The D2 Softball season is off and rolling. Some teams have logged a full month of play while others are just a few games in, we take a look at who is out to the best start.
Cast your vote at the bottom of the page for the team you think deserves to be named the Team of the Month. We'll keep the poll open until Thursday, April 6 at noon, Pacific. Let's do it.
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Minnesota State (28-4)
Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
3/1 BennettRank: 31
3/31 BennettRank: 10
March Results
The Spring Games @ Clermont, FL
3/4 – Urbana; W,15-0 (5)
3/4 – Southern Indiana; W 2-1
3/5 – Lewis; W, 5-2
3/5 – Mercyhurst, W, 8-1
3/6 – Georgian Court; W,13-4 (5)
3/6 – Wilmington; 9-0
3/8 – Saint Anselm; W, 9-0 (5)
3/8 – Holy Family; W, 6-0
3/9 – Northwood; W, 7-1
3/9 – Hillsdale; W, 9-1 (5)
Missouri Western Tournament, St. Joseph, Mo.
3/17 – Northeastern State; W, 8-1
3/17 – Washburn; W, 7-3
3/18 – Nebraska-Kearney; W, 8-3
3/18 – Northwest Missouri State; W, 3-0
3/19 – Pittsburg State; L, 0-1
3/19 – Missouri Western State; W, 8-1
3/28 – vs. Concordia-St. Paul; W, 4-1
3/28 – vs. Concordia-St. Paul: W, 4-2
The Mavericks sit atop the Northern Sun Conference with a 6-0 conference record and a 28-4 overall mark. Junior Jess Meidl leads the Conference hitting at a .490 clip and .569 on-base percentage, and ranks fourth in the league with 28 RBI.
In circle, senior Coley Reis leads all conference hurlers holding opponents to a .135 batting average, 181 strikeouts, and tied for the top spot with 14 wins – her 1.00 ERA ranks second. Reis was tabbed Fastpitch News Pitcher of the Week during March, and also received her second NSIC Pitcher of the Week accolade.
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Sonoma State (28-10)
Conference: California Collegiate Athletic Association
3/1 BennettRank: 63
3/31 BennettRank: 26
March Results
3/10 – vs. Cal State San Bernardino; L, 1-5; W 8-1
3/11 – vs. Cal State San Bernardino; W, 8-0 (5 inn);, W 3-2
3/14 – at Cal State Dominguez Hills; W, 6-2; W, 10-3
3/15 – at Cal State Dominguez Hills; W, 8-0 (5); W 11-3
3/17 – at Cal State San Marcos; W, 7-0; W, 4-1
3/18 – at Cal State San Marcos; W, 2-0; W, 4-1
3/28 – vs. UC San Diego; L, 0-2; W, 8-5 (11);
3/29 – vs. UC San Diego; W, 2-1; W, 6-2
3/30 – vs. Western Washington; W, 5-1
Tournament of Champions @Stanislaus State)
3/31 – Concordia (OR); W 7-2
3/31 – Northwest Nazarene; W, 9-1 (6)
The Seawolves posted an 11-game win streak that was halted with a tough 2-0 loss to UC San Diego in late March.
Sophomore pitcher Brielle Vidmar and freshman first baseman Madison Barto were named California Collegiate Athletic Association Pitcher and Player of the Week for the third week of March.
Vidmar's award came on the heels of an outstanding week in which she went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 20 innings of work in the circle, including her first-career no-hitter at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Vidmar allowed 13 hits and just three walks to the 79 hitters she faced, striking out 19 in helping to lead the Seawolves to a pair of sweeps over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Marcos.
The week prior, Brigid Ruiz was named CCAA Pitcher of the week after posting a 2-0 record as the Seawolves took three-of-four from Cal State San Bernardino. In her three appearances Ruiz allowed two earned runs on 12 hits in 13 total innings for a 1.08 ERA. She also totaled seven strikeouts on the weekend.
Barto was tabbed Player of the Week after an explosive weekend at the plate. She went 9 for 14 (.643) with two doubles, two home runs, three walks and seven RBI – good for a 1.214 slugging percentage and a .722 on-base percentage. Barto was also perfect on defense at first base, not committing an error in 14 chances.
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Cal-State Monterey Bay (29-4)
Conference: California Collegiate Athletic Association
3/1 BennettRank: 14
3/31 BennettRank: 2
March Results
3/3 – at Cal State San Bernardino; L, 2-10 (6); L 3-4
3/4 – at Cal State San Bernardino; W, 3-0; W 1-0
3/9 – vs. Holy Names; W 17-0 (5); W, 13-3 (5)
3/16 – at UC San Diego; W, 1-0; W, 3-0
3/17 – at UC San Diego; W, 8-0; W, 9-5
3/25 – vs. Cal State San Marcos; W, 3-0; W, 9-1
3/26 – vs. Cal State San Marcos; W, 8-0 (5); W, 4-0 (5)
3/31 – at Chaminade; W, 7-2
3/31 – vs. Hawai'i-Hilo; W, 7-0
The Otters entered the final weekend of March with a 29–4 overall record and sole possession of first place in the CCAA with 17–3 conference record.
