NDSU Softball Closes Out Regular Season Against IUPUI on May 2-3 at The Ellig

Saturday, May 2

Fargo, N.D.

12 p.m.

North Dakota State

IUPUI

Photo by: Christopher Mitchell

NDSU Softball Closes Out Regular Season Against IUPUI on May 2-3 at The Ellig

4/29/2015 10:49:00 AM | Softball

NDSU Softball Release.pdf (4-29-15)

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This Weekend
North Dakota State University (37-9, 13-2 Summit League) is scheduled to close out the regular season against IUPUI (31-13, 9-5 Summit League) in a three-game Summit League series on Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, at the Ellig Sports Complex ... NDSU and the Jaguars will play a noon doubleheader Saturday and an 11 a.m. single-game Sunday ... Saturday is Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day, those in attendance will be recognized between games ... Sunday will be Senior Day as the NDSU softball program will honor Amanda Grable (Santee, Calif.), Krista Menke (Friend, Neb.) and Alex Sobrero (Paradise, Calif.) prior to the game ... North Dakota State is 5-1 at home this season, while IUPUI is 9-4 on the road.

Ticket Information
Tickets for North Dakota State softball games are $5 for adults and $3 for youth 17-and-under ... NDSU students with a valid college ID are admitted free ... Tickets are available at GoBison.com or at the Ellig Sports Complex on game day ... Gates at the Ellig Sports Complex will open 60 minutes prior to first pitch each day ... For more information, call 1-888-231-NDSU (6378).

The Series
This will be the 20th meeting between North Dakota State University and IUPUI ... NDSU leads the series 16-3 ... The Bison won two games, 2-1 in nine innings and 11-4, in a weather-shortened Summit League series in Indianapolis ... IUPUI defeated NDSU 15-8 in the opening round of the Summit League tournament, but the Bison won 6-0 in a loser's bracket game.

Bison Reach 30 Wins for Ninth Straight Season
With the 8-4 victory over South Dakota State on April 11, North Dakota State softball reached 30 wins for the ninth straight season ... NDSU is off to its best start in the Division I era ...Here's a look:
2015--37-9
2014--36-18
2013--33-16
2012--38-22
2011--30-27
2010--33-25
2009--38-20
2008--37-17
2007--34-23

Quickly Around The Horn
North Dakota State received 44 votes toward the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll released April 28 ... It's the sixth straight week NDSU has received votes toward this poll ... The Bison also received eight votes toward the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 for the fourth time this season ... North Dakota State has won eight of its last 20 meetings with nationally-ranked opponents, last win 5-4 at #21 South Alabama (4-24-15) ... NDSU is 3-3 this season against nationally-ranked opponents and 9-50 overall ... Krista Menke recorded her first career perfect game, third no-hitter of the season and fourth career no-hitter with the five-inning 18-0 win at Fort Wayne (4-11-15) ... She struck out 12 of 15 batters faced ... Menke also notched a no-hitter -- a 3-0 eight inning win over Purdue University (3-7-15) at the Tennessee Classic ... Menke opened the season with a five-inning gem against Green Bay (2-6-15) ... Her other career no-hitter came against Liberty in March 2013 ... North Dakota State has 28 no-hitters, including 11 at 7-plus innings, in the program's history ... NDSU has had eight perfect games ... Menke has 10 shutouts this season and 31 in her career ... Menke also has nine one-hitters and 17 two-hitters in her career ... Menke has reached double-figure strikeouts 20 times this season and 27 times in her career, including a career-high 16 vs. Bowling Green (3-14-15) and Montana (3-1-15) ... Redshirt sophomore catcher Alyssa Reina hit a grand slam home run at Fort Wayne (4-11-15) ... It was NDSU's first since Jenina Ortega at South Dakota (5-2-14) ... Reina tied the school single-game record with two home runs against South Dakota State (4-12-15)... Earlier this season junior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia also tied the record with a pair of homers vs. Iowa (2-7-15) ... That record has been achieved 20 times by 13 athletes including current players Logan Moreland (2), Amanda Grable (2), Maritza Lopez-Portillo (1) and Garcia (1) ... Junior shortstop Logan Moreland is currently leading the team with .452 batting average, one of three players over .400 -- Amanda Grable (.420) and Cheyenne Garcia (.408) ... Moreland and Garcia each have 24 multi-hit games ... Garcia has 14 multi-RBI games ... Grable had a season and career-high 17-game hitting streak ... NDSU has 13 players with one or more RBI this season including Garcia with team-high 48 ... Twelve Bison have scored one or more runs this season led by Garcia's 56 ... The Bison are 2-1 this season and 42-28 in extra innings under head coach Darren Mueller since 2002 ... North Dakota State is 55-48 in extra innings overall ... Collectively, the Bison are hitting .330 with a 2.50 earned run average and are fielding at .970 ... NDSU opponents are hitting .197 with a 5.73 ERA and fielding at .946 ... The Bison are averaging 6.28 runs scored per game, while opponents are averaging 2.83 ... The big inning has been the fifth for North Dakota State with 64 runs scored including an 11-run fifth against South Dakota State (4-11-15).

Menke, Grable, Garcia, Reina Take Aim at Career Charts
On the NDSU career charts, senior pitcher Krista Menke is tied for 1st in saves (7), 2nd in appearances (147), game started (122) and batters faced (3,429); 3rd in innings pitched (810), wins (90) and strikeouts (865); 4th in complete games (101), lowest opponent batting average (.198), shutouts (31) and strikeouts per 7 IP (7.48 avg.), and 10th in lowest ERA (2.35) ... Senior third baseman Amanda Grable is tied for 3rd in sacrifice flies (8), 4th in home runs (33) and walks (91); 6th in RBI (152), 8th in double plays turned (21), 9th in fielding assists (312), and 10th in slugging percentage (.535), and total bases (328) ... Junior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is 7th in slugging percentage (.565), tied for 9th in sacrifice flies (5), home runs (23), and in double plays turned (18) and 10th in runs scored (136) ... Junior left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo is tied for 4th in hit by pitch (11) and tied for 5th sacrifice flies (6) ... Sophomore catcher Alyssa Reina is 6th in slugging percentage (.582), 7th in fielding percentage (.990) and 8th in putouts (640) ... Junior first baseman Jackie Stifter is tied for 7th in hit by pitch (9) and tied for 9th in sacrifice flies (5) ... Junior shortstop Logan Moreland is 8th in batting average (.366) and 9th in on-base percentage (.427).

Bison and the RPI
The sixth NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) was released April 26 ... The Bison come in at No. 39 ... The Summit League ranks 20th among Division I conferences ... IUPUI follows at No. 124, South Dakota is No. 150, Western Illinois at No. 170, Omaha is No. 178, South Dakota State at No. 239, and Fort Wayne is No. 273 ... The highest final NCAA RPI rankings for NDSU softball are No. 41 in 2014, No. 62 in 2013 and No. 65 in 2009.

Bison In NCAA Statistics, Active NCAA Career Leaders
In the NCAA statistics released April 27, North Dakota State University is 4th in stolen bases per game (2.39 avg), 6th in doubles per game (1.85 avg), 14th in won-loss percentage (.804), 24th in batting average (.330) and 29th in earned run average (2.50) ... Individually, Krista Menke is second in the nation with 318 strikeouts and 3rd in shutouts (10), 5th in wins (27), 7th in strikeouts per 7 IP (10.4 avg) and 10th in hits allowed (4.06 avg) ... Second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is 9th in runs per game (1.22 avg.) ... Shortstop Logan Moreland is 24th in batting average (.452) ... Krista Menke also ranks in the top 25 among active career Division I leaders in eight different categories including five top 10 -- 3rd in complete games, 4th in games started and innings pitched, 5th in victories and shutouts, 9th in strikeouts, 14th in appearances and 21st in strikeouts per 7 IP ... Amanda Grable is 36th in RBI.

Four Bison Players Earn Summit League Weekly Honors
North Dakota State senior Krista Menke was named The Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the eighth time this season and 18th time in her career on April 21 ... Menke has been also named the College Sports Madness.com Summit Player of the Week for six times ... North Dakota State centerfielder Alex Sobrero was named The Summit League Player of the Week on March 23 ... It was the second weekly honor for Sobrero ... Sobrero was named the College Sports Madness.com Summit League Player of the Week ... NDSU second baseman Cheyenne Garcia was named The Summit League Player on March 2 ... It was the first career weekly honor for Garcia ... NDSU catcher Alyssa Reina was named The Summit League Softball Player of the Week on Feb. 16 ... It was the first career league weekly honor for Reina ... Reina was also College Sports Madness.com's Summit League Player of the Week.

Menke Selected as Senior CLASS Award® Candidate
North Dakota State University pitcher Krista Menke was one of 30 NCAA® softball student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate softball ... Menke, a 5-foot-11 senior from Friend, Neb., maintains a 3.627 G.P.A. majoring in exercise science ... She is a member of the NDSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council and has been active in NDSU SAAC and softball team community projects ... To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

Bison Tabbed for First in The Summit League Preseason Poll For Third Straight Season
For the third year in a row, North Dakota State was selected by the league's head coaches as the front runner for The Summit League softball title ... The Bison received six of seven first-place votes and totaled 36 points overall in the poll ... North Dakota State is the three-time defending regular season champion and have won The Summit League Tournament five of the past six seasons ... NDSU returns eight starting position players and five 2014 all-league selections, headlined by Summit League Tournament MVP pitcher Krista Menke, who led the league in wins (29) ... They also bring back third baseman Amanda Grable, centerfielder Alex Sobrero, second baseman Cheyenne Garcia and designated player/first baseman Jackie Stifter.

Ex-NDSU Shortstop Rivera Member of Gold Medal USA Women's Baseball Pan Am Qualifier Team
Former North Dakota State University softball shortstop Nicole Rivera was a member of the gold medal winning USA Women's Baseball team that qualified for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games scheduled for July 10-26 ... Rivera, who started 225 career games for the Bison from 2008-11, was a two-time all-Summit League performer for North Dakota State including first team honors in 2010 ... She was a valuable member of three Summit League tournament championship teams including the 2009 unit that went on to win the NCAA Norman Regional and advance to the NCAA Tempe Super Regional ... Rivera, who is from Lakeside, Calif., finished her NDSU career with a .313 batting average, three home runs and 55 runs batted in ... She ranks third all-time in stolen bases (95) and stolen base attempts (107); fifth in fielding assists (383) and double plays turned (31); eighth in at bats (726) and runs scored (147), and ninth in hits (147).

Five Bison Named to College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League Softball Teams
North Dakota State placed five players on the College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League team led by first team selections, pitcher Krista Menke, third baseman Amanda Grable and centerfielder Alex Sobrero ... Menke was the choice for Pitcher of the Year ... Named to the second team was the NDSU double play combo of second baseman Cheyenne Garcia and shortstop Logan Moreland.

The Mueller/Trachsel File
Head coaches for North Dakota State are Darren Mueller (14th season, 21st overall) and Jamie Trachsel (5th season, 13th overall) ... Mueller has compiled a 495-265 record (.651) including 138-34 (.802) vs. Summit League competition (including tournament) ... Trachsel has compiled a 174-92 record (.654) including a 92-23 (.800) vs. Summit League competition including tournament ... Mueller recorded win No. 450 at South Dakota (5-2-14) ... Trachsel earned win No. 150 vs. Northern Iowa (3-16-15) ... The Bison have had eight straight 30-plus win seasons ... North Dakota State has won five Summit League tournament championships (2009-10-11-12, 2014) to advance to NCAA regional play ... The Bison won the NCAA Norman Regional in 2009 and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional at Arizona State ... NDSU has won four Summit League regular season crowns (2008, 2012-14) ... Rounding out the Bison staff are pitching coach Brynne Dordel and graduate assistant manager Kendall Grimm ... Mueller became the program's all-time winningest coach with the 4-1 victory at Western Illinois (4-16-11) ... The NDSU coaching staff earned the 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Summit League Coaching Staff of the Year honors ... The NDSU staff earned 2009 National Fastpitch Coaches Association co-Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award ... Mueller was named the 2006 and 2007 Division I Independent Coach of the Year.