University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, April 20
St. Paul, Minn.
12:00 p.m. Central
vs
South Dakota
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Softball wraps up Summit League home schedule against South Dakota
4/19/2024 2:35:00 PM | Softball
The Tommies conclude their Summit League home schedule with three games against South Dakota.
THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
WHERE TO WATCH
SERIES HISTORY
So Long, Seniors
Brooke Betson, #8
TOMMIES IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
SHE IS COOKIN'
Sophomore Ella Cook played the biggest role in St. Thomas' league series win over Kansas City. 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.
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
TRANSFERS
COACH TROTTER
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.
- The Tommies and South Dakota will play three games in two days this weekend, a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
- The opening games of the series are scheduled for 12:00 and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at South Field in St. Paul.
- Sunday's game is set for a 11:00 a.m. first pitch.
- The Tommies come in with a 11-31 record after their second conference series win of the season against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
- South Dakota (19-25, 4-7 Summit League) is coming off a series loss to the Omaha Mavericks in which they won the final game 5-1 last Sunday. They are just 1-4 in their last five games.
- The Coyotes are led by Gabby Moser offensively, she has a team-leading .851 OPS with 39 hits, seven HR, and 33 RBI, all top-10 in the Summit League. They do not steal very many bases with just 22 as a team, they do not have a player with more than four stolen bases.
- Clara Edwards has gotten the bulk of the season's work in the circle. She has 131.1 innings pitched this year with a 2.24 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 106 K, and .265 BAA. Kori Wedeking will most likely be called upon for one start, she has 90.1 innings pitched with a 4.03 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 71 K, and a .260 BAA.
WHERE TO WATCH
- All three games against the South Dakota Coyotes will be video streamed on the Summit League Network by Midco Sports Plus and can be found HERE.
SERIES HISTORY
- South Dakota holds the all-time edge with a 5-1 record in six games since 2022.
- The Coyotes swept the season series in 2023 back in South Dakota with wins of 7-2, 3-0, and 12-8.
- The Toms hosted the Yotes in 2022 and fell in games one and two, 10-2 and 9-0 but rallied for their only win 8-7 in game three.
- Christina Crawford went the distance in that game with six earned runs allowed on 10 hits, three walks, and two strikeouts.
- Kaitlyn Raymond had a multi-hit game in the win, as did Megan Baniecke. Sydney Mickett went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI near the bottom of the lineup. Both Cassidy Carby and Megan Baniecke hit home runs in the victory.
So Long, Seniors
Brooke Betson, #8
- Native of Regina, Saskatchewan
- Psychology major
- Recipient of multiple academic awards including 2022 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- Played in 42 games, 1 hit (a double), 14 runs scored, one walk, and one run driven in with three stolen bases.
- Native of Bismarck, North Dakota
- Exercise Science major with a minor in biology
- Made the 2022 Summit League Academic Honor Roll list
- Played in 108 games with 40 hits, four home runs, 38 runs scored, 16 runs driven in, 22 walks, seven stolen bases.
- Top-10 in DI program history in games started, at-bats, runs scored, hits, triples, total bases, home runs, and stolen bases.
- Converted 257 putouts, 65 assists, and 16 runners caught stealing behind home plate
- Chanhassen, Minnesota native
- Exercise Science major with minors in nutrition and psychology
- Recipient of multiple academic awards including 2022 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- Played in 113 games with 101 at-bats, 28 runs scored, 18 hits, three home runs, seven walks, 13 runs driven in, and seven stolen bases while recording 52 putouts and two assists in the outfield
- Top-10 in DI program history in runs and stolen bases
- Native of Prior Lake, Minnesota
- Human Resources Major
- Recipient of multiple academic awards including 2022 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- Played in 128 games with 166 at-bats, 21 runs scored, 37 hits, 43 total bases, 25 walks, 16 runs driven in, and six stolen bases while recording 194 putouts and 220 assists with a .963 career fielding percentage in the infield.
- She is second in the DI era in games started and top-10 in batting average, on-base percentage, triples, walks, and stolen bases
TOMMIES IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
- Kaitlyn Raymond 13th in AVG (.309)
- Ella Cook 9th in OPS (.930)
- Avery Wukawitz 11th in OPS (.900)
- Christina Crawford 13th in OPS (.840)
- Avery Wukawitz 7th in runs scored (26)
- Kaitlyn Raymond T-10th in runs scored (24)
- Laken Lienhard 15th in runs scored (20)
- Kaitlyn Raymond 9th in hits (38)
- Avery Wukawitz 14th in hits (34)
- Avery Wukawitz 5th in doubles (9)
- Lienhard, Cook T-7th in doubles (8)
- Wukawitz, Lienhard, and Raymond T-11th in triples (1)
- Ella Cook T-2nd in HR (8)
- Wukawitz T-8th in HR (5)
- Abbi Stierlen T-11th in HR (4)
- Ella Cook 2nd in RBI (35)
- Ella Cook 7th in total bases (65)
- Avery Wukawitz 9th in total bases (60)
- Ella Cook 5th in SLUG (.580)
- Avery Wukawitz 10th in SLUG (.517)
- Christina Crawford 13th in SLUG (.500)
- Laken Lienhard 1st in walks (25)
- Cassidy Carby and Abbi Stierlen T-12th in walks (15)
- Laken Lienhard 6th in OBP (.432)
- Avery Wukawitz 13th in OBP (.383)
- Avery Wukawitz T-2nd in stolen bases (12)
- Kaitlyn Raymond T-5th in stolen bases (10)
- Christina Crawford T-4th in CG (10)
- Christina Crawford 5th in IP (111.1)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- In a jam-packed ending to the 2024 season the Tommies play six games next week.
- First with a single game in Ames, Iowa against Iowa State on April 23. It will be the first meeting between the two clubs after both 2022 and 2023's schedule contest was cancelled.
- Next, the Tommies will host a doubleheader with the Green Bay Phoenix on April 24. Games previously scheduled in March that was postponed due to inclement weather.
- The season comes to a close with a Summit League series against the first-place South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Purple are 0-6 all-time against SDSU while being outscored 39-2.
SHE IS COOKIN'
Sophomore Ella Cook played the biggest role in St. Thomas' league series win over Kansas City. 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.
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 720-505 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.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
2B/SS
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF/SS
/ SoftballTommie Volleyball NCAA Tournament Press Conference
Monday, December 01
Press Conference: Tommie Football Postgame vs Presbyterian 11/18/25
Tuesday, November 18
Tommie Women's Hockey Intro Video 2025
Wednesday, November 12
Tommie Women's Basketball Intro Video 2025
Wednesday, November 12
