Friday, March 1
Nashville, Tenn.
12 p.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
Georgetown
Photo by: Rick Claus
NDSU Softball Heads to Nashville for Purple/Gold Challenge
2/29/2024 9:48:00 AM | Softball
FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State softball continues its non-conference slate with a five-game weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, traveling to the Purple/Gold Challenge hosted by Lipscomb University March 1-3. The Bison will face three programs during the event, facing Georgetown, Lipscomb and Murray State.
The Bison will kick off the event with games against Georgetown and Lipscomb on Friday, before facing Murray State and Lipscomb on Saturday. NDSU closes the weekend against Georgetown on Sunday.
Game Coverage
Saturday's game against Lipscomb will be streamed on ESPN+. A subscription to ESPN+ will be needed to view the game. All five games will also include live statistics. Links to the stream and stats will be available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
Nashville Bound
For the first time in the program's 49-year history, the Bison will play in Nashville, Tennessee. The Bison are making their fifth overall trip to Tennessee, including their second-straight year after a 3-1 visit to the Blues City Classic last season in Memphis. The Bison have played in Knoxville in 2009 and 2015, and played at the MTSU Invitational in Murfreesboro in 2021. The Bison are 8-7 all-time in the state of Tennessee.
The Series (Georgetown)
NDSU will face Georgetown twice this weekend, but it will be the first time that the Bison and Hoyas have met on the softball diamond. NDSU is 1-1 all-time against teams from the nation's capital of Washington DC, defeating Howard 7-1 in March of 2012 and falling to George Washington 5-4 in eight innings in February of 2103.
The Series (Lipscomb)
The Bison are also slated to play Lipscomb twice at the Purple/Gold Challenge. The Bison and Bisons have met just once prior to this weekend, with Lipscomb picking up a 7-1 victory over North Dakota State at the Texas Invitational in Austin on February 23, 2020. The Bison are 14-6 all-time against programs from the Volunteer State, including a 2-2 mark in true road games.
The Series (Murray State)
The Green and Gold are set to take on Murray State just once, but it will also be the first time that the Bison and Racers have met in softball. The Bison are 11-3 all-time against teams from the Bluegrass State with all three losses coming to Power 5 programs Kentucky (2) and Louisville (1).
Program Win 1250
With North Dakota State's 3-1 win over UConn in North Carolina, the Bison picked up win 1250 all-time in the program's history. NDSU has 609 wins in the Division I era and 736 wins in Darren Mueller's tenure as head coach of the Bison.
Home Run Numbers Up from '23
Through the first three weeks of the season, the Bison have hit 11 home runs, led by Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage with three. Six different Bison have home runs with four having multiple homers. Through the opening three weeks of the season last year, NDSU had just three home runs, before finishing with 29.
Yessian Throwing Out Baserunners
Freshman Jasmyn Yessian has caught four base runners attempting to steal so far this season, which ranks second in the Summit League and 24th overall nationally.
Rudd Proving to be Tough Out
Senior Reanna Rudd is off to a strong start to the '24 campaign, hitting .405 with a .490 on-base percentage. Rudd already has two home runs, matching all of the '23 season. But Rudd has also been good at putting the ball in play with just one strikeout in 42 official at bats, which ranks at the top of the Summit League and 21st nationally.
Speedy Bison Swiping Bags
North Dakota State has been aggressive on the base paths over the opening few weeks, stealing 15 bags already, compared to eight through 17 games last season. 15 stolen bases is tied for the lead in the Summit League, while 15-for-21 (.714) overall is up from a 37-for-53 (.698) campaign last year.
Buringa On Iron Woman Run
Senior Emilee Buringa made her 150th appearance for the Bison last weekend and continues her run of consecutive games started, entering the weekend having started in 121-straight games in center field, starting every game for the Bison in the '22, '23 and now '24 seasons. Buringa has played in 150 career games for the Bison, with 139 starts.
