2023 North Dakota State Bison softball team

2023 North Dakota State Bison softball
2023 North Dakota State Bison softball
Conference	Summit League
Record	30–21 (13–8 Summit)
Head coach	Darren Mueller (22nd season);
Assistant coaches	Gerice Olson; Kayti Grable;
Home stadium	Tharaldson Park

2023 Summit League softball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
South Dakota State ‍†‍‍	17	–	0	1.000	37	–	17	.685
Omaha ‍‍‡‍^y	15	–	5	.750	33	–	17	.660
‍‍‍	13	–	8	.619	30	–	21	.588
South Dakota ‍‍‍	11	–	9	.550	24	–	28	.462
North Dakota ‍‍‍	9	–	10	.474	12	–	38	.240
St. Thomas* ‍‍‍	6	–	14	.300	18	–	35	.340
Kansas City ‍‍‍	4	–	17	.190	9	–	43	.173
Western Illinois ‍‍‍	3	–	15	.167	9	–	36	.200

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament * Ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III As of May 20, 2023^[1] Rankings from NFCA/USA Today

The 2023 North Dakota State Bison softball team was an American college softball team that represented North Dakota State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bison were led by Darren Mueller in his twenty-second season, and played their home games at Tharaldson Park. They competed in the Summit League. The Bison finished the regular season in third place in the conference and claimed the three seed in the 2023 Summit League softball tournament. NDSU beat Kansas City on day 1, but lost to Omaha and South Dakota State on day 2 to be eliminated before the semifinals for the third year in a row.^[2]

Previous Season

The Bison finished the 2022 season with a 30-23 record, and a 10-8 record in Summit League play. NDSU played in the Summit League tournament as the 3rd seed.^[3] They defeated North Dakota^[4] and Omaha, before falling to South Dakota State and then Omaha in the elimination game to end their season in the semifinals.

Personnel

Roster

2023 North Dakota State Roster

Pitchers

9 – Paige Vargas – Senior
18 – Lainey Lyle – Senior
54 – Piper Reed – Freshman
99 – Savy Williams – Sophomore

Catchers

5 – Kaylee Moore – Senior

Outfielders

1 – Emilee Buringa – Junior
17 – Faith Daehlin – Sophomore
22 – Ella Claus – Freshman

Infielders

3 – Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage – Junior
8 – Skylar Padgett – Senior
11 – Riley Leadstrom – Freshman
12 – Bella Dean – Freshman
31 – Carley Goetschius – Senior
42 – Chloe Woldruff – Sophomore

Utility

14 – Reanna Rudd (C/INF) – Junior
35 – Zoe King (C/INF) – Freshman
47 – Ava Chavarria (C/INF) – Freshman

Reference:^[5]

Coaching staff

2023 North Dakota State Coaching Staff
Name	Position
Darren Mueller	Head coach
Gerice Olson	Associate head coach
Kayti Grable	Assistant Coach
Reference:^[6]

Schedule

2023 North Dakota State Bison softball game log

Regular Season (29–19)

February (6–8)
Date Time	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	Summit League Record
February 10 10 AM	vs. California Baptist		Nancy Almaraz Field Puerto Vallarta, Mexico	4–0	Vargas (1–0)	Mcconnell (0–1)	None	203	1–0	–
February 11 12:30 PM	vs. BYU		Nancy Almaraz Field	1–10⁽⁵⁾	Temples (1–0)	Lyle (0–1)	None	248	1–1	–
February 12 8:30 AM	vs. No. 24 Oregon		Nancy Almaraz Field	3–4	Hansen (1–0)	Vargas (1–1)	None	378	1–2	–
February 12 1:30 PM	vs. Maryland		Nancy Almaraz Field	2–4	Schlotterbeck (1–0)	Lyle (0–2)	Bucher (1)	275	1–3	–
February 13 12 PM	vs. No. RV Ole Miss		Nancy Almaraz Field	0–8⁽⁵⁾	Vestal (1–0)	Reed (0–1)	None	125	1–4	–
February 13 2:30 PM	vs. No. RV Ole Miss		Nancy Almaraz Field	3–5	Furbush (1–0)	Vargas (1–2)	None	125	1–5	–
February 16 3 PM	vs. Sacramento State		Nancy Almaraz Field	4–1	Vargas (2–2)	Bertuccio (0–1)	None	185	2–5	–
February 17 10 AM	vs. Southern Illinois		Nancy Almaraz Field	5–3	Lyle (1–2)	Eberle (0–1)	Vargas (1)	185	3–5	–
February 17 12:30 PM	vs. No. 11 Tennessee		Nancy Almaraz Field	0–8⁽⁶⁾	Pickens (1–0)	Lyle (1–3)	None	122	3–6	–
February 18 3 PM	vs. Cal State Fullerton		Nancy Almaraz Field	2–1	Vargas (3–2)	Sutherlin (0–1)	None	185	4–6	–
February 24 10 AM	vs. Merrimack		Jane B. Moore Field Auburn, AL	Cancelled - Weather Preventing Travel^[7]					4–6	–
February 25 10 AM	vs. Brown		Jane B. Moore Field	6–0	Vargas (4–2)	Aguirre (0–1)	None		5–6	–
February 25 3 PM	at No. 20 Auburn		Jane B. Moore Field	0–9⁽⁶⁾	Penta (8–0)	Lyle (1–4)	None		5–7	–
February 26 9 AM	vs. Brown		Jane B. Moore Field	2–0	Lyle (2–4)	Guevara (0–2)	None		6–7	–
February 26 12 PM	at No. 20 Auburn		Jane B. Moore Field	0–4	Lowe (1–0)	Vargas (4–3)	Penta (1)	1,440	6–8	–

