NDSU Softball Makes Trip to East Texas

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State softball heads back on the road this week and flies south again, heading to the east Texas region for four games at the Lion Classic, hosted by East Texas A&M University at the John Cain Family Softball Complex in Commerce, Texas.
 
Schedule Update

The Bison were originally scheduled to open up the weekend on Friday, but with an adjusted schedule due to forecasted cold temperatures, will take on Prairie View A&M and East Texas A&M on Saturday. NDSU will then play both teams again on Sunday.
 
Game Coverage

All of North Dakota State’s games will be streamed live on either ESPN+ or through the East Texas A&M athletics website and YouTube. A subscription to ESPN+ will be needed to watch the events on that channel. All five games will also have live statistics. Links to the streams and stats will be available on the softball schedule page on gobison.com.
 
East Texas Bound
The Bison will make their first trip to the East Texas region in program history this weekend, heading to the northeast corner of the state. While the Bison have never been to Commerce, NDSU is quite familiar with the Lone Star State, making their 11th trip to the state and 10th in the Division I era. NDSU is 23-26 all-time in games played in Texas, including a 21-13 record against mid-major programs.
 
Series History (Prairie View A&M)

NDSU will play Prairie View A&M for the first time in program history when the two teams meet for the first of two games scheduled for the weekend in Commerce.
 
Series History (East Texas A&M)

The Bison will also meet East Texas A&M (recently changed name from Texas A&M-Commerce) for the first time in program history and the teams are scheduled to play three times over the weekend.
 
Hello Old Friend: Brittany Miller

East Texas A&M head coach Brittany Miller began her coaching career in Fargo under head coach Darren Mueller from 2010-12 as the pitching coach, helping lead NDSU to three Summit League Tournament titles and NCAA Championship appearances. While Miller has coaching ties to NDSU, she also has family ties. One of her seven children, Tajavis Miller, is currently a junior on the Bison men’s basketball team.
 
50 Years of Bison Softball
North Dakota State will embark on the program’s 50th season in 2025 after officially beginning in 1976. NDSU has amassed over 1200 wins, including 623 in the Division I era, and a Division II National Championship in 2000. The Bison have claimed 23 conference championships in program history, along with 10 NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances, including a Super Regional in 2009.
 
Dean, Henzler Named to PV All-Tournament Team
Bella Dean and Savannah Henzler were named to the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge All-Tournament team after their weeks in Mexico. Dean had two home runs, including a three-run walk off in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Bison to a 6-4 win over Florida International. Henzler also had a home run and was 3-for-7 on the week with a walk, recording a .500 on base percentage.
 
Freshmen Making Immediate Splash
Through the first two weeks of the season, NDSU’s four freshman have combined for 21 starts, with everyone having at least four. Savannah Henzler leads all Bison with a .462 average, going 6-for-13 at the plate with a triple and a home run. She also has three RBI and a team best on base percentage of .533. Jessica Delatorre is second on the team, hitting .333 with a double and two RBI. She also has the second-best team obp of .385.
 
In the win over Charleston, Amai Hanta reached twice with a hit and walk, coming around to score both runs in a 2-1 win. Henzler batted in the opening run in a win over Fordham and then added another single in the seventh. Her spot in the lineup then scored the walk-off run later in the inning, as Delatorre hit a pinch-hit walk-off double. In the second win over Fordham, Henzler hit an RBI triple to score the second run in a 2-1 victory.
 
Dean Breaks HR Skid
Bella Dean snapped a 19-game streak without a home run on opening weekend against Fordham, the longest of her career. Dean then added two in the come-from-behind win over Florida International in Mexico, hitting her team-leading 19th career home run to walk off in the win over the Panthers. Prior to the skid, Dean had 16 home runs in 79 games, averaging one every five games.
 
750 for Mueller
With NDSU’s win over Fordham to close the Charleston Invitational on opening weekend, Darren Mueller scooped up his 750th career win. In his 24th season leading the Herd, Mueller has amassed 751 career wins, 624 wins at the D1 level, including Summit League records of 538 wins overall and 220 in league play.
 
Multi-Home Run Games
In NDSU’s win over Florida International in Mexico, Bella Dean became the 12th Bison to have multiple two-home run games in her career, as she hit a solo home run in the middle innings before a three-run walk off in the bottom of the seventh. Last season, Dean became the 20th Bison with a multi-home run game after hitting two against Georgetown in Nashville in March.
 
Bison batters have recorded 34 multi-home run games, including 26 in the Division I era. There have been 12 different Bison to do it multiple times, with Logan Moreland and Vanessa Anderson leading the way with three multi-home run games in their respective careers for the Bison.
 
Experience in the Circle
The Bison are in rare company, returning 100 percent of the innings pitched from last season, as the entire pitching staff returns to the circle in 2025. Senior Savy Williams tossed a team high 104.1 innings last season, while sophomores Addie Bowers, Kaitlyn Dunford and Madison Wihlm tossed 76.1, 69.1 and 50.2 innings, respectively. Piper Reed also had 42.0 innings before missing the remainder of the season with an injury.