Softball does battle with North Dakota State in Fargo

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES

The Tommies and North Dakota State Bison will play three games in two days this weekend, a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday.
Friday's doubleheader will begin at noon with the second game scheduled to start about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
Saturday's game is set for an 11:00 a.m. first pitch.
The Tommies come in with a 6-25 record after a Summit League conference play opening series win over the Kansas City Roos. The Toms have won two in a row for the first time this season with 8-1 and 5-1 victories.
Their games against Drake and Green Bay were all canceled this week with no announced make-up date.
North Dakota State is 12-23 and 0-3 in conference play after dropping three in a row to the first place Omaha Mavericks. They are 2-8 in their last ten and sit 141^st in the NCAA RPI rankings.

WHERE TO WATCH

All three games against the North Dakota State Bison will be video streamed on the Summit League Network by Midco Sports Plus and can be found HERE.

SERIES HISTORY

The Bison hold an all-time record of 5-1 against the Tommies and have won the last three games between the two sides.
NDSU swept the Toms at South Field last season with wins of 5-0, 9-0, and 6-2. They also won the first series between the two sides back in 2022 in Fargo, with 2-0 and 3-0 wins.
St. Thomas' only win was a 2-1 battle in game three of that series. Christina Crawford went the distance and allowed just one earned run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. The Toms tallied seven hits in the game, all singles.
Bella Dean was the story for the Bison last season. She slashed .455/.545/1.000 with two home runs and seven RBI in three games at South Field.

SHE IS COOKIN'
Sophomore Ella Cook played the biggest role in St. Thomas' league series win over Kansas City last weekend. She got the starting nod in two games and allowed just two earned runs (one each game) during two complete games (14 IP) performances. Cook compiled a 0.50 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and .143 batting average against with nine strikeouts. She also went 5-11 at the plate and slashed .455/.455/.636 with two runs, doubles, an RBI and a stolen base.

TOMMIES IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE

Christina Crawford 8^th in OPS (.909)
Ella Cook 9^th in OPS (.877)
Avery Wukawitz 10^th in OPS (.875)
Avery Wukawitz 12^th in runs scored (18)
Laken Lienhard T-13^th in runs scored (17)
Ella Cook T-3^rd in doubles (8)
Avery Wukawitz T-7^th in doubles (7)
Wukawitz and Laken Lienhard T-9^th in triples (1)
Ella Cook T-5^th in HR (5)
Wukawitz and Crawford T-12^th in HR (3)
Ella Cook T-5^th in RBI (23)
Ella Cook 8^th in total bases (47)
Avery Wukawitz T-11^th in total bases (42)
Christina Crawford 8^th in SLUG (.553)
Ella Cook 9^th in SLUG (.547)
Avery Wukawitz 11^th in SLUG (.512)
Laken Lienhard T-3^rd in walks (19)
Laken Lienhard 9^th in OBP (.423)
Avery Wukawitz T-3^rd in stolen bases (8)
Kaitlyn Raymond T-6^th in stolen bases (5)
Morgan Klein T-14^th in stolen bases (3)
Christina Crawford 4^th in IP (85.2)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

They return to Summit League action that weekend with three against the Bison of North Dakota State in Fargo.
The Tommies host their Summit League home opener the first week of April against the Omaha Mavericks from April 6-7.
Three days later, they return serve with the Green Bay Phoenix in Wisconsin for a doubleheader on April 10^th.
That weekend the Tommies are back for six straight home games to finish up their scheduled contests in St. Paul. First, with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks April 13-14 and then with the South Dakota Coyotes April 20-21.
Their final four games of the season come against Iowa State on April 23 and South Dakota State on April 27-28.

LAUNCHING IN BOISE
The Tommies smashed five home runs in their game one loss to the Boise State Broncos last weekend. Those five long balls tied a program record and are the most in a single game by a Summit League team this season. South Dakota has one four home run game and South Dakota State has two, but no other team has smashed five over the fence in one game.

