FARGO, N.D. -  North Dakota State (28-21, 10-8 Summit League) softball is set to compete in the 2022 Summit League Championship from May 11-14 at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota. The Bison will be the No. 3 seed and open up the tournament on Wednesday, May 11 against No. 6 seed North Dakota (14-38, 4-16 Summit League) in a single elimination round before double elimination begins on Thursday, May 12.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, May 11th
G1: (4) South Dakota vs. (5) Kansas City | 2 p.m. CT
G2: (3) North Dakota State vs. (6) North Dakota | 4:30 p.m. CT

Thursday, May 12th
G3: (1) South Dakota State vs. G1 Winner | 11 a.m. CT
G4: (2) Omaha vs. G2 Winner | 1:30 p.m. CT
G5: G3 Loser vs. G4 Loser | 4 p.m. CT

Friday, May 13th
G6: G3 Winner vs. G4 Winner | 1 p.m. CT
G7: G6 Loser vs. G5 Winner | 3:30 p.m. CT

Saturday, May 14th
G8: G6 Winner vs. G7 Winner | 1 p.m. CT
G9: If Necessary | 3:30 p.m. CT
 
PARKING: Spectator parking will be east of the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex or east of Dan J Dykhouse Stadium. The entrance to the Jackrabbit Softball field is just behind home plate.
 
TICKETS AND CONCESSIONS: All tickets will be sold as a single day pass. Prices will be $10 for Adults. Students from participating schools with a valid ID will be able to purchase tickets for $5. All children (Grades K-12) will have tickets available for $5.
 
Concessions and restrooms are located in the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex. No animals except service animals are allowed.
 
COVERAGE: All Summit League Championship games will be streamed live on The Summit League Digital Network. All games will also include live statistics. Links to the stream and stats will be available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
 
MIDCO: Once again, The Summit League Championships will be televised live on Midco Sports and through the Midco Sports Plus app. Jay Elsen and Tom Nieman will have the call for the games, with Jason Andera and Katie Rolle splitting the analyst duties.
 
ON BISON 1660: Keith Brake will have the call for every Bison softball inning from Brookings, as every game for NDSU at The Summit League Championships will be aired live on the radio on Bison 1660 AM/92.7 FM.
 
ALL-LEAGUE TEAM: The Bison placed five players on The Summit League All-League team for the second-straight season. Headlining the honors for the Bison with first team selections were Dez Cardenas and Cameryn Maykut. Cardenas and Maykut each earned all-league honors for the first time in their careers. Maykut, a senior, was selected to the infield and Cardenas, a junior, was selected to the outfield.
 
Joining them on the all-league team were senior pitcher Paige Vargas, and sophomores Emilee Buringa and Reanna Rudd, as the trio earned All-League Second Team honors. Buringa and Rudd are also first time honorees, while Vargas is the only repeat honoree for the Bison, as she earned second team honors in 2019.
 
Last season, NDSU had one first-team selection and four second-team selections.
 
DEJA VU?: The Bison sure hope not. For the second-straight season, the Bison will open up the Summit League Championship as the No. 3 seed and take on in-state rival North Dakota in the elimination game for the opening round of the tournament. Last season, the Bison ultimately fell to North Dakota 6-5 in 10 innings. North Dakota rallied back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat the Bison and snap NDSU's run of six consecutive tournament titles.
 
UND worked a leadoff walk to start the 10th and later scored on a fielder's choice for the winning run. The Bison scored two in the first, two in the third and added a fifth run in the fourth before North Dakota responded. UND added two in the fifth and then tied the game in the sixth with three more runs.
 
NDSU's Paige Vargas pitched five innings of relief allowing just the one run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Ciara Jensen had a big game at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored. Avery Wysong also had a solo home run.
 
AGAINST THE FIELD IN 2022: The Bison finished the regular season with a 5-7 record against teams competing in the Summit League Championships. NDSU started the year with 1-2 trips to No. 4 seed South Dakota and No. 2 seed Omaha. NDSU swept No. 5 seed Kansas City in a doubleheader in Fargo, but game three was cancelled. Game three was also cancelled in both series against No. 1 seed South Dakota State (0-2) and No. 6 seed North Dakota (1-1), with all four of those games being played in Fargo.
 
GIVE ME TWO: North Dakota State has recorded 93 doubles this season, which already ranks six in program history for doubles in a season, averaging 1.898 doubles per game. 93 doubles is also second in the Div. 1 era for NDSU, only behind 97 doubles in 2015. The NDSU program record is 156 doubles in 80 games in 1998 that included a deep postseason run, averaging 1.95.
 
