MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE GAM E DAY - APR I L 23- 24, 2021
MUSTANG SOFTBALL A pivotal six-game home stretch starts this weekend with Great Plains Athletic Conference Siouxland foes Dordt University and Northwestern College visiting the Jensen Family Softball Complex. Head coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann’s squad, entering the set at the top of the loop standings, sports a sleek 35-4 overall and 13-1 league record. They are a game and a half in front of second-place Midland University and three ahead of the third-place Red Raiders. The Defenders (17-19 overall, 6-8 GPAC) are tied with Doane University for seventh, and NWC went into a trip to the College of Saint Mary Friday at 23-9 overall and 10-4 in the conference.
THE MATCH-UP Mside has won four in a row, and 11 of the last 12 against Dordt, including a 6-0 decision at Presentation College’s Dome Games this past February. The span has been closely contested, however, with six of the outings decided by three-runs-or-less. The story is similar against Northwestern. Jones-Sitzmann’s program has claimed eight of the previous ten and four straight. Six of the meetings have had a three-runs-or-less difference. A quartet featuring junior infielder Morgan Nixon and the circle trio of senior Alex Nelson and sophomores Lisa Bolton and Katherine Wurtz is among the GPAC’s featured statistics’ top five. Nixon’s 1.46 runs-batted-in per contest lead the league; Bolton’s 1.08 earned run-average is just behind the University of Jamestown’s Kat Miska’s 0.94 while Wurtz is fourth (2.17), and Bolton is second in lowest opposing batting average (.192), followed closely by Nelson (.214). Nixon’s digits also shine nationally. Her 57 RBI rank first, while her runs-batted-in per contest average is third-highest. Fellow upperclasswoman offensive teammates Lexie Stolen and Ellie Cropley are in the same area. Stolen’s 13 home runs are tied with Nixon’s exact number of big flies for third, and Cropley is fifth with 17 doubles. Regarding pitching, Bolton and Nelson are among the best 20 in saves (two each), while Bolton’s ERA is 18th-lowest, and her 14 wins, which are second-most in the GPAC, rank 20th.
Bolton represented Morningside on the conference’s Player of the Week announcement for April 12-18. The Pitcher of the Week increased her record to a remarkable 14-0 with backto-back weekend decisions against Briar Cliff University and Mount Marty University. She was nearly picture-perfect in the victory over the Chargers, giving up just a seventhinning single while striking out four and allowing only four baserunners. Bolton came back the next day and battled in a key eight-inning match-up with MMU while running her current string of multiple-strikeout contests to three in a row. Mside’s final regular-season homestand concludes Tuesday, April 27, with Midland University taking a northeastern trek to Sioux City.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION Head coach Kyle Zomer’s Defenders are 3-8 in their last 11. They’re fresh off a wild doubleheader split versus Doane that saw them win 9-5 and fall 5-3 in 10 innings. Dordt has been accustomed to extra sessions, playing seven of them, with two of them going ten frames. Senior outfielder Jessica Oules (.345), senior utility player Hannah Sikkema (.344), and senior pitcher/utility player Rachel Evavold (.340) top the offense, as Evavold has ten doubles, a triple, and three home runs to spark the power source. Sophomore Abby Kraemer has been the top pitcher, producing 129 strikeouts, 13 complete games, and nine victories. Head coach Shane Bouman’s Northwestern club had been one of the GPAC’s hottest going into the weekend by winning nine of its previous 11. They took a pair from Hastings 5-3 and 12-4 at home last weekend to continue the run. Senior catcher/ outfielder Emily Bosch was one of the league’s and NAIA’s most potent hitters through 30 appearances. She sported a meteoric .469 average with ten doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 27 RBI. The NWC offense overall was hitting at a glittering .344 pace in the same period. Freshman Kamryn Etherington topped Bouman’s pitching staff with a 15-3 record, 118 strikeouts, and two shutouts.
MORNINGSIDE MUSTANGS O. N 00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 22
NAME Sydney Gesink Mackenna Sidzyik Ellie Cropley Mykel Gray Josie Baxter Carrington Entringer Mia Barozzo Katherine Wurtz Sydney Struve Carson Cameron Lexie Stolen Brittany Turnquist Hope Rose Brooke Haage Micki Twedell Morgan Nixon Ashlyn McMillen Katie Murphy Kennedee Jones Ashton Whited Taylor Richter
YR. POS. So. INF R/R Fr. INF R/R Jr. OF L/L Jr. UT L/L Jr. OF L/L Jr. OF L/L Fr. UT R/R Jr. UT L/L Fr. UT R/R Sr. OF R/R Sr. INF R/R So. OF R/R Fr. C R/R Fr. IF R/R So. OF L/L Jr. INF R/R Fr. UT R/R So. C R/R Fr. IF L/L Sr. C R/R So. INF R/R
HOMETOWN Sioux Center, Iowa Omaha, Neb. Sioux City, Iowa Ames, Iowa Lincoln, Neb. Baltic, S.D./Baltic Santa Paula, Calif. Omaha, Neb. Granville, Iowa Herman, Neb. Sioux City, IA Alta, Iowa South Sioux City, Neb. LeMars, Iowa Sioux Falls, S.D. Omaha, Neb. Blair, Neb. Sioux Falls, S.D. Ankeny, Iowa Elkhorn, Neb. Rock Valley, Iowa
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 45
Breanna Tjebben Alyx Curran-Lewis Makenna Bonneau Alex Nelson Holly Severance Emma Christensen Justine Lovato Halleigh Kokenge Emily Thompson Cara Forsblom Vanessa Bohuslavsky Madison Treiber Jess Walker Kailani Peru Andi Hays Rylee Olson Tori Misiaszek Sydney Petersen Lisa Bolton
Jr. So. Fr. Sr. So. Fr. Fr. So. Sr. So. So. So. Sr. Fr. Sr. So. So. So. So.