March (13–3)
Date Time	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	Summit League Record
March 3 12:30 PM	vs. Drake		Tigers Softball Complex Memphis, TN	Canceled, Rain					6–8	–
March 3 5 PM	vs. UTSA		Tigers Softball Complex	2–3	Smith (1–5)	Vargas (4–4)	Estell (1)	217	6–9	–
March 4 9 AM	vs. SIU-Edwardsville		Tigers Softball Complex	9–1	Lyle (3–4)	Ray (1–5)	Vargas (2)	147	7–9	–
March 4 2 PM	at Memphis		Tigers Softball Complex	15–4	Vargas (5–4)	Hoschak (0–1)	None	273	8–9	–
March 5 11:30 AM	vs. UTSA		Tigers Softball Complex	7–4	Lyle (4–4)	Estell (2–4)	Reed (1)	150	9–9	–
March 10 2 PM	vs. Idaho State		US Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	9–3	Lyle (5–4)	Newman (2–2)	None		10–9	–
March 10 7 PM	at Minnesota		US Bank Stadium	0–2	Pease (6–3)	Vargas (5–5)	None	1,096	10–10	–
March 11 11:30 AM	vs. Drake		US Bank Stadium	7–2	Williams (1–0)	Bedsworth (0–3)	None		11–10	–
March 12 11:30 AM	vs. Idaho State		US Bank Stadium	4–1	Vargas (6–5)	McMurray (0–2)	None		12–10	–
March 12 2 PM	vs. Drake		US Bank Stadium	4–2	Lyle (6–4)	Hupke (3–3)	None		13–10	–
March 14 4 PM	at No. RV Mississippi State		Nusz Park Mississippi State, MS	2–0	Vargas (7–5)	Faapito (2–1)	None	146	14–10	–
March 15 2 PM	vs. Purdue		Nusz Park	1–2	Echazarreta (5–6)	Lyle (6–5)	None	112	14–11	–
March 16 4 PM	vs. Purdue		Nusz Park	4–0	Vargas (8–5)	Pinarski (1–1)	None	53	15–11	–
March 18 10:30 AM	vs. Samford		Nusz Park	7–1	Reed (1–1)	Bond (3–4)	None	57	16–11	–
March 25 12 PM	at Kansas City		Urban Youth Academy Softball Complex Kansas City, MO	10–0⁽⁵⁾	Vargas (9–5)	Stickel (0–1)	None		17–11	1–0
March 25 2 PM	at Kansas City		Urban Youth Academy Softball Complex	4–1	Lyle (7–5)	Noble (2–7)	None	121	18–11	2–0
March 26 11 AM	at Kansas City		Urban Youth Academy Softball Complex	11–1⁽⁵⁾	Vargas (10–5)	Milan (0–4)	None	87	19–11	3–0

April (9–6)
Date Time	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	Summit League Record
April 1 3 PM	at Western Illinois		Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium Macomb, IL	5–6⁽⁸⁾	Rodriguez (4–7)	Reed (1–2)	None	147	19–12	3–1
April 2 10 AM	at Western Illinois		Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium	1–0	Lyle (8–5)	Rodriguez (4–9)	None	89	20–12	4–1
April 2 12 PM	at Western Illinois		Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium	13–4⁽⁵⁾	Vargas (11–5)	Price (3–8)	None	89	21–12	5–1
April 7 4 PM	vs. South Dakota Series Relocated – Weather^[8]		Bowden Field Sioux Falls, SD	0–8	Edwards (10–6)	Vargas (11–6)	None	99	21–13	5–2
April 8 2 PM	vs. South Dakota		Bowden Field	2–0	Lyle (9–5)	Wedeking (6–9)	None	108	22–13	6–2
April 8 4 PM	vs. South Dakota		Bowden Field	5–4	Vargas (12–6)	Edwards (10–7)	None	108	23–13	7–2
April 16 3 PM	at South Dakota State		Jackrabbit Softball Stadium Brookings, SD	0–4	Kniesche (16–4)	Vargas (12–7)	None	150	23–14	7–3
April 17 11 AM	at South Dakota State		Jackrabbit Softball Stadium	3–12⁽⁵⁾	Lasey (10–6)	Lyle (10–5)	None	149	23–15	7–4
April 17 1 PM	at South Dakota State		Jackrabbit Softball Stadium	0–1	Kniesche (17–4)	Vargas (12–8)	None	149	23–16	7–5
April 22 12 PM	at St. Thomas		South Field St. Paul, MN	5–0	Vargas (13–8)	Cook (3–6)	None	250	24–16	8–5
April 22 2 PM	at St. Thomas		South Field	9–0⁽⁶⁾	Lyle (11–5)	True (0–1)	None	250	25–16	9–5
April 23 11 AM	at St. Thomas		South Field	6–2	Lyle (12–5)	Murphy (2–11)	None	75	26–16	10–5
April 29 12 PM	North Dakota		Tharaldson Park Fargo, ND	8–5	Vargas (14–8)	Carr (6–10)	None	222	27–16	11–5
April 29 2 PM	North Dakota		Tharaldson Park	4–2	Lyle (12–6)	Albrecht (2–15)	None	222	28–16	12–5
April 30 11 AM	North Dakota		Tharaldson Park	3–4	Albrecht (3–15)	Vargas (14–9)	Lasota (3)	153	28–17	12–6

