NDSU Softball Opens Season With Arkansas at Noon Friday, Feb. 12 in Texas Classic

Friday, February 12

Austin, Texas

12 p.m.

North Dakota State

Arkansas

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

NDSU Softball Opens Season With Arkansas at Noon Friday, Feb. 12 in Texas Classic

2/11/2016 5:35:00 PM | Softball

NDSU Softball Release (2-12-16).pdf

This Weekend
North Dakota State University is scheduled to open the 2016 season against the University of Arkansas at noon Friday, Feb. 11, in the University of Texas Classic at McCombs Field ... The Bison return 14 letterwinners including seven position players and two pitchers ... That list includes NFCA All-Midwest Region performers in first team second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, second team shortstop Logan Moreland and third team catcher Alyssa Reina ... The tournament schedule:

Texas Classic
McCombs Field, Austin Texas
Friday, Feb. 12
BISON vs. Arkansas, Noon Live Stats I Live Video (LHN/WatchESPN)
BISON vs. North Carolina, 3 p.m. Live Stats I Live Video (LHN/WatchESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 13
BISON vs. Arkansas, 10 a.m. Live Stats I Live Video (LHN/WatchESPN)
BISON vs. North Carolina, 6 p.m. Live Stats I Live Video (LHN/WatchESPN)
Sunday, Feb. 14
BISON at Texas, 4:30 p.m. Live Stats I Live Video (LHN/WatchESPN)

Television
Each game of the Texas Classic is slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network and available through the WatchESPN app ... Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Amanda Scarborough (analyst) will call the Texas match-ups, while Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (analyst) will handle the neutral contests.

Ticket Information
A $20 all-session pass for the University of Texas Classic, along with single-game tickets are for sale at TexasSports.com ... Purchase online now or contact a member of the Texas Athletics Sales team at 512-471-3333.

The Series
This will be the fifth meeting between North Dakota State and Arkansas ... The series is tied 2-2 ... NDSU won two of three against Arkansas at the 2007 Nebraska tournament ... This will be the third meeting North Dakota State and North Carolina ... The Tar Heels are 2-0 including a 4-0 no-hitter at the rain-shortened 2013 Carolina Classic ... This will be the first meeting between North Dakota State and the Longhorns.

Quickly Around the Horn
North Dakota State University softball received 32 votes toward the USA Today/NFCA and 16 toward the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 preseason polls released Jan. 26, 2016 ... The Bison were 27th in both preseason projections ... Two-time defending NCAA national champion Florida is No. 1 in both preseason polls ... NDSU (45-11) won its sixth Summit League Softball Tournament Championship over the past seven seasons in 2015 to advance to the NCAA Eugene Regional ... NDSU defeated Fresno State and BYU before falling to No. 2 overall seed Oregon in the championship game ... The Bison also won their fourth straight league regular season crown ... NDSU was ranked 24th in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate and 25th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 polls ... North Dakota State has won eight of its last 22 meetings with nationally-ranked opponents, last win 5-4 at #21 South Alabama (4-24-15) ... NDSU was 3-5 last season against nationally-ranked opponents and stand 9-52 overall ... First baseman Jackie Stifter hit a grand slam in the 14-6 win over IUPUI (5-3-15) ... It was NDSU's second grand slam of the 2015 season ... Catcher Alyssa Reina hit a grand slam at Fort Wayne (4-11-15) ... Reina has tied the school single-game record twice this season with two home runs against South Dakota State (5-8-15) in the Summit League tournament and again vs. South Dakota State (4-12-15) ... Earlier in the season second baseman Cheyenne Garcia also tied the record with a pair of homers vs. Iowa (2-7-15) ... That record has been achieved 21 times by 13 athletes including current players Logan Moreland (2), Reina (2), Maritza Lopez-Portillo (1) and Garcia (1) ... Second baseman Cheyenne Garcia led the team with a .423 batting average last season, one of two players over .400 -- Logan Moreland (.421) ... Garcia had 29 multi-hit games ... Garcia had 16 multi-RBI games ... NDSU had 13 players with one or more RBI last season including Alyssa Reina with team-high 57 ... Thirteen Bison have scored one or more runs this season led by Garcia's 70 ... The Bison were 2-1 in 2015 and 42-28 in extra innings under head coach Darren Mueller since 2002 ... North Dakota State is 55-48 in extra innings overall ... Collectively in 2015, the Bison hit .329 with a 2.49 earned run average and fielded at .973 ... NDSU opponents hit .194 with a 5.82 ERA and fielded at .943 ... The Bison averaged 6.43 runs scored per game, while opponents averaged 2.71 ... The big inning was the fifth for North Dakota State with 66 runs scored including an 11-run fifth against South Dakota State (4-11-15).

