THIS WEEKEND
The University of Mary Softball team will head to south central Minnesota for their final weekend of games in the 2022-23 season. The Marauders will play Concordia - St. Paul on Saturday, April 29 at 3 and 5 pm, and then Minnesota State University for the final doubleheader on Sunday, April 30 at 11 am and 1 pm. All of this weekend's games will take place at the MSU Sports Dome in Mankato, MN.
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders (7-36, 2-22 NSIC) won two of their last five games, splitting with Upper Iowa on April 22 and Northern State on April 25.
Emari Evans earned both of those wins in the circle 12-6 in relief over the Peacocks and a complete game 4-2 over the Wolves.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Francesca Villaneda enters this weekend as the Marauders new leading hitter with a .316 batting average. The true freshman from Gardena, CA is coming off an impressive week at the plate, going 10-22 since the Bemidji State series on April 18.
Mckenzie Reinhardt has also moved her way up to second in hitting on the Marauders with a .310 average. The junior from Clovis, CA has been hitting very well lately, going 13-29 over her past ten games with 6 runs scored and 5 runs batted in.
Emari Evans has competed hard for the Marauders in the circle in her past few starts. The redshirt sophomore from Surprise, AZ went 5.1 innings giving up just one run and walking no batters. Evans also went 8.0 innings for a complete game win over Northern State on Tuesday, when she also struck out 5, walked no batters, and gave up 2 unearned runs.
Like Evans,
Nicole Eckhardt has also continued to compete hard as a Marauders starting pitcher. Eckhardt still possesses the lowest ERA of 5.52 and has 68 strikeouts to 57 walks.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION - GOLDEN BEARS
Concordia - St. Paul enters the weekend 24-25 overall and 10-14 in the Northern Sun. The Golden Bears collectively hit .282 and have hit 50 home runs as a team. Clara Heislen is a standout power hitter, standing fifth in the NSIC with 11 homers. Bryanna Olson has also been a reliable right-handed pitcher, holding a 15-14 record with a 4.12 ERA, and 149 strikeouts (3rd in the NSIC) to 90 walks in 158.0 innings (2nd in the NSIC).
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION - MAVERICKS
Minnesota State enters the weekend 28-16 overall and 17-9 in the NSIC. The Mavericks have the sixth-best team batting average at .300. Ellie Tallman stands top ten in the conference hitting .383, and also has an OPS of .925. McKayla Armbruster has been a standout pitcher this year in the conference, standing among the statistical leaders in ERA (1.79), opposing batting average (.220), and strikeouts (169 in 160.0 IP).
FOLLOW ALONG
Links to live stat coverage and live video streams for both days 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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