Spring on the Road, the Bison Way
North Dakota State softball is scheduled to play the first 35 games of the season on the road, traveling to six different tournaments/invitationals in four different states, along with three midweek non-conference games. The non-conference swing includes two 11-day trips to North Carolina and California and will see over 10,000 flight miles. Last year, after moving the first home series due to snow, the Bison played 42 games away from home before their first pitch at Tharaldson Park on April 29.
The Bison will kick off the event with games against Georgetown and Lipscomb on Friday, before facing Murray State and Lipscomb on Saturday. NDSU closes the weekend against Georgetown on Sunday.
Game Coverage
Saturday's game against Lipscomb will be streamed on ESPN+. A subscription to ESPN+ will be needed to view the game. All five games will also include live statistics. Links to the stream and stats will be available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
Nashville Bound
For the first time in the program's 49-year history, the Bison will play in Nashville, Tennessee. The Bison are making their fifth overall trip to Tennessee, including their second-straight year after a 3-1 visit to the Blues City Classic last season in Memphis. The Bison have played in Knoxville in 2009 and 2015, and played at the MTSU Invitational in Murfreesboro in 2021. The Bison are 8-7 all-time in the state of Tennessee.
The Series (Georgetown)
NDSU will face Georgetown twice this weekend, but it will be the first time that the Bison and Hoyas have met on the softball diamond. NDSU is 1-1 all-time against teams from the nation's capital of Washington DC, defeating Howard 7-1 in March of 2012 and falling to George Washington 5-4 in eight innings in February of 2103.
The Series (Lipscomb)
The Bison are also slated to play Lipscomb twice at the Purple/Gold Challenge. The Bison and Bisons have met just once prior to this weekend, with Lipscomb picking up a 7-1 victory over North Dakota State at the Texas Invitational in Austin on February 23, 2020. The Bison are 14-6 all-time against programs from the Volunteer State, including a 2-2 mark in true road games.
The Series (Murray State)
The Green and Gold are set to take on Murray State just once, but it will also be the first time that the Bison and Racers have met in softball. The Bison are 11-3 all-time against teams from the Bluegrass State with all three losses coming to Power 5 programs Kentucky (2) and Louisville (1).
Program Win 1250
With North Dakota State's 3-1 win over UConn in North Carolina, the Bison picked up win 1250 all-time in the program's history. NDSU has 609 wins in the Division I era and 736 wins in Darren Mueller's tenure as head coach of the Bison.
Home Run Numbers Up from '23
Through the first three weeks of the season, the Bison have hit 11 home runs, led by Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage with three. Six different Bison have home runs with four having multiple homers. Through the opening three weeks of the season last year, NDSU had just three home runs, before finishing with 29.
Yessian Throwing Out Baserunners
Freshman Jasmyn Yessian has caught four base runners attempting to steal so far this season, which ranks second in the Summit League and 24th overall nationally.
Rudd Proving to be Tough Out
Senior Reanna Rudd is off to a strong start to the '24 campaign, hitting .405 with a .490 on-base percentage. Rudd already has two home runs, matching all of the '23 season. But Rudd has also been good at putting the ball in play with just one strikeout in 42 official at bats, which ranks at the top of the Summit League and 21st nationally.
Speedy Bison Swiping Bags
North Dakota State has been aggressive on the base paths over the opening few weeks, stealing 15 bags already, compared to eight through 17 games last season. 15 stolen bases is tied for the lead in the Summit League, while 15-for-21 (.714) overall is up from a 37-for-53 (.698) campaign last year.
Buringa On Iron Woman Run
Senior Emilee Buringa made her 150th appearance for the Bison last weekend and continues her run of consecutive games started, entering the weekend having started in 121-straight games in center field, starting every game for the Bison in the '22, '23 and now '24 seasons. Buringa has played in 150 career games for the Bison, with 139 starts.
Spring on the Road, the Bison Way
North Dakota State softball is scheduled to play the first 35 games of the season on the road, traveling to six different tournaments/invitationals in four different states, along with three midweek non-conference games. The non-conference swing includes two 11-day trips to North Carolina and California and will see over 10,000 flight miles. Last year, after moving the first home series due to snow, the Bison played 42 games away from home before their first pitch at Tharaldson Park on April 29.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/1B
/ Softball
C/IF
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