NDSU Preseason Favorite in Summit League Coaches Poll
The North Dakota State softball team has been selected 2016's preseason favorite in The Summit League among a vote of the league's head coaches. The Bison received five-of-seven first-place votes for 35 points in the poll ... NDSU, coached by four-time Coaching Staff of the Year Darren Mueller and Jamie Trachsel, are coming off a 45-win season and a second-place finish in the Eugene Regional in the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season ranked No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and 25th in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' poll ... The Bison have won the past four regular season league titles along with claiming six of the past seven tournament championships ... IUPUI finished second in the poll, gathering 29 points along with two first-place votes. South Dakota, last season's runner-up, came in third with 27 points with Omaha finishing fourth with 20 points. South Dakota State (16 points), Western Illinois (14 points) and Fort Wayne (six points) round out the preseason poll ... North Dakota State brings back a league-high five All-Summit League performers from a season ago, highlighted by 2015 Player of the Year Cheyenne Garcia ... Garcia set the league's single-season record for runs scored (70) along with leading her team in batting average, hits, doubles, runs, home runs and stolen bases ... The Bison's high-powered offense will remain mostly intact, losing only two regular starters in the lineup and retaining 84.2% (303-of-360) of their runs scored from a season ago.

Seven Bison Named to College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League Softball Teams
North Dakota State placed seven players on the College Sports Madness.com Preseason All-Summit League team led by Player of the Year choice in second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, shortstop Logan Moreland, catcher Alyssa Reina and left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo ... Second team selections were pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic and first baseman Jackie Stifter, while pitcher KK Leddy was selected Freshman of the Year ... The Bison were also ranked No. 44 in the College Sports Madness.com Preseason Softball Rankings.

Garcia, Lopez-Portillo, Moreland, Reina Stifter Take Aim at NDSU Career Charts
On the NDSU career charts, senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is T6th in home runs (25), 7th in slugging percentage (.586) and doubles (41), 8th in runs scored (150), T9th in sacrifice flies (5) and doubles plays turned (18), and 10th in runs batted in (126) and stolen bases (50) ... Senior left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo is T3rd in hit by pitch (13) and T4th in sacrifice flies (8) ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland is 9th in batting average (.359) and 10th in on-base pct. (.425) ... Junior catcher Alyssa Reina is 6th in slugging pct. (.600) and fielding pct. (.991) and 8th in putouts (728) ... Senior first baseman Jackie Stifter T6th in hit by pitch (10) and T9th in sacrifice flies (5).

NDSU Wins Sixth Summit League Tournament in 2015
North Dakota State won its second straight Summit League Tournament and sixth over past seven seasons on May 8-9 at the Ellig Sports Complex ... NDSU defeated South Dakota State 16-0 on May 8, and edged IUPUI 3-2 and pounded South Dakota 13-3 in five innings in the championship game on May 9 ... The Bison had five players named to the all-tournament team led by MVP pitcher Krista Menke, who earned the top honor for the second time in her career ... Menke compiled a 3-0 record with a 2.33 earned run average, striking out 23 and walking four over 15 innings pitched ... Joining Menke were first baseman Jackie Stifter, second baseman Cheyenne Garcia, shortstop Logan Moreland and catcher Alyssa Reina ... The Bison hit .463 with five doubles, three triples and five home runs, outscoring the opponents 32-5 ... NDSU committed no errors in 57 fielding chances and had a 2.06 earned run average.

Garcia, Menke, NDSU Coaching Staff Earn 2015 Summit League Honors, Eight Bison Named to All-League Teams
North Dakota State second baseman Cheyenne Garcia was named Summit League Player of the Year, Krista Menke earned her second Pitcher of the Year award, and NDSU head coaches Darren Mueller and Jamie Trachsel, assistant Brynne Dordel and graduate assistant manager Kendall Grimm were named Coaching Staff of the Year ... Joining Garcia and Menke on the all-league first team were center fielder Alex Sobrero, third baseman Amanda Grable and left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo ... Named the all-league second team were catcher Alyssa Reina, first baseman Jackie Stifter and shortstop Logan Moreland.