NOTABLE NCAA AND SUMMIT LEAGUE RANKINGS: The Bison lead the Summit League in three major statistical categories, including in doubles with 93 on the year, which is also third in the NCAA and just two off the national lead. NDSU's 1.898 doubles per game is tops in the NCAA. The Bison also lead the league in fewest home runs allowed on the year, having given up just 16 all season.
 
Overall, the Bison rank in the top three in the league in nearly every major offensive category. NDSU is second in extra base hits (128), second in RBIs (243), runs per game (5.31), walks (146), hit by pitches (25), and sacrifice flies (14). Defensively, the Bison are third in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.24), third in era (3.10), and third in fielding percentage (.960).
 
Individually, Dez Cardenas, Molly Gates, Cameryn Maykut and Avery Wysong all lead the league in doubles with 13 each. Maykut ranks 49th in the NCAA in RBIs (48) and 49th in RBIs per game (.98), both of which also sit atop the league. Emilee Buringa and Molly Gates are second and fourth in the league with .88 and .86 runs per game. Paige Vargas is second in the league with a 3.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is third in strikeouts with 140.
 
VICTORY MILESTONES: North Dakota State picked up victory No. 200 in league games in the Summit League era with the victory over Western Illinois last month. The Bison also picked up win 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 approaching another milestone victory in the 2022 season. Bison head coach Darren Mueller will reach the 700-win milestone with two more wins at The Summit League Championship. Mueller entered 2022 at 670 wins and currently sits at 698.
 
VARGAS IN TOP 10 FOR SEVERAL BISON CAREER CATEGORIES: Senior pitcher Paige Vargas moved into the top 10 in career appearances in the circle three weeks ago, as she has made 95 appearances entering the week. Vargas has been cracking the top 10 in career numbers in several categories this season, including strikeouts for the Bison earlier this season. She currently sits ninth at 371, which is also sixth in D1 history, and is just 10 strikeouts from reaching Amber Miller (1996-99) at 381 for eighth overall. Vargas is averaging 5.47 strikeouts per seven innings, which also ranks 10th in Bison history.
 
MAYKUT IN NDSU TOP 10 FOR PUTOUTS: Senior Cameryn Maykut moved into the top 10 for putouts in a single season and in a career in recent weeks. Maykut hit 10th for a season against St. Thomas, and sits at 388. She is just 10 from seventh and 24 from the top five. Maykut hit the career mark against Kansas City earlier this season. Maykut currently sits at 716, 10th all time for the Bison. She is 33 putouts from Dawn Bruesehoff (1988-91) for ninth all time at 749.
 
SHUTOUTS: Paige Vargas and Lainey Lyle teamed up for back-to-back shutouts on Friday against St. Thomas, leading the Bison to 2-0 and 3-0 victories. Vargas allowed just three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Lyle allowed four hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
 
Vargas and Mac Schulz teamed up for their second combined shutout of the season in the Bison's series opening win against Western Illinois. 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 and she 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. The Bison, who now have eight shutouts on the season, had just three shutouts in all of 2021.
 
GOING GOING GONE: In the NDSU first game against North Dakota, the Bison hit at least four home runs in a game for just the 11th time in program history. Skylar Padgett started off the slugging with a grand slam in the second inning. Reanna Rudd would add a two-run home run in the third, before a solo shot from Avery Wysong in the fourth and a solo shot from Rudd in the fifth. The four homers is tied for the most in the Division I era and is second all time, behind only one five home run game against St. Cloud State in 2000.
 
RUDD MATCHES SINGLE GAME HR RECORD, AGAIN: Reanna Rudd hit her seventh and eighth home runs of the season in back-to-back plate appearances against North Dakota. It is the second time Rudd has hit two home runs in the same game this season, and the 31st time it has been done by a Bison in program history (22 times in the Division 1 era).
 
Rudd hit her second and third home runs of the season against Buffalo in New Mexico, also in back-to-back plate appearances. Rudd became the 18th different Bison to hit two homers in a game earlier this year and with her two against UND, she became the 11th Bison to do it multiple times.
 
LIFE ON THE ROAD: In early April 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
GRAND SLAMS: The Bison have hit 15 grand slams in the Division I era, including three this season. The first came by Cameryn Maykut against Utah State. The second came by Carely Goetschius against Western Illinois. Skylar Padgett hit the third one of the year against North Dakota on May 1. 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.
 
SERIES SWEEPS: Since beginning Summit League play in 2008, NDSU has swept 40 three-game series including a sweep of Western Illinois this season in Omaha. The Bison have 13 sweeps at home and 27 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).
 
WIN STREAKS: The Bison have strung together win streaks of at least five games on 37 occasions since beginning Division I play in 2005, including three times 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.
 
EXTRA INNINGS: NDSU is 1-3 in extra innings this season and the Bison have a 42-34 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.
 
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.
 
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), Kansas City (2012), and South Dakota State (2022) are the only other teams to have hosted the tournament over those 14 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.