GRAND FORKS, N.D. – And just like that weekend No. 2 is upon North Dakota softball. The Fighting Hawks are heading to the desert for a five-game weekend at the Littlewood Classic hosted by Arizona State. Among the opposition that the Hawks will face across the three-day, two-stadium event will be a pair of NFCA top 25 ranked foes in #21 Oregon and #25 Washington as well as 2024 NCAA regional participant (RV) Grand Canyon. Friday's games and Sunday's finale will be contested in Tempe, Arizona, while games three and four will take place in Phoenix. A full schedule of the weekend slate is available here.
vs. #21 Oregon (5-0) | Season Stats
Feb. 14 | 11:30 a.m.
Series History: 0-2
Last Meeting: March 14, 2010; L, 0-12
Streak: L2
Appeared in the 2024 NCAA Norman Regional…UO has a pair of wins over Southern Utah and Buffalo in addition to UNLV…Averaging just under 15 runs per game through five games this season which leads the nation…Averaging 14 hits per game which is the second highest average after the first weekend…Kai Luschar leads UO with a .647 average, 11 hits and nine stolen bases…Paige Sinicki leads with a starters-best 1.738 OPS…Allowing less than four runs per game…Lindsey Grein holds an ERA of 1.00 across five appearances and 14.0 IP…Staci Chambers paces the staff with 23 strikeouts in 10.0 IP…
at Arizona State (3-1) | Season Stats
Feb. 14 | 5 p.m.
Series History: 0-3
Last Meeting: February 16, 2018; L, 0-8 (5)
Streak: L3
ASU beat Maryland and Miami (OH) to open the year and defeated Cal to conclude opening weekend, while the Sun Devils' lone defeat came to Miami (OH)…ASU ranks second nationally in home runs per game with 2.25...Three ASU players have collected six hits…Tanya Windle holds team-best marks in hits, runs scored (5), RBI (5) and total bases (14)…Kenzie Brown has appeared in three games, all in relief, and leads with 10.2 IP, 19 strikeouts and a 0.66 ERA with a WHIP of just .38…
vs. Utah Valley (2-3) | Season Stats
Feb. 15 | 2:15 p.m.
Series History: 8-8
Last Meeting: February 8, 2019; L, 4-8
Streak: L5
UVU started the 2025 season 0-2, but earned victories over Boise State and San Jose State…UVU ranks fourth in DI in fielding percentage at .993...Megan Gibbs leads the Wolverines in hits (6) and total bases (11)…Four Wolverines are responsible for three or more RBI led by Emma Haygood's five…Avery Sapp has earned both of UVU's victories…Sapp has tossed 20.0 of the Wolverines' 31.0 innings and leads the staff with 21 strikeouts…Fourteen of UVU's 20 runs allowed have been earned…
at (RV) Grand Canyon (5-1) | Season Stats
Feb. 15 | 7:30 p.m.
Series History: 0-3
Last Meeting: March 10, 2024; L, 0-8 (5)
Streak: L3
Appeared in the 2024 NCAA Los Angeles Regional…The Lopes swept a DH against Northern Illinois, won twice against Montana and picked up a win over Colgate…Savannah Kirk paces the offense with 13 hits, an OPS of 1.367 and seven stolen bases…Mia Weckel follows with a .438 average and has scored a team-best seven runs…A pair of Lopes in Lovey Kepa'a and Makaiya Gomez have recorded six RBI…Tarynn Batterton, reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week, has not allowed a run in 11.2 IP and paces the staff in strikeouts with a dozen…Batterton no-hit Colgate…Maggie Place leads with 12.2 IP…
vs. #25 Washington (2-3) | Season Stats
Feb. 16 | 10 a.m.