May (1–2)
Date Time	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	Summit League Record
May 5 12 PM	Omaha		Tharaldson Park Fargo, ND	1–7	Meyer (14–7)	Vargas (14–10)	None	255	28–18	12–7
May 5 2 PM	Omaha		Tharaldson Park	2–3⁽¹⁰⁾	Nuismer (13–7)	Lyle (12–7)	None	255	28–19	12–8
May 6 11 AM	Omaha		Tharaldson Park	3–0	Vargas (15–10)	Flanagan (1–1)	None	206	29–19	13–8

Post-Season (1–2)

Summit League Tournament (1–2)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	Summit League Tournament record
May 10–11 4:30 PM	vs. (6) Kansas City Played across 5/10-5/11^[9]	(3)	Jackrabbit Softball Stadium Brookings, SD	3–0	Vargas (16–10)	Noble (3–14)	None	143	30–19	1–0
May 11 2:30 PM	vs. (2) Omaha	(3)	Jackrabbit Softball Stadium	1–5	Meyer (15–7)	Vargas (16–11)	None	273	30–20	1–1
May 11 5 PM	at (1) South Dakota State	(3)	Jackrabbit Softball Stadium	2–10⁽⁵⁾	Lasey (15–6)	Lyle (12–8)	None	254	30–21	1–2

Win
Loss
Postponement
Bold: Bison team member
Reference:^[10]

Rankings from NFCA:^[11]
(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times in Central Time Zone

References

^ "The Summit League Softball Standings". TheSummitLeague.org. The Summit League. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
^ "College softball:Bison run out of gas in Summit tourney". inforum.com. Forum of Fargo/Moorhead. May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
^ "NDSU draws Summit League tournament's No. 3 seed, will face UND in Wednesday's first round". inforum.com. Forum of Fargo/Moorhead. May 8, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^ "NDSU Advances in Summit League Championship With 5-2 Win Over UND". valleynewslive.com. Valley News Live. May 12, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^ "2023 Softball Roster". gobison.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^ "2023 Softball Roster". gobison.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^ "Winter Storm Forces NDSU Softball Schedule Change". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
^ "NDSU Softball Announces Changes to South Dakota Series". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
^ "Updates made to Summit League Softball Championship schedule". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
^ "2023 Softball Schedule". North Dakota State Bison. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^ "2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 coaches Poll (Preseason)". nfca.org. Retrieved February 12, 2023.

[1] "The Summit League Softball Standings". TheSummitLeague.org. The Summit League. Retrieved May 20, 2023.

[2] "College softball:Bison run out of gas in Summit tourney". inforum.com. Forum of Fargo/Moorhead. May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.

[3] "NDSU draws Summit League tournament's No. 3 seed, will face UND in Wednesday's first round". inforum.com. Forum of Fargo/Moorhead. May 8, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.

[4] "NDSU Advances in Summit League Championship With 5-2 Win Over UND". valleynewslive.com. Valley News Live. May 12, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.

[5] "2023 Softball Roster". gobison.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.

[6] "2023 Softball Roster". gobison.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.

[7] "Winter Storm Forces NDSU Softball Schedule Change". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.

[8] "NDSU Softball Announces Changes to South Dakota Series". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.

[9] "Updates made to Summit League Softball Championship schedule". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.

[10] "2023 Softball Schedule". North Dakota State Bison. Retrieved December 7, 2022.

[11] "2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 coaches Poll (Preseason)". nfca.org. Retrieved February 12, 2023.

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North Dakota State Bison softball
Venues	Ellig Sports Complex (1976–2017) Fargodome (1999,2002,2008,2013) Tharaldson Park (2018–present)
Coaches	Judy Strachan (1976–77) Pam Larson (1978) Donna Palivec (1979–81) Kathy Frederickson (1982–84) Sue Collins (1985) Pam Hehrens (1986–87) Michelle Woodward (1988–90) Nadine Roth (1991) Karla McCrory (1992) Greg Crowley (1993–94) Mitch Hanson (1995–01) Jamie Trachsel (co-HC, 2011–16) Darren Mueller (2002–present)
Seasons	1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2024 2025
National Championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics