menke were named Summit League softball co-Player and co-Pitcher of the Week by the league office Monday, March 10.
Grable records her second career Player of the Week award and first of the season after helping North Dakota State shutout No. 22/17 Stanford 4-0, the Bison's fourth victory over a nationally-ranked opponent in the program's Division I era. The junior tallied at least one hit in all five games on the weekend with a trio of multi-hit games to end the tournament. She added a hit in NDSU's back-to-back 4-0 shutouts over BYU and Stanford to open the Louisville Slugger Classic. On day two of the tournament, the Santee, Calif., native went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a RBI against BYU and was a perfect 2-for-2 with a double, a run scored and a RBI vs. UC Davis. In the tournament finale, she was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run. For the weekend, Grable posted a .471 batting average (8-for-17) with three doubles, five RBI, two runs and a stolen base.
Menke garners her seventh career Pitcher of the Week honor and second this season after shutting out No. 22/17 Stanford, 4-0, marking the Bison's fourth win over a nationally ranked opponent in the program's Division I history. The junior posted a 2-1 record with a save at the Louisville Slugger Classic. In the tournament opener, she threw three innings in relief, striking out a pair of batters to record the save against BYU. The right-handed hurler tallied an 11-3 complete-game win over Portland State, fanning two hitters, to end the weekend. On the weekend, Menke tallied a 1.72 ERA, striking out seven, while yielding 16 hits, six walks and five earned runs in 20.1 innings of work.
Grable shared Player of the Week honors with Western Illinois infielder Sammy Marshall while Menke and Omaha's Dana Elsasser shared Pitcher of the Week accolades for the second time this season.
Balanced Production: Through 21 games, NDSU has eight players with at least eight RBI.
Power Hitters: The Bison have hit a combined 14 home runs in their first 21 games. Alex Sobrero, Cheyenne Garcia, Brandi Enriquez, Jenna Isbel and Dani Renner each have one long ball while Jenina Ortega, Logan Moreland and Amanda Grable have gone yard twice. Maritza Lopez-Portillo leads the team with three round-trippers.
Base Stealers: NDSU has eight players who have stolen at least two bases through 21 games. Cheyenne Garcia leads the team, stealing a perfect 9-of-9 bases, while Logan Moreland is second with five successful attempts in eight tries. Amanda Grable (4-4), Brandi Enriquez (3-3), Alex Sobrero (3-5), Jenina Ortega (2-2), Jenna Isbel (2-2) and Presley Glaser (2-3) round out the Bison with at least two stolen bases.
Bison in The Summit League Statistics
Relevant Team Statistics:
- Batting Average: 2nd (.345)
- Home Runs: 2nd (14 HR)
- RBI: 2nd (103)
- Stolen Bases: 2nd (33 SB)
- Slugging Percentage: 2nd (.444)
- Innings Pitched: 2nd (132.2 IP)
- Hits: 4th (120)
- Earned Runs: 4th (60)
- ERA: 3rd (3.17)
- Strikeouts: 2nd (105)
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.
Up Next
The Bison will face Southeast Missouri State in a single game March 18 at noon in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
