GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota softball team will be in California over the weekend, with games against Fairfield and Utah State on Friday, San Diego State on Saturday and then Princeton and Grand Canyon on Sunday.

The games on Friday will be on the campus of Long Beach State University and the Saturday and Sunday games will be at Cal State Fullerton. The Saturday game will be on field 1 and the Sunday games will be on field 2 at CSUF.

Coming into the weekend, Izzy Haslett leads the green and white with a .273 batting average and leads the team with 15 hits. Katie Joten leads the team with ten runs scored as well as eight stolen bases. Five players: Haslett, Taya Hopfauf, Cassie Castaneda, Madison Pederson and Angie Dumlao have two doubles to tie for the team lead. Hopfauf leads the team with 19 total bases.

In the circle Jackie Albrecht leads the team with a 3.48 ERA, and has started ten games this season. She leads with 52.1 innings pitched, trailed by Makaela Carr with 43 innings and Camryn Lasota at 41.2. Albrecht is currently fourth in the Summit League with 48 strikeouts. Katelyn Strauss made her first appearance for UND against Southern Indiana and threw 3.1 scoreless innings.

 

Here's how each of this week's opponents have fared so far in 2024:

Fairfield (1-8)

The Stags got their first win of the season 6-2 over Bucknell on Friday at the Blue Hen Invitational. Sunday the team dropped 3-0 decisions to Bucknell and then 8-0 to Delaware. On Wednesday the team lost 8-2 to California Baptist in a game that ended after five innings due to rain.

Megan Forbes and Anna Paravati are both hitting .316, the co-leaders among players who have started at least half of games. Both have six hits in 19 at lats, Charli Warren leads the team with seven hits.

Alyssa Weinberg leads the team with a 4.31 ERA and has started five of the six games she has appeared in.

Utah State (10-9)

Last time out the Aggies went 2-2 on the campus of Sacramento State during the Capital Classic, beating UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara. The team also won 9-5 at Utah Tech last week after playing at Sac State.

Ariel Fifita leads the team with a .442 average and 23 hits in 52 at bats. She also leads with five steals. Alex Bunton is hitting .396 and has scored 14 runs to lead the team. Giselle Gonzalez leads with five home runs.

The staff is led by Denay Smith who has an ERA of 1.32 with five starts in ten appearances. Jessica Stewart also has ten appearances and three starts and an ERA of 2.13.

San Diego State (9-11)

The Aztecs went 1-4 over the weekend at the Purple and Gold Challenge at LSU—falling to McNeese State, Louisiana Tech and twice to hosts LSU. They closed out the weekend with a win over Illinois and then returned home for a midweek game against Utah, falling 4-3.

Macey Keester is hitting .381 to lead the team, and has 16 hits in 42 at bats. She's scored seven runs and is tied for the team lead with three doubles. Mac Barbara leads with five home runs and 21 RBIs.

Cece Cellura has started eight games this season, and leads the staff with a 2.21 ERA. Allie Light has also made eight starts and leads with 14 appearances—as well as a team high 49.1 innings pitched.

Princeton (5-4)

The Tigers started 5-0 this season, but come into the weekend riding a four game losing streak. At the UCF Knights Classic over the weekend, the Tigers lost twice to hosts UCF, and also fell to Kennesaw State and South Carolina.

Lauren Sablone leads the team with a .391 average, nine hits, two home runs, ten RBIs and 16 total bases. Sophia Marsalo is hitting .364 and Karis Ford is hitting .300 even. Marsalo and Allison Ha are tied with three doubles.

Meghan Harrington holds a 3.20 ERA to lead the team and has pitched the lone complete game of the season. Cassidy Shaw leads with 20.1 innings pitched.

Grand Canyon (16-4)

The Lopes have won five in a row, defending their home field five times over the weekend in the Purple Classic. The team has played all 20 games so far at its home field.

Kristin Fifield leads the team with a .426 batting average and 26 hits on the season. She is tied for the team lead with four home runs and leads the team with 26 RBIs and 44 total bases. Ashley Trierweiler is hitting .403 and has scored a team high 23 runs and stolen ten bases.

Ariel Thompson leads the staff with a 1.01 ERA and has a 5-0 record in eight starts. Hailey Hudson leads the team with 12 appearance and seven starts, as well as 36 strikeouts and 35.1 innings pitched.

For more information on North Dakota softball, follow us on social media @UNDsoftball and visit fightinghawks.com.