The five home runs came from four different bats, Abbi Stierlen, Maddie Grad, Kenzie Miller, and Ella Cook (2).

Maddie Grad's was her second of the season, she had hit one in each of the past two seasons. Kenzie Miller's was also her second after launching her first career home run against Boise State to open the 2024 season in Arizona. It was Stierlen's second of the year as well and second in five games. She too had not hit more than one in a season before the Boise blast.

Ella Cook's two home runs solidified her as a power threat. They were her career-best fourth and fifth of the season after she smacked two in 40 at-bats a year ago. She has seven total for her career, which ties her for third in program history with Avery Wukawitz.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Christina Crawford was named the Tommies' Pitcher to Watch. The redshirt-sophomore missed the 2023 season due to injury but is expected to get a bulk of the innings in the circle this season. Her freshman year she pitched 130.1 innings with a 4.99 ERA and .279 batting average against. She also tallied 100 strikeouts including a program-record 19 strikeout performance. Crawford is the Toms DI program leader in: Strikeouts (100), K/9 (6.92), and WHIP (1.70).
Avery Wukawitz was named the Tommies' Player to Watch. The reigning Newcomer of the Year burst onto the scene last season with an extraordinary freshman season. She finished in the league's top-five in runs (40), total bases (94), slugging percentage (.584), on-base percentage (.449), stolen bases (19), and OPS (1.033). She is the DI program leader in triples (6).

TRANSFERS

Laken Lienhard is a third-year transfer from North Iowa Area Community College. In her two seasons with the Trojans she slashed .459/.555/.893 with a 1.448 OPS. Of her 133 hits, 67 went for extra bases with 27 home runs. She also pitched 278.1 innings to a 3.07 career ERA. She was named the inaugural Joan Joyce award winner which goes to the best Utility/pitcher player in all of NJCAA Division II. She is also a multi-time all-American.
Ruby Moore is a second-year transfer from NCAA Division II West Texas A&M. Her Buffs went 50-8 last season as she slashed .389/.500/.556 in 18 at-bats. She played in 49 games and made three starts. Moore also stole 10 bases on 11 attempts.

COACH TROTTER

Entering her third season for St. Thomas
Has a career coaching record of 715-499 across 22 seasons
Prior to St. Thomas, Trotter was the head coach at Missouri Western State, where she amassed 676 career wins (the most in the history of the MIAA) and a 676-404 overall record. She was a four-time MIAA Coach of the Year and led her team to two MIAA Regular Season Championships, two conference tournament championships, 11 NCAA Regional appearances, and 13 30-win seasons.

PRESEASON SUMMIT LEAGUE POLL
St. Thomas was picked tied for sixth place with Kansas City by the Summit League Head Coaches in this season's preseason poll. The Toms garnered 10 points after a 18-25 (6-14) record a season ago. St. Thomas did lose All-Summit League First-Teamer Brooke Ellestad but the Purple also retained the reigning Newcomer of the Year, Avery Wukawitz. South Dakota State came out on top in the poll with 34 points and four first place votes. The Mavericks of Omaha came in just underneath with 33 points and three first place votes. South Dakota and North Dakota State earned 24 and 22 points respectively while North Dakota finished four points in front of the Tommies and Roos.

Softball does battle with North Dakota State in Fargo

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ella Cook

Christina Crawford

Brooke Ellestad

Maddie Grad

Morgan Klein

Laken Lienhard

Kenzie Miller

Ruby Moore

Kaitlyn Raymond

Abbi Stierlen

Avery Wukawitz

University of St. Thomas Athletics

Softball does battle with North Dakota State in Fargo

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ella Cook

Christina Crawford

Brooke Ellestad

Maddie Grad

Morgan Klein

Laken Lienhard

Kenzie Miller

Ruby Moore

Kaitlyn Raymond

Abbi Stierlen

Avery Wukawitz

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