FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State will begin an 11-day trip to the west coast this week at the UNLV Red & Black Classic, hosted by UNLV at Eller Media Stadium.
 
The Bison will open up the weekend against Loyola Marymount and host UNLV on Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. CT, before taking on the host at 8 p.m. CT. On Saturday, NDSU will take on Utah Tech and UNLV for a second time, also beginning at 2 p.m. CT, with the second game at 8 p.m. CT. The Bison will close out the weekend taking on Utah Tech for a second time on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT.
 
UNLV Red & Black Classic
All games at the UNLV Red & Black Classic will have limited streams available on the UNLV Athletics YouTube channel. All five games at the UNLV Red & Black Classic will also include live statistics. All game coverage links are available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
 
NDSU in Las Vegas
NDSU will make their fourth trip to the state of Nevada, with the two most recent visits to Las Vegas and UNLV. The Bison went 2-3 at the Nevada Wolfpack Tournament in 2006, the first-ever trip to the "Silver State." In the first trip to Las Vegas in February of 2018 at the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic, the Bison also went 2-3 overall. In the most recent visit to Nevada and Las Vegas, the Bison played a three-game series at UNLV in 2024, going 1-2 against the Rebels. North Dakota State is 5-8 all-time in the state of Nevada.
 
Series History - Loyola Marymount
The Bison meet Loyola Marymount for the fifth time in program history this week.  All four meetings with LMU have come in different seasons, with the series tied 2-2. The Bison won the first-ever meeting at LMU in 2013, 5-0, and also won 1-0 at an LMU in 2018. LMU won 5-2 win in 2017 and claimed the most recent meeting 6-5 in eight innings in 2024 at neutral-sites.
 
Series History - UNLV
NDSU faces UNLV for the sixth and seventh times in series history. UNLV holds the edge in the all-time series, 3-2. The Bison claimed the first-ever meeting 1-0 in nine innings in 2013 in Long Beach, California. All other meetings have been at UNLV, including a 3-2 win for the Rebels in nine innings in 2018. The two teams met in 2024 for a three-game series. NDSU won 2-1 in nine innings to begin the series. UNLV then won 8-5 and 16-7 in the last two meetings.
 
Series History - Utah Tech
North Dakota State will meet Long Island for the first time on the softball diamond.
 
Wihlm Snags Weekly Honor
Madison Wihlm was named the Summit League Kwik Star Peak Pitcher of the Week following the trip to the Spring in The Springs in North Carolina. Wihlm threw 11.1 innings, not allowing an earned run. She had 14 strikeouts, including a single-game career high seven vs. New Haven. She is the third Bison this season to win a Summit League Peak Performer/Pitcher honor. It is the second time Wihlm has received the honor, with the first coming during her freshman season in March of 2024.
 
Doubling Down
The Bison hit five doubles at the Hatter Classic against Stetson, the most in a game since hitting five in a 10-0 win over Kansas City on March 25, 2023. In 19 games this season, NDSU has 36 doubles overall, 34th most in the NCAA and second most in the Summit League. NDSU's 1.89 doubles per game is 31st in the NCAA. In all of 2025, the Bison had just 44 doubles.
 
12 of the 13 Bison to have a hit this season have at least one double. Bella Dean leads the Bison with eight doubles on the season and Mya Boos is second with five. Dean ranks 28th nationally in doubles.
 
Tough Outs
Through the opening month of the season, Bella Dean has just one strikeout in 74 total plate appearances. Zoe King has just two strikeouts in 72 plate appearances. Dean ranks 27th in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout, while King ranks 95th among qualifying batters. Taylinn Warren has no strikeouts in 40 plate appearances, which does not meet the minimum to qualify for statistical averages.
 
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).
 
Rounding the Bases
The Bison hit four home runs last week, led by a Mya Boos grand slam. Amai Hanta and Zoe King hit their first home runs of the year and Bella Dean added her fifth home run after four on opening weekend.
 
Lileigh Nieto hit an inside the park home run against Long Island at the Gopher Indoor Classic. Ella Claus hit her first home run in nearly two years against Stetson at the Hatter Classic and Macy Fry also homered in the Hatter Classic finale, hitting her first career home run against Maine. On opening weekend, Mya Boos hit her first career home run with a two-run shot to lead NDSU to victory over Colgate.
 
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 19 games in 2026, leading NDSU at the plate, hitting .407 with 11 walks for a .500 obp. Cortez has two triples, six RBI and 16 runs scored. She also has a six stolen bases.
 
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 month this season, Nieto has 21 hits and eight walks, along with four stolen bases. Nieto is hitting .350 in her first season as an everyday starter with the Bison. She has recorded nine RBI with 11 runs scored, and four extra-base hits.
 
Swiping Bags
NDSU leads the Summit League this season in stolen bases (28) and stolen bases per game (1.47). The Bison led the Summit League in stolen bases and stolen bases per game last season, swiping 43 bags and averaging .86 per contest.
 
Magic Numbers
In 2025, the magic number for the Bison was 7. NDSU was 9-0 when scoring at least seven runs. Through the first 19 games in 2026, NDSU has scored at least seven runs on eight occasions, going 7-1.
 
Since 2021, the Bison are 55-6 (.902) when scoring at least seven runs in a game. In program history, NDSU is 575-40 (.935) when hitting the seven-run mark. The undefeated line for the Bison is 13. NDSU is 76-0 all-time when scoring at least 13 runs in a game.
 
Last Week
North Dakota State closed out trips east this season by going 3-2 at the Spring in The Springs hosted by Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. NDSU opened up the trip with an 8-0 run-rule victory over New Haven, before dispatching host Gardner-Webb 8-5 on Friday. The Bison then defeated New Haven a second time to begin Saturday, with another run-rule victory, topping the Chargers 11-1. NDSU closed the trip with a walk-off loss to Lafayette on Saturday, 6-7, and another loss to the Leopards on Sunday with a comeback rally falling short, 6-8.
 
Next Up
The Bison will continue their 11-day west coast swing by heading to Southern California and the LA area. NDSU will start the LA swing on Tuesday at Long Beach State and go to UC Riverside Wednesday. The Bison will close out the trip with a three-game series at California Baptist Friday and Saturday.