BISMARCK, ND - The University of Mary Softball team (1-2) is preparing for the Kelly Laas Invitational in St. Cloud, MN on February 11-12. It will be the Marauders second straight weekend tournament to start the new season. UMary will play the host St. Cloud State University Saturday at 10 am, and then again later against the University of Minnesota Duluth (4-0) at 3 pm. On Sunday, the Marauders will play SCSU at 10 am followed by a 12:30 game against Bemidji State University. The Marauders games will be non-conference this weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
The UMary softball season got underway last weekend February 4-5 at the Minot Dome Tournament. The Marauders dropped the first two games on Saturday 17-6 against Minot State and 17-12 to Valley City State. The Marauders still managed to have a solid opening day at the plate, driving in 18 runs on 23 base hits through 12 total innings.
UMary ended the tournament on a high note, defeating Carroll College 6-1 Sunday morning.
Nicole Eckhardt earned the complete game win, hurling six strikeouts and allowing only four hits and one walk.
Erin Murphy,
Madison Wszolek, and
Kaylee Kannegiesser finished with multiple hits and RBIs during an explosive fifth-inning rally.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Madison Wszolek is the reigning NDPF UMary Female Athlete of the Week for her performance opening weekend in Minot. The senior catcher from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada finished the weekend batting .500, tying with Kannegiesser for a team-high 5 RBIs, a double, and a home run.
Devyn Ritz had a great weekend at the plate, leading the Marauders with 5 hits in 8 at-bats (.625). Ritz also drew three walks and drove in a run.
Brooke McClure batted .500 through the opening games, driving in a run and orchestrating another against Carroll through smart baserunning.
Sariah Perez made great contact all weekend long from the middle of the order. The Sophomore from Patterson, CA batted .400 with a triple and 3 RBIs. Perez also made many great plays at third base.
Nicole Eckhardt is coming off a big performance in the circle. The Junior from Cornelius, OR earned the win Sunday over Carroll College throwing a complete game, striking out six batters, and only yielding one earned run and one walk.
Erin Murphy was solid in the leadoff spot for the Marauders opening weekend, batting .400 with a double, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBIs.
Kaylee Kannegiesser provided spark at the plate last weekend, collecting 4 hits in 11 at-bats (.364), and tying Wszolek for a team-high 5 RBIs.
Brooke De Jonge batted .333 with a home run in the opening weekend.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION - HUSKIES
This weekend's invitational will be the first games of the season for the host St. Cloud State University. The Huskies were picked to finish third in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll. Infielder Sydney Trees returns for her senior season as the Huskies player to watch by the NSIC. Trees was one of the premier power hitters of the NSIC in 2022, batting .351 and belting 17 home runs which was 8th in the nation. Lauren Kirchberg anchors a strong pitching staff for the Huskies as their Pitcher to Watch this year by the NSIC. Kirchberg was 6-3 in 2022 with a 3.16 ERA, and 21 strikeouts in 51.0 innings pitched.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION - BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth enters the weekend 4-0 after a strong opening weekend in the Mankato Dome Invite. NSIC preseason pitcher of the year Lauren Dixon led the staff with 12 strikeouts through 10.1 IP, earning herself a complete game win and an ERA currently at 1.35. Kat Burkhardt and Kiana Bender led the Bulldogs at the plate, combining for 11 hits, 2 home runs, and 10 RBIs.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION - BEAVERS
Bemidji State begins their season this weekend at the Kelly Laas Invitational. The Beavers were picked the finish 12th in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll. Mariah Stevenson was named the Beavers player to Watch after she batted .322 with two home runs and 22 RBIs as a freshman last year. Stella Dolan is the Beavers pitcher to watch after striking out 93 batters in 148.1 innings with a 3.87 ERA in 2022.
LIVE COVERAGE
Links to live stats and a video stream of the games can be found at goumary.com/coverage.
THE STAFF
Dre Frantz returns to the University of Mary in her second year as head softball coach. Frantz brings a desire to elevate the program where she excelled as one of UMary Softball's most decorated athletes.
As a Marauder, Frantz earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA first-team All-American honors as a utility player after her impressive senior season. One of only three Marauders during the program's NCAA era to earn All-American honors, she was also a Daktronics All-American honorable mention selection and a Louisville Slugger/NFCA and Daktronics All-Region choice in 2010 after hitting .427 with a .469 on-base percentage and a .680 slugging percentage, all career-highs. In her four-year career, Frantz posted a batting average of .393 with a .432 on-base percentage and a .605 slugging percentage.
Before taking over as Head Coach, Frantz stayed close with the program, serving six total years assisting the coaching staff. Frantz's coaching history also expands throughout the community, helping coach Mandan in 2014, Bismarck from 2015-18, and then taking over the helm with Legacy softball. In 2020, Frantz returned to the collegiate coaching level as an assistant at Bismarck State College.
Frantz is joined by other familiar faces in the UMary Softball program.
Cassidy Barclay returns to the Marauders for her second season as an Assistant Coach. Barclay was a four-year starter and all-conference catcher for Emporia State University.
Kaitlyn Alvarado returns to UMary this season in her first year as an Assistant Coach. Alvarado was a standout player for the Marauders from 2019-2021, both in the circle and at the plate. She batted a career average of .288 and had a career slugging percentage of .413.
Jared Sotelo comes to UMary for his first season as an Assistant Coach for the Marauders. Sotelo brings experience to the staff, coaching softball for the last nine years and most recently assisting the Park University Softball program.
Kennedy Cowart returns to UMary as the Marauders Student Coach. Cowart was a .310 hitter for the Marauders in 2022 as a senior. Cowart also played at West Virginia Wesleyan College where she earned two-time MEC First Team All-Conference honors.
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