Series History: 0-2
Last Meeting: March 11, 2012; L, 4-12
Streak: L2
Appeared in the 2024 NCAA Columbia Regional…UW's three losses have come to nationally ranked opponents (2 vs. #11 Alabama, 1 vs. #16 Arizona)…Alexis DeBoer leads the Huskies in average (.313), OPS (1.251), hits (5), runs scored (4), home runs (3) and RBI (6)…Morgan Reimer and Sophia Ramuno have each earned a win for UW in the circle…Reimer leads with a 1.71 ERA, 16.1 IP and 11 strikeouts…
JUMPSTART!
North Dakota's start to the 2025 season has been a long time coming for 11th year head coach Jordan Stevens. After dropping its first two games of the season, the Hawks rallied on Saturday with wins over Northern Iowa (3-0) and Drake (9-7) to sit at .500 for the first time since February 25, 2022.
The next day, the Fighting Hawks closed out the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic with a 6-4, eight-inning win over Drake to move a game above .500 for the first time since starting the 2020 season at 3-2.
UND's 22 runs through five games are the most since scoring 30 to begin the 2018 campaign. The team's 48 hits through five games are the most in its Division I Era and are the most since 2000 when that year's squad also registered four dozen hits through the season's first five games.
DRIVEN TO THE PEAK
On February 10, North Dakota softball senior left-handed pitcher Makaela Carr was named the Kwik Star Summit League Softball Peak Pitcher of the Week. Carr is the first Fighting Hawk since Adrianna Dilal in 2021 to earn the league's weekly pitching honor.
The Smithville, Missouri native appeared in three of UND's five games over the weekend with two starts and finished with a 1-1 record and a save at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic. In 15.0 innings pitched, Carr struck out 17 and allowed just three earned runs. She went the distance in both starts which included a gritty eight-inning, seven-strikeout effort against Drake to pick up her first win of the season.
Against Northern Iowa, Carr's second appearance of the season, she faced one over the minimum as she worked a scoreless seventh inning to cap off a combined three-hit shutout and earn her first save of the season against the host Panthers. The day prior, Carr tossed 6.0 innings against UNI scattering seven hits, one walk and a single run, while striking out nine.
ARMED AND READY
Through the first weekend of action, Carr leads the Summit League in innings pitched and ranks second in strikeouts. Her 1.40 ERA is the third lowest among SL arms.
Like Carr, Camryn Lasota appeared in three games for the Hawks over opening weekend. All of Lasota's efforts were in relief as she totaled 7.1 IP with six strikeouts and scattered five hits and five walks to earn a win and a save. Lasota recorded a four-inning relief stint in UND's 3-0 win over UNI as she allowed just one hit and three walks, while facing just three over the minimum to earn the win.
As a staff, the Hawks rank 30th in DI in strikeouts per seven at 6.79, while boasting a top 45 mark nationally and a Summit League best 1.85 team ERA. Last weekend, four other arms, in addition to Carr and Lasota, registered two or more innings in the circle for the Hawks.
North Dakota returned all 358.1 innings pitched from last season. Albrecht led the Hawks with 165.0 IP, appearing in 32 games with 29 starts as a junior. Senior Makaela Carr tossed 95.2 IP across 25 appearances of which 14 were in a starting role as a junior. Junior Camryn Lasota started 13 games and appeared in eight others totaling 82.2 IP in her sophomore season. Emily Marr, a freshman last spring and Katelyn Strauss, in her junior season, combined for 11 relief outings and 15 IP in 2024.
A trio of first-year arms joined the UND pitching staff this season in Unity Nelson, Ginger Savelkoul and Tehya Armstrong.
WALK IT OFF, TAYA
Taya Hopfauf hammered an eighth inning pitch in the weekend finale against Drake into right field for a ground-rule double to break a 4-4 tie and give North Dakota its third-straight win. It was Hopfauf's lone at bat of the day.