INF OF UT P IF UT OF OF INF OF UT P/OF INF UT P/OF INF UT IF P
R/R L/L R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R R/R
Fort Dodge, Iowa Plattsmouth, Neb. Lincoln, Neb. Sioux Falls, S.D. Las Vegas, Nev. Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Colorado Springs, Colo. Sioux Falls, S.D. Brandon, S.D. Cedar Falls, Iowa David City, Neb. Vermillion, S.D. Plattsmouth, Neb. Colorado Springs, Colo. Elkhorn, Neb. Hardwick, Minn. Mitchell, S.D. Omaha, Neb. American Canyon, Calif.
Head coach: Jessica Jones-Sitzmann Assistant coaches: Mackenzie Neely, Brooke Lyman, Mara Amsberry
DORDT UNIVERSITY O. N 00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
NAME Anna Byker Taylor Knaack Ella Koster Cassie Van Otterloo Addison Hansen Jessica Oules Kayla Zevenbergen Erin Wieringa Bailey Jonker Nicole Van Roekel Chandler Schemper Karli Olsen Erin Bredemus Jenna Dekkers Becky Pedersen Elizabeth Maurer Haley Williams
POS. C/UTL P/OF OF C C/UTL OF P/UTL INF OF INF INF C INF INF P/OF OF INF
YR. HOMETOWN So. Grandville, Mich. Fr. Correctionville, Iowa So. Dorr, Mich. Fr. Rock Rapids, Iowa So. Jenison, Mich. Sr. Chelan, Wash. So. Hull, Iowa So. Sioux Center, Iowa Jr. Marion, Iowa Jr. Orange City, Iowa So. Sheldon, Iowa Fr. Spirit Lake, Iowa Jr. Andover, Minn. Fr. Hawarden, Iowa Jr. Ukiah, Calif. Fr. Sutherland, Iowa Fr. Bronson, Iowa
17 Hailey Heeringa INF Sr. Chandler, Ariz. 18 Hannah Sikkema UTL Sr. Hopkins, Mich. 19 Faith Wester UTL So. Meridian, Idaho 21 Gracie Dykstra OF Fr. Hospers, Iowa 22 Jessica Flaherty INF So. Alta, Iowa 23 Abby Kraemer P So. Alta, Iowa 24 Emma Veenstra INF So. Clive, Iowa 26 Rachel Evavold P/UTL Sr. Bloomington, Minn. 28 Sophia Caldwell C So. Spearfish, S.D. 29 Brooklyn Van Oort INF Jr. Rock Valley, Iowa 30 Ivy Terpstra INF So. New Sharon, Iowa 31 Erica Feikema OF Fr. Sioux Center, Iowa 55 Kenzie Cunard OF Jr. Missouri Valley, Iowa Ashayla Soodsma P/UTL Fr. Doon, Iowa Head coach: Jeff Zomer Assistant coaches: Anita Smith, Brooke Hoffsommer
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE O. N 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 11 13 14
NAME Alayna Bakke Emily Bosch Delanie Niemyer Emily Strasser Jordyn Kramer Taylor DeJong Madysn Grotewald Megan Nichols Lauren Pavich Jessica Harald Margo Stoez
POS. YR. HOMETOWN OF Fr. Urbandale, Iowa C/OF Sr. Ankeny, Iowa INF Fr. Orange City, Iowa INF Soph. Sioux Falls, S.D. UTL Soph. Larchwood, Iowa INF Fr. Larchwood, Iowa INF Fr. Larchwood, Iowa UTL Fr. Onawa, Iowa UTL So. Simi Valley, Calif. OF Jr. Sioux Center, Iowa C Fr. Mountain Lake, Minn.
15 16 18 20 21 22 23 24 33
Payton Schwiesow C Samantha Ubben P/UTL Bri Giordano OF Kameryn Etherington P/UTL Sydney Johnson INF Erika McKenney UTL Sydnee Isom Jennifer Boeve Lily Anderson
Fr. Sr. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. P/UTL INF UTL
Hawarden, Iowa Conrad, Iowa Arroyo Grande, Calif. Algona, Iowa Appleton, Wis. Hawarden, Iowa So. Fillmore, Calif. So. Hastings, Neb. So. Cherokee, Iowa
Head coach: Shane Bouman Assistant coaches: Scott Miller, Kayla Tindall, Travis De Jong
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