NDSU Softball Opens With DePaul on March 4 at Alabama Easton Crimson Classic

Friday, March 4

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

11 a.m.

North Dakota State

DePaul

Photo by: Casey Valentine

NDSU Softball Opens With DePaul on March 4 at Alabama Easton Crimson Classic

3/2/2016 3:03:00 PM | Softball

NDSU Softball Release.pdf

North Dakota State (7-7) is scheduled to open against DePaul University (2-8) at 11 a.m. Friday, March 4, in the University of Alabama Easton Crimson Classic at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa ... The tournament schedule:

Alabama Easton Crimson Classic
Rhoads Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(All times converted to Central Time)
Friday, March 4
BISON vs. DePaul (2-8), 11 a.m. Live Stats
BISON at #2/4 Alabama (15-1), 6 p.m. Live Stats I SEC Network+ / WatchESPN
Saturday, March 5
BISON at #2/4 Alabama, 4 p.m. Live Stats I SEC Network+ / WatchESPN
BISON vs. Louisiana-Monroe (11-5), 6 p.m. Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 28
BISON vs. DePaul, 11 a.m. Live Stats

The Series
This will be the second meeting between North Dakota State and DePaul ... The Bison won the first meeting 10-5 in eight innings last season ... This will be the fourth meeting between North Dakota State and Alabama ... The Crimson Tide lead the series 3-0 ... Then No. 1 Alabama beat NDSU 10-0 in five innings at the 2013 UNI-Dome Classic... The Bison lost 3-2 and 9-4 to the No. 2 Tide at the 2012 Bama Bash ... This will be the first meeting between North Dakota State and the University of Louisiana-Monroe, members of the Sun Belt Conference.

Quickly Around The Horn
North Dakota State has several players listed in the top 25 in the NCAA statistics (Feb. 29) -- Julia Luciano is 11th in sacrifice flies (2), Cheyenne Garcia is 13th in triples (2), Jacquelyn Sertic is 19th in shutouts (2) and Katie Shoultz is 25th in stolen bases per game (0.71 avg) ... Jacquelyn Sertic struck out a career-high 12 batters in the 8-0 win over Cleveland State (2-28-16) ... With six hits during the opening weekend, North Dakota State sophomore Bre Beatty has already surpassed last year's total of five ... Beatty is hitting .385 (10x26) with four RBI ... 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 ... The last grand slam for North Dakota State was hit by left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo, who connected in the 11-0 win over Kent State (2-27-16) ... Shortstop Logan Moreland leads North Dakota State with a .400 batting average ... Moreland has five multi-hit games ... Second baseman Cheyenne Garcia has three multi-RBI games this season ... NDSU has 12 players with one or more RBI this season including Alyssa Reina with team-high 12 ... A dozen Bison have scored one or more runs this season led by Katie Shoultz with 15 ... The Bison are 0-1 in extra innings this season 2-1 and 42-29 in extra innings under head coach Darren Mueller since 2002 ... North Dakota State is 55-49 in extra innings overall ... Collectively, the Bison are batting .303 with a 2.93 earned run average and are fielding at .968 ... NDSU opponents are batting .252 with a 4.15 ERA and are fielding at .970 ... The Bison are averaging 4.78 runs scored per game, while opponents are averaging 3.28 ... The big inning is the first for North Dakota State with 15 runs scored.

Sertic, Stifter Received Summit League Weekly Honors
North Dakota State first baseman Jackie Stifter was named Summit League Player of the Week on Feb. 29, while sophomore right-hander Jacquelyn Sertic was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week ... Sertic was also named College Sports Madness.com Summit League Player of the Week ... It was the first weekly honor for Stifter, while Sertic earned her second award this season and in her career on Feb. 15.

Garcia Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
North Dakota State second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is one of 30 softball candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award ... From the list of 30 candidates, a national committee will select 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award in March ... Garcia, a senior from Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena Vista H.S.), was named the 2015 Summit League Player of the Year ... Garcia was selected to the 2015 NFCA All-Midwest Region and all-Summit League first teams ... She maintains a 3.448 grade point average majoring in human development and family science ... Garcia is a three-time selection to the Summit League winter/spring honor roll, a two-time Summit League Distinguished Scholar and named to the Commissioner's List in 2015 ... She has taken an active role in her hometown and campus community including volunteering at Rosewood on Broadway Nursing Home and Special Olympic Hockey locally, and Adopt A Child program at Christmas with her family ... An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities ... The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 Women's College World Series®.

Garcia, Lopez-Portillo, Moreland, Reina, Stifter Take Aim at NDSU Career Charts
On the NDSU career charts, senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia is 6th in slugging pct. (.582) and doubles (46), tied for 6th in home runs (25) and sacrifice flies (6), tied for 7th in triples (9), 8th in runs scored (157), 9th in RBI (137), tied for 9th in stolen bases (52) and 10th in stolen base attempts (64) ... Senior left fielder Maritza Lopez-Portillo is 2nd in hit by pitch (15) and tied for 4th in sacrifice flies (8) ... Senior shortstop Logan Moreland is 9th in batting average (.363) and stolen bases attempts (65), and 10th in on-base pct. (426) ... Junior catcher Alyssa Reina is 6th in fielding pct. (.992) and runners caught stealing (23), 7th in slugging pct. (580) and putouts (787), 10th in fielding chances (847), and tied for 10th in home runs (23) ... Senior first baseman Jackie Stifter is tied for 3rd in hit by pitch (14) and tied for 10th in sacrifice flies (5).

Garcia Ranks Among Top 25 NCAA Active Career Leaders
North Dakota State senior second baseman Cheyenne Garcia ranks in the top 25 among NCAA active career leaders in several categories -- 6th in doubles (46), 10th in runs scored (157), 21st in total bases (327) and 22nd in at bats (562).

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 ... North Dakota State brings back a league-high five All-Summit League performers from a season ago ... 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.

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 510-274 record (.650) including 144-34 (.809) vs. Summit League competition (including tournament) ... Trachsel has compiled a 189-101 record (.652) 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.

Former Bison Krista Menke to Pitch in Italy
Former North Dakota State University all-region performer Krista Menke will pitch for the ASD Thunders Castellana of the Italian League ... Menke leaves April 13 with league play scheduled to run May through July (September playoffs pending) ... Menke, a 5-foot-11 righthander from Friend, Neb., played for DSS Haarlem in the Netherlands last summer. Menke compiled a 1-4 record and 2.49 earned run average for DSS Haarlem with 50 strikeouts and six walks in 39.1 innings pitched. She is the third NDSU softball player to compete professionally overseas, and joins former all-region pitcher and teammate Whitney Johnson (Netherlands) and former All-American catcher Shelly Rhein (Italy).

Ex-NDSU Shortstop Nicole 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 at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games held 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 ... The Lakeside, Calif. native 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.