FEELING FRESH
It was a weekend of first at the plate for a trio of Fighting Hawks. True freshmen Quincie Chunestudey, Makenna Alexander and Alaina Foreman all made their UND debuts and in the process registered their first career hits. Chunestudey started all five games and ended the weekend with the third-highest average (.429) and was one of five Hawks with six hits. Alexander played in four games with three starts, hit .444 and stole two bases. Foreman saw action in three games making a pair of starts with two hits, two runs and an RBI.
Tehya Armstrong made her first career start against Northern Iowa tossing two innings allowing one hit and two walks, while striking out two. Unity Nelson appeared in two games in relief and totaled 2.2 innings with two strikeouts, while dispersing three hits and four walks.
NO SUGAR JOTEN IT
Joten is beginning the trend that she was on last season as she has already walked a trio of times to go along with one HBP. She's one of three Hawks to successfully swipe a bag during opening weekend. Joten crossed home a team-leading five times last weekend.
She not only found her way on the basepaths but became familiar with moving around the basepaths in 2024. Katie Joten's junior year saw her lead the Fighting Hawks in walks (25), HBP (14) and stolen bases (13) and score the second most runs (19). She ranked second in the SL in HBP, third in walks and was one of five SL players with 13 or more stolen bags. Additionally, Joten led the league in defensive assists (126). She is the lone Hawk to return in 2025 that saw action in all 56 games a season ago.
ACTIVELY HIT STREAKING
Katelyn Neumayer hit safely in all five games last weekend and rides a six-game hitting streak into this weekend's action. Quincie Chunestudey has hit safely in four games, while three other Hawks, Joten, Makenna Alexander and Angie Dumlao, have reached via base knock in three-straight games.
Currently, Joten, Neumayer and Brooklyn Morris have all reached safely in five consecutive games. Dumlao leads UND with three two-hit games, while Callie Honig delivered four in the first game against Drake. Neumayer leads all Hawk hitters with eight base knocks. Morris has recorded a team-best three doubles and four other Hawks have registered a two-bagger.
RECORDING RIBBIES
Dumlao produced a pair of multi-RBI games last weekend, while four other players recorded one including Callie Honig and Neumayer who each delivered three RBI in a game. All three players pace UND offensively in RBI with four.
DO IT WITH TWO
Timely hitting was certainly a factor in North Dakota's success at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic. Of the 22 runs plated by the Fighting Hawks during opening weekend, 13 crossed with two outs.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
79- Strikeouts needed by Albrecht to become just the fourth pitcher in program history with 400 punchouts
51- Percentage of total hits in 2024 that return for Stevens this spring; Hawks look to fill the void offensively left by Johanna Rodriquez (37), Cassie Castaneda (36) and Izzy Haslett (35).
48- The number of hits recorded by the Hawks in five games this season. The mark is the second most in the Summit League and a top 35 total nationally.
39- Walks + HBP recorded by Joten in 2024; the second highest combined mark in the SL
27- The national rank of Carr's 17 strikeouts following opening weekend
12- 20+ win seasons in UND Softball history of which four have come in the program's DI era
+7- The difference in UND strikeouts vs. opponent strikeouts in 34.0 innings
6- The number of UND players with five or more hits during opening weekend
3- The number of doubles hit by Brooklyn Morris last weekend
2- UND players returning from the 2024 squad that recorded 30+ hits last spring (Dumlao, 36; Hopfauf, 31)
THAT WAS CLOSE
No stranger to tight games, just under half (27) of UND's 56 games in 2024 were decided by two or fewer runs. Of the Hawks' 42 losses, 13 were decided by a single run, while another five were decided by just two runs. On the winning side, North Dakota claimed eight one-run victories among 14 wins in 2024.
Jump forwarded to a young 2025 season and the Hawks' two defeats have come by just a single run, while two of UND's three victories were decided by two runs.
