NDSU Softball Hosts SDSU to Close Regular Season

Thursday, April 30

Fargo, N.D.

4 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

South Dakota State

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

NDSU Softball Hosts SDSU to Close Regular Season

4/29/2026 1:36:00 PM | Softball

NDSU Notes

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State softball will wrap up the home schedule, as well as the regular season, as NDSU welcomes in South Dakota State for a three-game series April 30 - May 2.

NDSU opens up the series with the Jackrabbits on Thursday afternoon with first pitch set for 4 p.m. from Tharaldson Park, followed by a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday in game two of the series. The Bison will celebrate senior day and the two programs will close out the series and the regular season on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Game Coverage
All three games of the series between the Bison and South Dakota State will be streamed live on The Summit League Network. A subscription to the Summit League Network, which can be accessed on the Midco Sports Plus App, is needed to view all games.

All games will also include live statistics. Game coverage links are available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.

Bison 1660
Thursday's series opener will be broadcast live on Bison 1660, with the audio simulcast on the Summit league Network stream.

On The Xtra
Friday's game with the Jackrabbits will be televised live on WDAY Xtra. Check GoBison.com for full channel listings and coverage areas.

Ticket & Parking Information
Single-day ticket prices for all NDSU Softball games are $11 for adults and $6 for youth (3-17 yrs). All seating at Tharaldson Park is general admission and tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of the game. Gates open at Tharaldson Park 60 minutes prior to game time. No pets or outside food or beverage are allowed inside the gates at the complex.

Parking for all Bison softball games is available in Lot N to the north of Tharaldson Park, and along 17th Avenue, with overflow parking in Lot RP. Parking is free of charge.

Series History
NDSU and SDSU have met 139 times on the softball diamond, the most-played series all-time for the Bison. The Bison lead the all-time series 76-63, including a 19-game win streak for the Bison from 2012 to 2018.

In the Darren Mueller era, the Bison control the series, leading 51-25. The Bison hold a 44-25 record over SDSU in the Division I era. NDSU is 40-13 against SDSU at home, but have dropped the last five meetings at Tharaldson Park.

Swiping Bags
The Bison sit atop the Summit League this season in stolen bases (68) and stolen bases per game (1.48). NDSU leads the league in Summit League play with 30 stolen bases in 31 attempts. The Bison have successfully stolen 45 of the last 47 overall and are 68 of 76 (.895) overall this season. In 2025, the Bison led the Summit League in both categories, swiping 43 bags, averaging .86 per game.

Bison Seeing Double
The Bison have 71 doubles this season, over 60 percent more than last year's 44 doubles. All 13 Bison to record a hit this season have at least one double. Bella Dean leads the way for the Bison with 15, which is 31st nationally and first in the Summit League. Lileigh Nieto is also in double figures with 11 doubles.

In the Career Charts
Following a grand slam and 12 RBIs in a week against St. Thomas and Kansas City, Bella Dean moved up the top 10 in career home runs and into the top 10 in career RBIs for the Bison. Dean hit her 29th home run, which saw her pass Logan Moreland (28) and move into a tie with Alyssa Reina (29) for eighth all time. Cheyenne Garcia is the next to reach on the list at 30 in seventh place. Dean has also moved into ninth in career RBI with 143, surpassing Jess Christensen (135) and Kelly Cantrell (142). Sarah Schmitz (145) and Nikki Almquist (153) are the next for Dean to reach.

Amai Hanta also ranks in the top 10 for the Bison in career triples with eight, including four already this season. The sophomore sits in a tie for 10th with Sarah Schmitz and Mindy Zorn. Hanta is just one triple shy of tying the NDSU Division I era record of nine, held by Cheyenne Garcia.

Cortez Matches Outfield Assists Record
Star Cortez tied the NDSU single season outfield assist record against Kansas City, recording her eighth of the season to match Erin Troup from 2007. Cortez also moved into third on the career list for outfield assists with 13. Troup owns the Division I era record with 16.

With eight from Cortez, along with three from Lileigh Nieto and two from Ella Claus, the Bison have 13 outfield assists this season, which is one shy of the single season team record of 14 set in 2007 and matched last year in 2025.

Turning Two
Once again, the Bison sit at the top of the league in double plays turned on the season. Defensively, the Bison have turned 22 doubles plays this season, which is currently first in the league. The .48 per game average also ranks atop the league and is 32nd nationally. NDSU finished second in the Summit League last season with 25 double plays turned.

Rounding the Bases
Heading into the final week of the season, the Bison have 26 home runs, already doubling the 13 home runs hit in all of 2025.

Bella Dean leads NDSU with seven home runs, including a walk off grand slam against Kansas City. Mya Boos also added her fifth home run of the year in the St. Thomas series. Jessica Delatorre, who homered at North Dakota last week, has four home runs and Amai Hanta and Zoe King also having multiple home runs with two each.

Five Bison have hit their first career home runs this season, including Boos, Star Cortez, Macy Fry, Lileigh Nieto and Morgan Zimmerman. In total, 11 of the 13 Bison to record a hit this season have also hit a home run on the year.

Bison Streaks
Amai Hanta enters the week on a 12-game reached base streak, the longest of her career. The streak also included a career long nine game hit streak that came to an end last week.

Dean and junior Taylinn Warren saw hit streaks reach double digits earlier this season with Dean reaching a career high 10 games, and a few days later, Warren reaching a career high 11 games. They were the 34th and 35th times a Bison reached double digit hitting steaks.

Star Cortez also had a 22-game reached base streak this season, the longest for NDSU since 2016 when Alyssa Reina (29), Logan Moreland (26) and Jackie Stifter (22) all reached 22.

Next Up
The Bison have already secured a spot in next week's Summit League Tournament to be hosted at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium in the Twin Cities May 6-9.

NDSU could secure as high as the No. 2 seed and as low as the No. 5 seed based on results over the final week of the season. The top two seeds receive a bye and begin the double elimination portion of the tournament on May 7. Seeds 3-6 will begin the tournament on May 6 with a single-elimination play-in game to reach Thursday.