NDSU Softball Release (4-10-18).pdf

North Dakota State (21-13, 1-1 SL) is scheduled to play South Dakota State (23-11, 4-2 SL) in a Summit League three-game series Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13 in Sioux Falls ... The teams will play a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Thursday and a single-game at noon Friday at Augustana University's Bowden Field or USF's Sherman Park ... The single-game between NDSU and North Dakota scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 was postponed with a makeup date to be determined.

The Series
This will be the 114th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State ... The Bison lead the series 69-44 and won all three meetings against the Jackrabbits last season in Fargo.

Quickly Around the Horn
In the NCAA RPI released April 9, North Dakota State was ranked No. 69 ... South Dakota State was No. 88, followed by South Dakota (189), Western Illinois (190), Omaha (210) and Fort Wayne (223) ... The Summit League was 18th out of 32 teams in the league rankings ... In the NCAA statistics report (4-9-18), North Dakota State is No. 9 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.31) and No. 28 in fielding percentage (.973) ... Individually, outfielder Bre Beatty is No. 30 in doubles (12) ... Pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic is No. 11 in strikeouts (189), No. 16 in wins (16) and No. 29 in shutouts (5) ... On the active NCAA DI career leader list, Jacquelyn Sertic is No. 3 in complete games (89); No. 6 in innings pitched (740.1), strikeouts (822); No. 7 in games started (108), and No. 8 in wins (70) ... The Bison won 1-0 over No. 10 LSU (3-24-18) in nine innings ... NDSU is 3-1 in extra innings this season ... The Bison stand 48-32 in extra innings under head coach Darren Mueller since 2002 ... North Dakota State is 61-52 in extra innings overall ... NDSU head coach Darren Mueller reached career win No. 550 with the 3-1 victory at Stetson University (3-10-17) ... Bre Beatty leads NDSU with 13 multi-hit and five multi-RBI games ... Beatty has NDSU's longest reached base streak at 12 games ... Collectively, the Bison are batting .251 with a 2.72 earned run average and are fielding at .973 ... NDSU opponents are batting .239 with a 2.84 ERA and are fielding at .965 ... The Bison are averaging 3.67 runs scored per game, while opponents are averaging 3.09 ... The first inning has been productive for NDSU, scoring 27 runs.

Sertic Selected #SummitSB Pitcher of the Week
North Dakota State right-hander Jacquelyn Sertic was named the Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time this season on April 9 ... It was the 14th career #SummitSB weekly honor for Sertic ... Sertic struck out 12 batters in the complete game win over Omaha (4-5-18).

Shoultz Ties NDSU Record For Steals in a Game
North Dakota State outfielder Katie Shoultz tied the school single-game record with five stolen bases in five attempts in the 7-1 win over Columbia (3-11-18) ... Shoultz matched the record achieved twice by Bison Athletic Hall of Fame/NCAA Division II All-America shortstop Nikki Flynn Gregg vs. North Dakota (4-22-00) and vs. Edinboro, Pa. (3-8-99) ... Shoultz matched her career-high with four hits against Columbia.

Sertic Notches Louisville Slugger/NFCA Weekly Honor
North Dakota State pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Pitcher of the Week on March 20 ... Sertic is the first NDSU softball player to receive the honor ... She compiled a 5-0 record with a 1.11 earned run average ... Sertic struck out  batters in 16.1 innings pitched and recorded three shutouts including her fifth career one-hitter.
 
Trio Take Aim at NDSU Career Charts
On the NDSU career charts, pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic is No. 3 in strikeouts/7 IP (7.7) and appearances (136); No. 4 in strikeouts (822) and batters faced (3113); No. 5 in starts (108), complete games (89), innings pitched (740.1) and wins (70), and No. 8 in lowest opponent batting average (.222) and shutouts (18) ... Third baseman Julia Luciano is tied for No. 4 in times hit by pitch (14) ... Outfielder Katie Shoultz is No. 9 in fielding percentage (.990).

The Scientist, Special K Notch Shutouts, Double-Figure Ks
North Dakota State's Jacquelyn Sertic #TheScientist has reached double-figure strikeouts 11 times in 2018 and 29 times in her career, the last coming with 12 strikeouts at Omaha (4-5-18) ... Sertic has five shutouts this season, last at No. 10 LSU in nine innings (3-24-18), and has 18 in her career ... Sertic has compiled a 70-43 record with three saves ... NDSU right-hander KK #SpecialK Leddy recorded her first career double-figure strikeout game with 13 against Southern Utah (2-9-18) ... Leddy notched her first shutout of the season vs. Yale (3-3-18) and has four in her career ... Leddy has compiled a 28-22 record.

Sertic Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
North Dakota State pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic was one of 30 NCAA women's softball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award announced March 15 ... 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 ... Second baseman Cheyenne Garcia (2016) and Krista Menke (2015) were also candidates for the award.

Bison #SummitSB Preseason Favorite Sixth Straight Year
For the sixth consecutive year, North Dakota State was named The Summit League preseason softball favorite in a poll of the league's head coaches ... The Bison won their fifth-straight tournament title in 2017 ... NDSU earned five first-place votes for a total of 25 points ... NDSU retains a sizable core of its roster, including a league-best seven all-league selections from a year ago ... Jacquelyn Sertic (P) and Montana DeCamp (SS) return from the first team, while KK Leddy (P), Julia Luciano (3B), Bre Beatty (OF) and Stephanie Soriano (OF) round out the second team members ... Sertic was selected as a "Player to Watch" this season.

Eight NDSU Players Earn Easton/NFCA Scholar Athletes
 Eight North Dakota State softball players were recognized as National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Scholar Athletes for the 2016-17 academic year: first baseman Vanessa Anderson, shortstop Montana DeCamp, outfielder Courtney Johnson, pitchers KK Leddy and Jacquelyn Sertic, pitcher/outfielder Morgan Olson, second baseman Lauren Reimers and catcher Alyssa Reina ... Collectively, NDSU compiled a 3.746 grade point average and ranked No. 32 on the Easton/NFCA Division I All-Academic Team list.

The Mueller File
The North Dakota State head coach is Darren Mueller (17th season, 24th overall) ... Mueller has compiled a 592-328 record (.643) including 180-43 (.807) vs. Summit League competition (including tournament) ... Mueller reached career win No. 550 at Stetson (3-10-17) ... The Bison had 10 straight 30-plus win seasons ... Mueller became the program's all-time winningest coach with the 4-1 victory at Western Illinois (4-16-11) ... North Dakota State has won eight Summit League tournament championships (2009-10-11-12, 2014-15-16-17) 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 six Summit League regular season crowns (2008, 2012-13-14-15-16) ... Rounding out the Bison staff are assistant coaches Gerice Olson and Beth Spoehr ... 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, 2015 and 2016 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award ... Mueller was the 2006 and 2007 Division I Independent Coach of the Year.