POLL POSITION
North Dakota softball was tabbed to finish tied for sixth by the Summit League head coaches. The Fighting Hawks received 13 total points as did their in-state neighbors to the south. Poll spots three through seven were decided by just eight points, while Omaha, 2024 champ and preseason favorite this year, received 35 points and five first-place votes with South Dakota State receiving 32 points and the remaining two first-place nods. Last season, the Hawks finished sixth in the league standings with a 6-12 record.
KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN
Seniors Jackie Albrecht and Angie Dumlao were named North Dakota's "Pitcher to Watch" and "Player to Watch", respectively. Both players received recognition at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season as Albrecht was named to the All-Summit League second team as a pitcher, while Dumlao was selected as an All-Summit League honorable mention as an infielder.
Jackie Albrecht | North Dakota | RHP | Senior | Barrington, Ill.
*2024 All-Summit League Second Team selection (P)…One of six pitchers last spring to boast sub-3.00 ERA (2.93)…One of four league pitchers with a sub-2.00 ERA in league play…Third among Summit League arms in starts (29) and innings pitched (165.0) and fourth in complete games (15), strikeouts (131) and opponent batting average (.233)…Hit just three batters in 738 batters faced (league-low among arms with 90.0+ IP)… 83 strikeouts from becoming program's fourth pitcher with 400 career strikeouts…
Angie Dumlao | North Dakota | INF | Senior | Downey, Calif.
*2024 All-Summit League Honorable Mention selection (INF)…Held a top 15 batting average among Summit League hitters (.288)…Led UND with eight multi-hit games…One of four Hawks with three or more multi-RBI games…Led Hawks with .646 OPS…Ranked second on the team with a .320 slugging percentage and 36 hits…Fourth on the team with a dozen RBI…
STEVENS AT THE HELM
Head coach Jordan Stevens coaches into year 11 at North Dakota after arriving to Grand Forks following a four-year stint at Valparaiso. In ten seasons guiding the Hawks, Stevens and UND have totaled a program-best 167 victories. He has accounted for 25% of the program's dozen 20+ win campaigns which includes a single-season program record 26 wins in 2018 and just the second three-season stretch of 20+ victories. There have been 19 seasons of at least 17 wins in North Dakota softball history with Stevens responsible for nearly a third of those.
ROAD HAWKS
North Dakota will play its first 37 games of the schedule away from Grand Forks. Harsh temperatures usually prevent the Hawks from opening up any sooner than in the month of April. An April 2 matchup with Mayville State, the first official action scheduled for the brand new Albrecht Field, will be the earliest, barring weather (!), that UND has played in Grand Forks since 2018 when the Hawks hosted Montana in a three-game Big Sky series on March 30-31. The Hawks are unbeaten at home with a 7-0 record in the month of March since the program's inaugural season of 1977.
TOP 25 TUSSLES
While mid-major programs blanket the Hawks' schedule this season, there is no shortage of Power 4 opposition or nationally ranked foes. North Dakota is slated to match up against two teams ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association DI preseason Top 25 in No. 25 Washington and No. 21 Oregon. Additionally, the Hawks will meet preseason SL favorite Omaha and Grand Canyon who are both currently receiving votes and did so to start the season. North Dakota will also battle Power 4 foes in Rutgers, Minnesota and Pittsburg playing the Scarlet Knights and Golden Gophers twice.
BRAND NEW DIGS
Officially opened on September 21, 2024, Albrecht Field, the new crown jewel of UND Softball, will allow UND to host games on campus for the first time in program history, features over 500 spectator seats, a special party deck in left field, an LED videoboard and is pet friendly. Large dugouts, a dual-purpose batting cage/bullpen and a state-of-the-art turf playing surface are just a few of the new amenities that UND softball student athletes will enjoy. The stadium is located across the street from the Frederick D. Pollard Athletic Center and soon-to-be completed Nodak Insurance Company Sports Performance Center, which features new locker rooms, weight room and sports medicine area for the softball program.
For more information on North Dakota Softball, follow on social media @UNDsoftball or visit FightingHawks.com.
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