FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State heads to Sioux Falls this weekend to take on South Dakota in a three-game series. In what was originally scheduled home series, the Bison will face the Coyotes at Bowden Field on the campus of Augustana University. First pitch on Friday is set for 4 p.m. with a doubleheader start at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Game Coverage
All three games will have live stats provided. Links are provided on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
 
A Look Back at Last Week
NDSU picked up it's second-consecutive series victory to begin the Summit League season, as the Bison took two of three from Western Illinois. After falling in extras, 5-6, on Saturday, the Bison picked up a 1-0 victory and then a 13-4 win in five innings on Sunday to close the series.
 
The Series
North Dakota State holds a 66-29 record all time against South Dakota, including a 30-8 record since the Coyotes joined the Summit League in 2012. Last season, South Dakota took two of three meetings in Vermillion. In 2021, the Bison won four of five, including a neutral-site victory. The Bison have won the last eight neutral-site meetings and 14 of the last 15, dating back to March of 1997.
 
Headed to Sioux Falls
The Bison will play their first games in Sioux Falls since 2018 when NDSU split a doubleheader with South Dakota State. NDSU is 6-2 in Summit League neutral-site games in Sioux Falls. The Bison are 37-31 all-time in games in Sioux Falls.
 
Life on the Road
After moving the first home series to Sioux Falls due to snow, the Bison are now slated to play 42-straight games away from home before hosting North Dakota on April 29. NDSU was originally scheduled to play 36 away from home to start the season. During the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bison traveled over 12,000 miles over the course of five trips in non-conference play.
 
Shutouts
The Bison have picked up seven shutouts this season, including a pair of shutouts against power 5 programs in the final week before Summit League play began. The Bison opened the year with a combined shutout by Paige Vargas and Piper Reed in a win over California Baptist. NDSU had a second combined shutout with Reed and Lainey Lyle sharing the work against Brown. Two days prior, Vargas had a solo shutout of Brown, her first of three this season. Vargas then pitched a shutout against Mississippi State in a one hitter and two days later, tossed another shutout against Purdue. She added her third shutout at Kansas City. Lyle picked up the most recent shutout, at Western Illinois in a 1-0 game. Six of seven shutouts have been full 7.0 inning games.
 
Grand Slams
Carley Goetschius hit the first grand slam of the season at Western Illinois. Goetschius had one of three for the Bison last season. NDSU has hit 16 grand slams in the Division I era. Melissa Chmielewski holds the lead for NDSU with four grand slams from 2007-10. Goetschius joins Maritza Lopez-Portillo and Vanessa Anderson as 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 Skylar Padgett against North Dakota on May 1, 2022.
 
Aguilar-Beaucage Riding Nine Game Hit Streak
Junior transfer Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage enters the series with South Dakota riding a nine-game hit streak, the longest of her career and tied for the longest- of the season for NDSU with Reanna Rudd. Her previous best was eight games with Grand Canyon in 2021. The Bison have 31 hit streaks of at least 10 games in the Division I era, with the most recent coming from Molly Gates last season, when she hit in 14-straight games to begin the season.
 
Dean Homers Twice, For Second-Straight Weekend
Bella Dean has made a splash in her first collegiate season. At the Gopher Indoor Classic, Dean hit her first two career home runs, fueling comeback wins for the Bison. In her first conference series, Dean had a career best weekend, hitting a pair of home runs with seven RBI and three runs scored. Dean set or matched seven single-game personal bests in the series at Kansas City. Last week at Western Illinois, Dean added two more home runs, going deep in the first and third game. Dean now leads the Bison and is tied for the lead in the Summit League with six home runs on the season.
 
Lyle Tosses First Shutout of Season
Lainey Lyle pitched a gem on Sunday at Western Illinois, tossing seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory for the Bison. Lyle had three strikeouts and scattered seven hits in the game. It was her third career shutout and first since scattering four hits in a 3-0 victory over St. Thomas on May 6, 2022.
 
Goetschius Dominant at Plate
Carley Goetschius leads the Bison and the Summit League this season, hitting .419 with 12 doubles. She also leads the Summit League with 44 hits, 17 extra-base hits, 28 runs, 29 RBI, and .676 slg%. Goetschius also has a .455 on base percentage and has accounted for 52 of NDSU's 147 runs this season.
 
The senior's batting average is on pace to be in the top 10 all-time for a single season and just behind the NDSU Division I record, currently held by Cheyenne Garcia (.423) in 2015. Her slugging percentage is also in the top 10.
 
Vargas Among League Leaders in Circle
Paige Vargas ranks in the top three in nearly every major pitching category in the Summit League. Entering the week, Vargas leads the league in WHIP (.89), tied for the league lead with 11 wins, second in shutouts (4) and complete games (10), and third in strikeouts (98), batting average against (.182), and innings pitched (98.0). Her .182 batting average against is currently on pace to be in top 10 for a season at NDSU and fourth best in the Division I era.
 
Moore Having Career Year
In the opening weekend, Kaylee Moore had a career day against Oregon, recording three hits (against three different pitchers), including two doubles, her first career three-hit game and first two-double game. The catcher has since matched a career high in hits at Memphis and Western Illinois. At Memphis, she set a new career high with two runs scored. Moore has set or matched six career single-game highs this season. Moore is hitting .306 overall with an on base percentage of .365.
 
Bison Quick Hits
- Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage has stolen a base in seven of the last eight games, going 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. She had a streak of six-straight games with a stolen base. She is 9-for-11 on the season.
- Carley Goetschius matched a career high 5 RBI for the second-straight weekend. It is a season high for the Bison and it is the second time Goetschius has done it as a Bison and the time overall in her career.
- Emilee Buringa's seven-game hit streak came to an end in the Western Illinois finale, but she had two walks, extending her reached base streak to 13 games, one shy of her career best.
- Reanna Rudd made her return to the lineup at Western Illinois, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run in the series finale. Rudd had a nine-game hit streak snapped when she left the Purdue game early due to injury.
 
Vargas Climbing NDSU Career Charts
Paige Vargas is seventh on the all-time NDSU list at 118 appearances and 92 career starts, and in eighth with 20 career shutouts. She is ninth with 57 wins and 590.2 innings pitched. The senior surpassed 400 career strikeouts in Mexico and against Auburn, Vargas passed KK Leddy for seventh all-time in strikeouts, now sitting at 477. She is ninth with 5.65 strikeouts per game. She is also fifth with five career saves.
 
NFCA Top Performers
Paige Vargas and Carley Goetschius went back-to-back on being recognized as NFCA Louisville Slugger/Wilson DI Selected Top Performances. Vargas made the list after her one hitter against Mississippi State. Goetschius made the list after hitting .727 against Kansas City the next week.