The Mueller/Trachsel File
Head coaches for North Dakota State are Darren Mueller (15th season, 22nd overall) and Jamie Trachsel (6th season, 14th overall) ... Mueller has compiled a 503-267 record (.654) including 144-34 (.809) vs. Summit League competition (including tournament) ... Trachsel has compiled a 182-94 record (.662) including a 98-23 (.810) vs. Summit League competition including tournament ... Mueller recorded win No. 500 vs. IUPUI (5-9-15) in the Summit League tournament ... Trachsel earned win No. 150 vs. Northern Iowa (3-16-15) ... The Bison have had nine straight 30-plus win seasons and reached 40 wins for the first time since 2004... North Dakota State has won six Summit League tournament championships (2009-10-11-12, 2014-15) 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 five Summit League regular season crowns (2008, 2012-13-14-15) ... 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, 2014 and 2015 Summit League Coaching Staff of the Year honors ... The NDSU staff earned 2009 and 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award ... Mueller was named the 2006 and 2007 Division I Independent Coach of the Year.

Ex-NDSU Shortstop Rivera Member of Gold Medal USA Women's Baseball Pan Am Team
Former North Dakota State University softball shortstop Nicole Rivera was a member of the gold medal winning USA Women's Baseball team that won the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games in July ... 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).

Against The Nationally-Ranked
North Dakota State has won eight of its last 22 meetings with nationally-ranked opponents ... The Bison were 3-5 during the 2015 season ... With the dramatic 1-0 win in 11 innings over 9th/10th-ranked Oklahoma at the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional, North Dakota State softball recorded its first win over a nationally-ranked team since beginning the transition to Division I in 2005 ... NDSU is currently 9-52 overall ... By year,
2005 (0-5) -- Lost at #21 Iowa 2-0, Lost at #25 Nebraska 7-0, Lost at #25 Nebraska 8-0, Lost at #20 Missouri 9-1, Lost at #20 Missouri 8-0;
2006 (0-5) -- Lost at #10 Oklahoma 9-0, Lost at #10 Oklahoma 7-2, Lost at #24 North Carolina 5-1, Lost at #6 Cal 10-1, Lost at #16 Nebraska 8-0;
2007 (0-1) -- Lost to #25 Oregon 6-1;
2008 (0-1) -- Lost at #9 Stanford 7-0;
2009 (1-5) -- Lost at #11 Arizona 10-0, Lost at #11 Arizona 9-2, Lost at #11 Arizona 12-0, Won at #9/10 Oklahoma 1-0 (11), Lost at #9/10 Arizona State, 3-0, Lost at #9/10 Arizona State 11-0;
2010 (0-4) -- Lost vs. #6 Arizona 6-0, Lost at #21 Texas A&M 4-0, Lost at #21 Texas A&M 5-2, Lost at #1 Washington, 3-0;
2011 (0-10) -- Lost at #1/2 UCLA 7-0, Lost at #1/2 UCLA 15-2 (5), Lost at #2/4 Georgia 14-4 (5), Lost at #16/17 Stanford 12-0 (5), Lost vs. #24 Kentucky 5-4 (8), Lost at #2/3 Florida 18-0 (5), Lost at #2/3 Florida (9-0), Lost at #13/17 Missouri 4-3, Lost at #13/17 Missouri 11-2 (5), Lost at #1 Arizona State 10-1 (5);
2012 (1-6) -- Lost at #2 Alabama 9-4, Lost at #2 Alabama 3-2, Lost at #5 Arizona State 10-2 (5), Lost at #21 Texas A&M 6-0, Lost at #15 Baylor 1-0 (8), Lost at #15 Arizona 11-0 (5), Won vs. #13 Hawai'i 9-7;
2013 (2-5) — Lost vs. #1 Alabama 10-0 (5), Lost at #10 LSU 9-0 (5), Lost at #23 Georgia 4-1, Won at #23 Georgia 3-0, Lost at #12 UCLA 7-1, Won at #20 Nebraska 13-0, Lost at #20 Nebraska 11-0 (5);
2014 (2-6)— Lost at #12 Florida State 4-1, Lost at #12 Florida State 9-0 (5), Lost at #12 Florida State 5-0, Won at #22 Stanford 4-0, Lost at #18 Missouri 11-2 (5), Won vs. #21 Auburn 5-2, Lost at #14 Minnesota 4-1, Lost vs. #21 Auburn 1-0;
2015 (3-3) -- Won 6-5 vs. #17 Washington, lost at #11 Tennessee 14-3 (5), #10/12 lost 8-0 (5) at Minnesota, Won 5-4 at #10/12 Minnesota, Won 7-3 at #21 South Alabama, Lost 7-6 (8) at #21 South Alabama; Lost at #1 Oregon 4-3; Lost at #1 Oregon 6-1.