FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State softball team will open up the 2023 season with the first of two weekends in Mexico at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, playing six games over four days at Nancy Almaraz Field on the opening weekend, beginning on February 10.
 
Game Coverage
All games from the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge will be streamed live by FloSoftball. A subscription to FloSoftball will be needed to view the games. Live statistics for Bison games will be provided for most games. All links for the video stream and stats will be available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
 
South of the Border
This will be the second trip for the Bison to Mexico, as NDSU played at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in 2019. The Bison were 1-3 in their only other trip, securing a 4-0 victory over Northern Colorado with three narrow losses coming against #11 Arkansas (7-6), #5 Washington (5-3) and Southern Illinois (10-9).
 
Season Openers
The Bison are 27-20 all-time in season openers, including an 11-7 mark in 18 seasons of Division I play. After losses in two straight in season openers to No. 19 South Carolina in 2020 and No. 21 Arkansas in 2021, the Bison picked up a dominating 10-3 win over Utah State at the Santa Barbara Campus Diamond Kickoff last season. Against unranked competition in the Division I era, the Bison are 11-4 in the opener, including seven wins in the last nine.
 
The Series (California Baptist)
The season opener against California Baptist will be just the second meeting between the two schools and the second meeting in as many years, as the Bison defeated the Lancers at CBU last season 9-4 in the Amy S. Harrison Classic.
 
The Series (BYU)
The Bison will face Brigham Young for the first time since March of 2020, with the series tied between the programs at 4-4. BYU won the last meeting 1-0 in the Fresno State Bulldog Classic, but NDSU claimed two out of three in 2018, including a pair of wins at the Arizona State Invitational. In seven neutral site matchups, the Bison hold a 4-3 advantage.
 
The Series (Oregon)
It will be a second-straight season that the Bison go up against the Oregon Ducks after the two teams met twice last season in the Oregon/Oregon State Invite. The Bison are 0-5 all time against the Ducks with two losses last season, two losses in the NCAA Eugene Regional in 2015 and a loss at the San Diego State Tournament in February of 2007.
 
The Series (Maryland)
The Bison will also take on Maryland for a second straight season after they split two games last season at the Maryland Invitational. The Bison hold a 2-1 advantage in the series, with the only other win coming in 2016. This will be the first time that NDSU takes on the Terps outside of College Park.
 
The Series (Ole Miss)
NDSU will take on Mississippi for the fourth time in program history as the Bison and Rebels face each other for the first time since Ole Miss won both games at the Ole Miss Classic in March of 2021. NDSU is 1-2 all time against the Rebels, with the victory coming 1-0 in the Cal State Fullerton Easton Classic in February of 2017.
 
Bison Picked Third In Summit League
North Dakota State was picked to finish third in The Summit League in 2023 in a preseason poll of the league's eight head coaches. The Bison have won two of the last four regular season crowns and six of the last eight league tournament titles. NDSU had one first-place vote and finished one point behind Omaha (41) in second with 40 points. South Dakota State (48) took six first-place votes and finished as the favorite to repeat after last year's title. Omaha had the other first-place vote. South Dakota (28), Kansas City (25), St. Thomas (19), North Dakota (16), and Western Illinois (7) rounded out the poll.
 
2022 Wrap Up
North Dakota State softball finished the 2022 season with a 30-23 record, including a 10-8 mark in Summit League play for a third-place finish. The Bison also took third at the Summit League Championship after going 2-2 in Brookings and Vermillion, South Dakota.
 
The Bison started out the 2022 season strong with a 12-4 start that included a six-game win streak and a sweep of the GATA Challenge. NDSU would lose eight of it's next nine, but five of those came against NCAA Tournament teams Oregon (2) and Oregon State (3). NDSU picked up statement victories with a 2-0 shutout win at Virginia and a 3-2 win at Maryland, as the Bison took out two power 5 programs on their home fields in a four day span.
 
NDSU swept Kansas City (2 games) at home and then moved the Western Illinois series to Omaha, picking up a three-game sweep of the Leathernecks. The Bison would win three of the last four to secure the No. 3 seed, where they defeated North Dakota and Omaha before falling to South Dakota State and Omaha to close the season.
 
Three All-League Returnees
The Bison return three of the five players who were named to The Summit League All-League team last season. Senior pitcher Paige Vargas, and juniors Emilee Buringa and Reanna Rudd, all return. The trio earned All-League Second Team honors. Buringa and Rudd were first time honorees, while Vargas has been named to the All-League team twice in her career.
 
Mueller Hits 700
Bison head coach Darren Mueller reached the 700-win milestone with what proved to be NDSU's final win of the season in the Summit League Championship, as the Bison upset No. 2 seed Omaha with a 2-0 shutout victory in Vermillion. The winningest coach in the Summit League (487), Mueller has a career record of 700-418 as he begins his 22nd season at the head of the Herd in Fargo.
 
