FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State will head back east, traveling to Boiling Springs, North Carolina for the Spring in The Springs Invitational hosted by Gardner-Webb February 27-March 1.
 
The Bison will face New Haven and host Gardner-Webb on Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. CT. On Saturday, NDSU will take on New Haven for a second time and Lafayette, beginning at 9 a.m. CT. The Bison will close out the weekend against Lafayette on Sunday at 8 a.m. CT.
 
Spring in The Springs Coverage
All games at the Spring in The Springs will have live statistics.  All game coverage links are available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
 
NDSU in North Carolina
The Bison will make their seventh trip to the state of North Carolina this weekend. It is the first time the Bison have been to the Tar Heel State since 2024 when the Bison opened the season at UNC Wilmington and North Carolina State on a 12-game trip. NDSU is 28-13 all time in the state of North Carolina, including an 18-12 record in the Division I era. It is the first trip for the Bison to Boiling Springs, N.C. and Gardner-Webb.
 
Series History - New Haven
The Bison meet New Haven for the third and fourth times in program history. NDSU won both meetings, which came during the 2002 season in Darren Mueller's first year as head coach. NDSU won 3-2 in nine innings in game one and 9-0 in five innings five days later, both in Pensacola, Florida.
 
Series History - Gardner-Webb
NDSU faces Gardner-Webb for the second time in series history and the first time at Gardner-Webb. The Bison claimed the only other meeting, winning 5-2 on March 4, 2011 at the Florida Lipton Invitational in Gainesville, Florida.
 
Series History - Lafayette
The Bison face Lafayette for the second time in series history and the second time in North Carolina. NDSU claimed the only other meeting, winning 3-2 in a shortened five-inning game on March 12, 2005 at the Charlotte Holiday Inn 49ers Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
Seeing Triple
The Bison had a weekend-best five triples at the Gopher Indoor Classic, including three vs. Long Island. The three triples is a Division I era record for NDSU and the first three-triple game since a 2-0 win over Morningside on April 7, 2001. NDSU has seven triples on the season, ninth best in the NCAA this year.
 
Amai Hanta had three triples, moving her into a tie for fourth overall in NCAA Division I this season.
 
Nieto Speeds to Inside the Park Home Run
In the first game of the Gopher Indoor Classic against Long Island, Lileigh Nieto hit an inside the park home run past the diving left fielder, scoring three total runs on the play. The inside the park home run was the first career home run for the sophomore.
 
Nieto's inside the park is the first inside the park home run for the Bison since Madyson Camacho on February 26, 2021 against Southeast Missouri State in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
 
Hanta Matches Career High in Minneapolis
Amai Hanta matched a career high with a three-hit performance in the come-from-behind win over Minnesota at the Gopher Indoor Classic. It is the third three-hit performance for the sophomore overall and second this season.
 
Hanta had three multi-hit games overall at the Gopher Indoor Classic, going 7-for-16 at the plate with three triples and a slugging percentage of .813.
 
Star is Shining Bright
Junior Star Cortez started every game in center field last season, earning all-league honors. Cortez has picked up right where she left off, starting all 14 games in 2026, leading NDSU at the plate, hitting .429 with eight walks for a .520 obp. Cortez has two triples, three RBI and 10 runs scored. She also has a three stolen bases.
 
Tough Outs
Through the opening three weeks of the season, Bella Dean has zero strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. Taylinn Warren also has no strikeouts in 29 plate appearances. Zoe King (53 PAs) and Star Cortez (50 PAs) have just two.
 
In 2025, the Bison led the Summit League in fewest strikeouts per plate appearance, striking out just 11.7 percent, or 3.32 times per game. The league average was 14.4 percent. King led the Bison and the Summit League in Toughest to Strikeout Ratio, at one per 23.8 trips to the plate (4.2 pct), which also ranked 66th nationally. Dean was second in the league and 150th nationally at one per 17.4 trips to the plate (5.7 pct).
 
Nieto Jumps on Opportunity
In limited at bats last season, Lileigh Nieto had just seven hits and three walks in 2025 as a freshman. Over the first three weeks of the season, Nieto has 16 hits and five walks, along with four stolen bases. Nieto is hitting .356 in her first season as an everyday starter with the Bison. She has recorded seven RBI with nine runs scored, and three extra-base hits.
 
Swiping Bags
NDSU leads the Summit League this season in stolen bases (20) and stolen bases per game (1.43). The Bison led the Summit League in stolen bases and stolen bases per game last season, swiping 43 bags and averaging .86 per contest.
 
Last Week
North Dakota State went 2-2 at the Gopher Indoor Classic, going 1-1 on each day. The Bison started off with a 9-0 victory in five innings over Long Island, as Madison Wihlm tossed her first shutout of the season.
 
After a 9-0 loss to Central Michigan to close day one, the Bison were on the wrong side of a 9-inning thriller against Iowa State. The Cyclones forced extra in the bottom of the seventh before winning 6-5.
 
NDSU closed out the weekend with a come-from-behind win against Minnesota, winning 5-4 after scoring two in the top of the seventh.
 
Next Up
After three trips to the east coast over the first month of the season, North Dakota State will head west for a second 11-day trip of the season, beginning with the UNLV Red & Black Classic in Las Vegas. NDSU will face Loyola Marymount once and have two games against host UNLV and Utah Tech.