Bison Set For Summit League Series Against Western Illinois In Omaha

Friday, April 15

Omaha, Neb.

12:00 PM

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Illinois

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

Bison Set For Summit League Series Against Western Illinois In Omaha

4/14/2022 11:41:00 AM | Softball

NDSU Notes

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State (22-17, 4-4 Summit League) will hit the road to Omaha, Nebraska to take on Western Illinois (7-25, 3-6 Summit League) in a three-game Summit League series that was originally scheduled to be played in Fargo, but was moved to Connie Claussen Field at Maverick Park due to forecasted weather and temperatures in Fargo over the weekend.

TICKETS AND PARKING: All seating for games at Connie Claussen Field will be open to the public and admission will be free. Event parking is also available across the street from the complex in Lot 26.

COVERAGE: Due to the games being moved, all live stream, radio and television coverage for the games has been canceled. All three games will have include live statistics. Links to the stats will be available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.

THE SERIES: North Dakota State and Western Illinois have met on the softball diamond 46 times heading into this weekend's Summit League series. NDSU holds a 35-11 record against the Leathernecks, with all 46 meetings coming in the Summit League era, dating back to the first-ever match up in a doubleheader on April 5, 2008.

The Bison have swept Western Illinois in a three-game series on six occasions (2008, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) with three at home and three on the road. The Bison also swept a 2014 doubleheader at home.

North Dakota State and Western Illinois will meet for the first time at a true neutral venue. In the first ever meetings in 2008, the Bison hosted Western Illinois in Fargo, but held the games in the Fargodome. NDSU swept the series 4-1, 6-2 and 4-1.

The two teams have also met in seven games outside of regular season league competition, with all seven games coming in the Summit League championships. However, the first two meetings came in Macomb, while the last five postseason meeting have been played in Fargo. NDSU is 5-2 in those games.

LAST TIME VS WESTERN ILLINOIS: The Bison met Western Illinois in four games at the end of March last season in Illinois. The hosts would claim the book ends of the series, winning the opening game of the series 6-2 before claiming an 11-3 win in six innings to end the series. After the Bison dropped the opener, NDSU responded with a 16-0 thrashing of Western Illinois in five innings to close out day one. The Bison then opened up day two with a 15-9 victory over the Leathernecks, breaking a 9-9 tie after five innings with a six-run fifth to take game three.

Lainey Lyle and Paige Vargas each picked up victories in the series. Vargas tossed the complete game shutout in game two and finished with nine strikeouts on the weekend, while Lyle led the team with 10 strikeouts. At the plate, Emilee Buringa had a breakout weekend, as the freshman went 6-for-9 at the plate with a walk for a .700 obp. Buringa finished with an RBI and five runs scored. Ciara Jensen also had a big weekend, going 3-for-5 with a pair of walks, two runs and an RBI. Avery Wysong hit two home runs in the series, while Cameryn Maykut also had one of four Bison home runs.

ON NEUTRAL GROUND IN OMAHA: North Dakota State has been quite successful when playing in neutral-site games in Omaha over the course of the program's history. In 47 career games, NDSU holds a 32-15 record. Since 1999, the Bison are 28-4. In the Summit League era, the Bison have played three neutral-site series in Omaha, holding an 8-1 record in those games. NDSU took 2-of-3 from Kansas City in 2008 and the Bison swept IUPUI in 2011 and 2013.

VICTORY MILESTONES: North Dakota State picked up victory No. 1200 in the program's history with a 3-2 win over Maryland at the Capital City Classic on March 18. The Bison are also approaching other milestone victories in the 2022 season. NDSU is averaging over 34 wins a year in the Division I era, which could also see Bison head coach Darren Mueller reach the 700-win milestone. He entered 2022 at 670 and currently sits at 692. The Bison are also just three wins in Summit League play away from 200. NDSU began league play in 2008, and are averaging nearly 15 league wins in the 13 seasons when league play was competed.

VARGAS ADDS TO SHUTOUTS: Paige Vargas picked up her third complete game shut of the season against Kansas City, as the senior struck out seven and allowed just three hits in a 1-0 victory in the home opener in Fargo.