Otter hurler Hayley Fein earned CCAA Player of the Week honors for the week ending Mar. 26, as the freshman continued to roll over the weekend by running her scoreless innings streak to 28 1/3 with three shutout appearances in a 4–game sweep of Cal State San Marcos. Fein tossed her fifth complete game shutout in the series opener, picking up her 12th victory of the season in a 3–hit, 3–0 win.
She came back the following day to combine with Alyssa D'Agostino on a 2–hit shutout before striking out the side on 12 pitches in an inning of perfect relief to close the series finale.
For the week, Fein went 2–0 with a 0.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12 innings. She held the Cougar batters to a .119 batting average.
Fein leads the CCAA with 13 wins (13–3 overall), ranks No. 2 in the conference with a .221 opponent batting average and No. 6 with a 1.60 ERA.
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Armstrong (25-8)
Conference: Peach Belt Conference
3/1 BennettRank: 18
3/31 BennettRank: 5
March Results
3/4 at Young Harris; W, 7-4; W, 6-0
3/5 at North Georgia; W, 3-1 (8), L, 7-2
3/11 at Lander; W, 9-0, W, 19-11
3/15 at Shorter; PPD
3/19 vs. Flagler; W, 6-0; W, 6-0
3/21 at USC Aiken; W, 6-1; W, 8-4
3/25 vs. UNC Pembroke; W, 6-2; W, 7-5
3/26 vs. Francis Marion; W, 9-1 (5); W, 10-2 (5)
Armstrong State closed out March action with a 10-game win-streak. The Pirate charge has been led by junior third baseman Katie Collins.
Last week’s Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week, Collins blasted her way through six Peach Belt wins for the Pirates during the week, hitting .421 with three home runs and 12 RBI, including a pair of grand slams in back-to-back games.
Senior Jane Trzaska also earned PBC honors, being named the conference’s Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. She went 3-0 with an 0.82 ERA, giving up only seven hits in 17 innings of work. The senior gave up three hits and one unearned run, striking out six, in five innings of the Pirates' 6-1 win at USC Aiken, and followed with a one-hitter, striking out five in a 6-2 win over UNC Pembroke on Saturday. Trzaska finished the week with a five-inning three-hitter, striking out four in a 9-1 win over FMU.
She had a streak of 41 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run halted on Saturday vs. UNCP – that streak lasted from February 25th through March 25th, an entire month. She also hit .385 with six runs scored at the plate. Trzaska is tied for sixth in the PBC in wins, for fourth in shutouts and is second in the league with a 1.05 ERA.
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Harding (33-3)
Conference: Great American Conference
3/1 BennettRank: 21
3/31 BennettRank: 9
March Results
3/3 vs. Henderson State; W, 6-2: W, 3-2
3/4 vs. Henderson State; W, 12-1 (5); W, 3-0
3/7 vs. Christian Brothers; W, 8-0 (5); W, 8-
3/12 at Ouachita Baptist; W, 5-3; W, 5-4
3/13 at Ouachita Baptist; W, 7-0; W, 11-0 (5)
3/18 vs. Oklahoma Baptist; W, 2-0; W, 8-0 (5)
3/19 vs. Oklahoma Baptist; W, 8-0 (5); W, 3-0)
3/24 at Southern Nazarene; W, 10-6; W, 20-3 (6)
3/25 at Southern Nazarene; W, 6-2; W, 17-5 (5)
3/31 vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State; W, 2-1 (8); W, 7-2
Harding rolled through the month of March, moving its GAC record winning streak to 23 games after the doubleheader sweep of Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Lady Bisons improved to 31-3 on the season and 21-1 in the GAC, and maintained its two game lead over Southern Arkansas in the GAC standings.
The Lady Bisons are led by sophomore outfielder Peyton Mills, who helped extend their record win-streak hitting at a .733 clip over the four-game sweep of Southern Nazarene. Mills was named GAC Player of the Week, after she dominated at the plate during the week. She homered in three of the four games, driving in 13 runs and scoring 11 times. She added a pair of stolen bases and had two four-hit games in the series. She raised her average 46 points to a GAC-leading .470.
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VOTE!
Now it's your turn to vote — who is the March Team of the Month? Remember, polls close Thursday, April 6 at noon, Pacific.
Who is the D2 Softball Team of the Month?
