MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE GAM E DAY - APR I L 27, 2021
MUSTANG SOFTBALL
A clash that will go a long way towards crowning the 2021 Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season champion is on the docket at Jensen Family Softball Complex today. Head coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann’s Morningside College squad, winners of 25 of their last 26 contests, including seven straight, welcome Midland University. The Warriors, coached by Mike Heard, have been just as high-flying of late. They’ve captured seven straight and 14 of their last 15.
THE MATCH-UP The Maroon holds a 26-10 all-time advantage on MU. However, the last 12 meetings have been back and forth, with Morningside owning a 7-5 edge. Nine of the finishes in the span have been decided by four-runs-or-less. A rather remarkable run for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ No. 11-ranked team continued April 23 and 24. The Mustangs knocked off Dordt University 8-0 and 4-2 Friday and Northwestern College 6-1 and 8-3. Improving to 39-4 overall and 17-1 in Great Plains Athletic Conference action, top-notch pitching, and a juggernaut offense kept attempts by the Defenders and Red Raiders to slow Mside down. Sophomore pitching standout Lisa Bolton continued to be almost untouchable in the circle against the Siouxland rivals. She blanked DU on three hits, didn’t issue a free pass, and struck out six in Friday’s opener. Bolton returned to post the victory in the nightcap with three innings of two-hit ball, which included a strikeout, and then tossed a seven-inning three-hitter in game one versus NWC Saturday, dancing around five walks to move her record to 17-0. Game two against Northwestern belonged to the senior-freshman combination of Alex Nelson and Mia Barozzo. Nelson moved to 11-2, working through four frames where she allowed just one run on two hits. Barozzo locked down the win with two innings of one-hit ball, which included one strikeout. The plate positives during the weekend were also as numerous.
Junior infielder Morgan Nixon picked up six hits, featuring a five-hit attack against Northwestern while driving in five to move closer to the program’s single-season RBI mark of 68. She climbed to 62 with her weekend effort. Junior outfielder Ellie Cropley continued a six-game hitting streak, tallying six safeties that included a home run, three RBI, and five runs scored. Junior infielder Bre Tjebben upped her current hit skein to seven contests, collecting seven RBI, mashing a double and home run, and scoring four runs. That trio spotlighted an eye-popping 26-run, 36-hit four-game set. Cropley, Nixon, and Stolen continue to harbor first ten marks on the current NAIA statistics. Nixon’s 62 RBI are second, while her 1.442 runs-batted-in per game are fourth-most; Cropley is fifth in doubles (19) and seventh in total bases (113), and Stolen stands sixth in home runs (13) along with Nixon. Regarding team totals, Mside’s 89 doubles are fifth-most; the 318 runs scored and 280 runs-batted-in each stand sixth; the 1.070 big flies per game the offense produces are seventhhighest, and the 7.935 runs scored per appearance are No. 9. Morningside concludes the regular season with a trip to the University of Jamestown Saturday, May 1. Game time is 1 p.m. at UJ’s Trapper Field.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS Two of the GPAC’s and NAIA’s top offenses go toe-to-toe today. Midland is fourth in slugging percentage (.573) and sixth in runs scored per contest (7.515). Freshman outfielder Emily Prai has been a big reason. She is the national leader in runs scored per appearance (1.333) and is third in batting average (.513) and hits per game (1.818). Freshman infielder Roni Foote provides one of the many power supplies for Midland, clouting ten home runs as part of a monstrous .810 slugging percentage. In the circle, coach Heard’s group is guided by freshman Aliyah Rincon and junior Hailee Fliam. Rincon stands 14-2 with 13 complete games and six shutouts to go along with 108 strikeouts. Fliam has a 12-5 record with 12 complete games, four shutouts, and 84 strikeouts.