Vargas and Mac Schultz have each contributed to shutouts this season. In Georgia, Vargas tossed a five-inning shutout against UT Martin before Schulz went 5.2 innings and Vargas recorded the final four outs in the finale at Georgia Southern. It was the first combined shutout since 2019.

Schulz then tossed a five-inning shutout in a win over Portland State in Oregon. In the game against Virginia, Vargas tossed the fourth shutout of the season for NDSU. The Bison, who now have five shutouts on the season, had just three shutouts in all of 2021.

MAYKUT MOVES INTO NDSU TOP 10 FOR PUTOUTS: Senior Cameryn Maykut moved into the top 10 last week against Kansas City for career putouts, as she sits currently at 642, 10th all time for the Bison.

GIVE ME TWO: North Dakota State leads the NCAA in doubles, recording 77 doubles on the year in 39 games. Texas (73), Louisiana (73) and Notre Dame (70) are the next closest to the Bison. Avery Wysong and Cameryn Maykut have contributed 12 doubles each on the season, which is 20th in the nation, while Dez Cardenas is tied for 45th in the NCAA with 11.

OTHER NOTABLE NCAA AND SUMMIT LEAGUE RANKINGS: Aside from leading the NCAA in doubles, NDSU leads the Summit League in six major batting categories and ranks in the top three in every major statistical batting category except for one. NDSU leads the league and ranks 34th in the NCAA in extra-base hits (102), 34th in sacrifice flies (12), 68th in total bases (440).

Individually, Avery Wysong and Cameryn Maykut lead the Summit League and rank 20th nationally with 12 doubles. Wysong also leads the league in doubles per game (.34) Maykut also ranks 18th in the NCAA in RBIs (42) and 66th in RBIs per game (1.08), both of which also sit atop the league. Emilee Buringa and Molly Gates are first and second in the league with .92 and .88 runs per game.

In the circle, Paige Vargas leads the league in complete games with 15. The senior ranks second in innings pitched (119.0), second in WHIP (1.059), third in the league in strikeouts (117), third in strikeouts per seven innings (6.882), third in walks per seven innings (1.824), third in hits per seven innings (5.588), third in batting average against (.213), third in victories (11), and third in shutouts (3).

GOING GOING GONE: In the NDSU's win against Omaha in early April, the Bison hit three home runs in a game for the second time this season. Emilee Buringa hit her sixth home run of the season with a two-run shot in the first of back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning. Buringa was followed up by Molly Gates, who hit her first career home run. In the seventh, Reanna Rudd joined the home run party, as she also hit her sixth of the season.

Earlier this year, the Bison hit three against Utah State to close out the opening weekend. Buringa and Rudd also homered in that game. The first was a grand slam from senior Cameryn Maykut in the second inning. Then in the sixth, Rudd and Buringa each hit their first collegiate home run.

Prior to this season, the Bison last hit three home runs in a game on April 27, 2019 when NDSU had three against Omaha in Fargo.

VARGAS RANKS IN CAREER TOP 10 FOR STRIKEOUTS: Pitcher Paige Vargas has moved into the top 10 in career strikeouts for the Bison with 348. Her 5.53 strikeouts per seven innings also ranks 10th in Bison history. Vargas is sixth in D1 history. She is 18 strikeouts from reaching Sara Bosch (1996-98) at 364.

LIFE ON THE ROAD: Last week, the Bison wrapped up a stretch of playing the first eight weekends on the road or at neutral sites to begin the 2022 season, including the first two Summit League weekends. North Dakota State played 37 games (originally scheduled to play 38) away from home, wrapping up with a visit to Omaha. During the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bison flew over 15,000 miles between the six weekend invitational events, playing in the pacific time zone three times, eastern time zone twice and mountain time zone once.

FANTASTIC FEBRUARY: The Bison had one of the best months of February in the program's 18 seasons in Division I, flipping the script from the 2021 campaign. NDSU was 10-4 this February after going 4-10 the season prior. The .714 win percentage was the fourth best in the D1 era, behind only the 2008 (.800), 2015 (.786) and 2007 (.750) seasons. It is NDSU's best February in the last seven seasons.

RUDD MATCHES SINGLE GAME HR RECORD: Reanna Rudd hit her second and third home runs of the season against Buffalo in New Mexico in back-to-back plate appearances. Rudd became the 18th different Bison to hit two homers in a game. It has been done 30 times overall by a Bison, including 21 times in the Division 1 era.

LICEA REACHES BASE 10-STRAIGHT PLATE APPEARANCES: Senior infielder Nicole Licea hit a new milestone in Albuquerque, as the Corona, California native reached base safely in 10-straight plate appearances over three games. Licea had five hits, four walks and a hit by pitch during the span. She also drove in two runs and scored four more as a result of reaching safely in 10-straight at bats.

BURINGA SNAGGED FIRST SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Emilee Buringa was named the Summit League Softball Player of the Week on February 21. Buringa hit .636 (7-for-11), with a home run, a double, seven RBIs, and five runs scored. Buringa is the only Bison to earn Summit League softball honors this season and the first Bison to earn player of the week honors since Maddie Hansen won on April 8, 2019.

GATES HIT TOP 5 WITH 14-GAME HIT STREAK: Gates recorded a 14-game hit streak to begin the season, which tied for the fifth longest hitting streak in NDSU's Division 1 era and the longest streak for an NDSU player to begin the season. The 14-game streak by the sophomore also tied the longest by a non-senior Bison, matching a 14-game streak by Logan Moreland as a junior in 2015.

BISON PICKED RUNNERS UP IN SUMMIT: North Dakota State was picked to finish in a tie as the runners up in The Summit League in 2022 in a preseason poll of the league's eight head coaches. The Bison have won two of the last three regular season crowns and six of the last seven league tournament titles. NDSU had one first-place vote and finished tied for second on 38 points with Kansas City. South Dakota State was a unanimous first-place selection. Omaha, South Dakota, North Dakota, Western Illinois and St. Thomas rounded out the poll.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: North Dakota State junior right-handed pitcher Lainey Lyle and senior catcher Avery Wysong were among the Summit League preseason players to watch. Lyle, a 2021 All-Summit League Second Team selection, made 14 appearances last season with a 3.18 ERA. The Middleton, Idaho native tossed a no hitter against South Dakota and recorded six wins in 19.1 innings pitched. Wysong, also a 2021 All-Summit League Second Team selection, started 39 games last year, hitting .278 with a team high eight doubles and eight home runs. She also led the Bison with 27 RBIs.

WHO'S BACK: North Dakota State returns 14 of 21 players from last season, including eight of the 12 regular starters from a squad that finished third in the Summit League regular season. The Bison return four of their top seven bats from last season, including sophomore Emilee Buringa, who led the team with a .348 batting average. Senior Avery Wysong, who led the Bison in doubles, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage, also returns and provides consistency behind the plate for an experienced pitching staff that includes the return of Lainey Lyle (3.18 era, 79.1 IP) and Paige Vargas (3.84 era, 100.1 IP), who have run the circle a majority of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

NEW FACES: NDSU welcomed four new comers to the team this season, including three true freshman and a transfer. Carley Goetschius, originally from Sioux Falls, S.D., transferred to the Bison from Northern Illinois. Goetschius played three seasons with NIU and enters 2022 with a .282 career batting average with seven doubles and nine home runs. Faith Daehlin, from Lakeville, Minn., and Chloe Woldruff, from Lispon, Iowa, join the Bison as freshman and will contribute in the field and at the plate. Savy Williams, from McKinney, Texas, is the final freshman and joins the pitching staff.

GRABLE, KOEHN JOIN STAFF: North Dakota State added two new staff members heading into this season with Kayti Grable joining the staff as an assistant coach and former Bison Sam Koehn as a graduate assistant. Grable joins the Bison after her most recent stop as an assistant coach with Valparaiso, where she spent three seasons. Koehn remains in Fargo and joins the staff after wrapping up her three-year career with the Bison, starting 122 of 123 games played at third base.

GRAND SLAMS: The Bison have hit 13 grand slams in the Division I era, including one Cameryn Maykut against Utah State earlier this season. Fellow current Bison Avery Wysong hit a grand slam last season at Kansas City. Former Bison Melissa Chmielewski holds the lead for NDSU with four grand slams from 2007-10. Maritza Lopez-Portillo and Vanessa Anderson are the only other Bison with multiple grand slams in their career. NDSU has just one grand slam at home, Alyssa Reina against Fort Wayne on April 9, 2016. The Bison have three on the road and nine in neutral site games.

EXTRA INNINGS: NDSU is 1-2 in extra innings this season and the Bison have a 42-33 record in extras since beginning Division I play in 2005, including three 12-inning games against Colorado State in 2006 (W, 3-2); Kansas City in 2012 (L, 4-6) and Georgia Tech in 2017 (W, 8-6). The Bison are 7-2 in games that go at least 11 innings in the Division I era.

WIN STREAKS: The Bison have strung together win streaks of at least five games on 36 occasions since beginning Division I play in 2005, including twice this season. North Dakota State had a 20-game win streak during the 2019 season that stands as the program's division I era record. NDSU has reached 10-game win streaks six times (2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019), with the streaks in 2013 (15 games) and 2019 being the longest. Over the program's history, the Bison have eight win streaks of at least 15 games and four that reached 20, including the program record of 27 wins in April of 2000 when the Bison went on to claim the NCAA DII National Championship.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: North Dakota State historically plays The Summit League's toughest non-conference schedule in preparation for league play. The Bison have another tough schedule lined up in 2022 that includes six tournaments, two hosted by Power 5 programs, and seven games against NCAA Tournament teams from last season.

NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS: North Dakota State beat at least one nationally ranked opponent in seven straight seasons from 2012 to 2018 with the most recent Top 25 victory coming in 2018 over 10th-ranked LSU by a 1-0 score in nine innings. That is one of five Bison wins over Top 10 opponents including a 2-1 victory at No. 2 Alabama in 2016, the highest-ranked opponent NDSU has beaten. NDSU's first win over a nationally ranked Division I program came in 2009 with an 11-inning 1-0 victory at No. 9/10 Oklahoma en route to the NCAA regional championship.

NO-HITTERS: North Dakota State pitchers have thrown 31 no-hitters including 14 against Division I opponents with Lainey Lyle's April 10 no-no last season being the first since 2019 when KK Leddy blanked South Dakota State 5-0. There have been eight perfect games by NDSU pitchers with the last one in 2015 by Krista Menke at Purdue Fort Wayne. There have been six no-hitters pitched against NDSU in Division I play since 2005. Illinois State's Morgan Day struck out 16 and walked one in the last no-hitter against North Dakota State in the championship game of the Middle Tennessee State University Invitational on March 14, 2021.

SERIES SWEEPS: Since beginning Summit League play in 2008, NDSU has swept 39 three-game series including 26 away from Fargo. The Bison have been swept only three times in league play with all three coming on the road against Purdue Fort Wayne (2010), Kansas City (2011) and South Dakota State (four games, 2021).

FIELD OF THE YEAR: Tharaldson Park, the on-campus home softball stadium for North Dakota State, was named the NCAA Division I winner of the 2020 Netting Professionals NFCA Field of the Year award, which recognizes the top fields/stadiums in the nation for their flawless grounds maintenance and exceptional playing surfaces. Tharaldson Park was dedicated in 2018 after a $2 million renovation including installation of a FieldTurf playing surface and seating for 735 spectators.

TOURNEY TOWN: North Dakota State has hosted the Summit League softball tournament nine times since becoming eligible for the NCAA Division I postseason in 2009. Western Illinois (2009, 2011) and Kansas City (2012) are the only other teams to have hosted the tournament over those 12 seasons. NDSU has won seven of the nine tournaments held in Fargo. Fort Wayne in 2013 and South Dakota State in 2021 are the only teams to have won the tournament in Fargo.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: North Dakota State has advanced to NCAA regional play 10 of the past 12 seasons as the Summit League tournament champion. NDSU qualified for its first NCAA Division I tournament in 2009, the school's first year of Division I postseason eligibility, and the Bison swept through the Norman Regional that year to advance to Super Regional play at Arizona State. NDSU made seven NCAA Division II postseason appearances from 1998-2004 including a national championship in 2000.