Fantastic February
In 2022, 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 in 2022 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 was also NDSU's best February in seven seasons.
 
Nationally Ranked Opponents
NDSU 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 #10 LSU by a 1-0 score in nine innings. The Bison have five wins over Top 10 teams, including a 2-1 victory at No. 2 Alabama in 2016, the highest-ranked win for the Bison. 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.
 
Give Me Two
North Dakota State recorded 96 doubles in 53 games during the 2022 season, which finished one double shy of the program's Division I era record of 97 doubles in 56 games in 2015. NDSU's 1.811 doubles per game set a Bison Division I era record and was also the best in the NCAA for 2022. NDSU finished just ahead of Notre Dame (1.807) and Boise State (1.800) to claim the team statistical leader designation for doubles per game in Division I.
 
Victory Milestones
North Dakota State picked up multiple milestone victories in 2022. The first milestone win came in March as the Bison picked up win No. 1200 in the program's history with a 3-2 win over Maryland at the Capital City Classic. NDSU closed the 2022 season with a program record of 1214-888-2.
 
The Bison also picked up milestone victory No. 200 in league games in the Summit League era with the victory over Western Illinois in April. North Dakota State is 203-65 all-time in Summit League games.
 
Vargas In Top 10 for Several Bison Career Categories
Senior pitcher Paige Vargas moved into the top 10 in several major pitching categories over the 2022 season. Vargas moved into the top 10 for career appearances in the circle in April, and closed out the season at 98 career appearances, which sits 10th. In her final shutout of the season, Vargas moved into the top 10 as she hit 16 career shutouts, which is also sixth in the Division I era for the Bison.
 
Early on in the season, Vargas joined the top 10 in career strikeouts and in her final game, she passed Amber Miller for eighth all time in Bison history and sixth in the Division I era with 383. Vargas has also averaged 5.44 strikeouts per seven innings during her career, which ranks 10th in Bison history.
 
Shutouts
Paige Vargas, Lainey Lyle and Mac Schulz (graduated) teamed up for nine shutouts in 2022. NDSU had just three shutouts in 2021.
 
Vargas led the staff with five, beginning with a four-hit shutout against UT Martin. She then threw a two-hitter at Virginia and added three-hit shutouts against Kansas City and St. Thomas in league play. She also tossed a three hitter against Omaha in the Summit League Championship tournament.
 
Lyle tossed a four-hit shutout against St. Thomas. Vargas also teamed up with Schulz for a pair of combined shutouts. Schulz went 5.2 innings and Vargas closed out the final 1.1 in a three-hitter against Georgia Southern. Schulz then relieved Vargas with the final inning of a five-hit shutout against Western Illinois in league play.
 
Rudd Matches Single Game HR Record, Twice
Reanna Rudd hit her seventh and eighth home runs of the season in back-to-back plate appearances against North Dakota last season. It was the second time Rudd had hit two home runs in the same game during the 2022 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 home runs in a game, and with her two against North Dakota, she became the 11th Bison to do it multiple times.
 
Going Going Gone
In a game against North Dakota last season, the Bison hit 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.
 
Grand Slams
The Bison hit three grand slams during the 2022 season, the second most for NDSU in the Division I era behind a four grand slam season in 2016. Carley Goetschius and Skylar Padgett each had one for the Bison last season. Overall, NDSU has hit 15 grand slams in the Division I era.  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 two grand slams at home, Alyssa Reina against Fort Wayne on April 9, 2016 and Padgett's against UND on May 1, 2022. The Bison have three on the road and 10 in neutral site games.
 
No-Hitters
NDSU pitchers have thrown 31 no-hitters, including 14 against Division I opponents, with Lainey Lyle's no-no on April 10, 2021 against South Dakota being the last. There have been eight perfect games by Bison pitchers, with the last one in 2015 by Krista Menke at Purdue Fort Wayne. There have been six no-hitters against NDSU in Division I. Illinois State's Morgan Day struck out 16 and walked one in the last no-hitter against North Dakota State in the title game of the MTSU Invitational on March 14, 2021.
 
Series Sweeps
The Bison picked up one three-game Summit League series sweep in 2022, defeating Western Illinois in games moved to Omaha. Since beginning Summit League play in 2008, NDSU has swept 40 three-game series. The Bison have 13 sweeps at home and 27 away from Fargo. The Bison have only been swept 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. NDSU had a 20-game win streak during the 2019 season that stands as the program's DI era record. NDSU has reached 10-game win streaks six times ('07, '09, '13, '15, '16, '19), 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 has 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.
 
Life on the Road
The Bison are slated to play 35 games away from home, before the home opener against South Dakota in Summit League play on April 7. During the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bison are slated to travel over 12,000 miles over the course of five trips in non-conference play.
 
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.
 
NCAA Tournament History
NDSU has advanced to NCAA regional play 10 times since the Bison first qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament in 2009 in the school's first year of Division I postseason eligibility. 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.