photo courtesy of VCSU Viking Athletics
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The Valley City State University softball team is set to take the field this weekend for the first time in almost a year.
After seeing their 2020 season cut short due to COVID-19, the Vikings are back in action Friday for the 2021 season opener as they begin their quest for a second straight conference title. VCSU will play four games this weekend indoors at the Presentation College Dome Classic in Aberdeen, S.D., beginning the season Friday at 12 p.m. against Dordt University.
The rest of the weekend includes a 2 p.m. game Friday against No. 20 Morningside College. On Saturday, VCSU faces Briar Cliff at 10 a.m. and Dakota Wesleyan at 2 p.m. Presentation College will provide live video and live stats for all games this weekend at the links below.
2021 Season Preview
VCSU has not played since March 9, 2020, which was the final game in the shortened 2020 season. The Vikings posted a 6-12 record last year, their first season under the direction of coaches Mark Mattson and Barbi Mattson. The team enters the 2021 season with higher expectations. All-American pitcher Emily Smith is back in the circle after sitting out last year’s shortened season with an injury. The Vikings also bolstered their lineup depth with several new recruits, including three transfers from Angelina College that have previous connections to VCSU’s coaching staff.
“We’ve had a lot of competition this year for spots,” said head coach Mark Mattson. “Last year, we didn’t really have that because of numbers. The competition has made a lot of our players rise up. We can see it in practice and the way they go about their drills… you can really tell they’re trying to get their name on that card. It’s been great for the depth of our team.”
Mattson says that depth gives the team some good pinch-hitting options, pitching depth and players that can come in and not skip a beat at certain positions. The Vikings have been practicing inside Graichen Gymnasium – their winter home – as they prepare for the 2021 season.
“We’re feeling good,” he said. “They haven’t let down in practice even once since we started up. They’ve just kept getting better and better. We’ve gotten in a lot of reps, and we’ve been able to utilize the space we have to come up with effective practice plans.”
The Vikings won the NSAA conference title and advanced to the NAIA World Series during 2019 – the last full season of NAIA softball. VCSU is picked to finish fourth in the NSAA Preseason Coaches’ Poll released last month, but privately the Vikings have higher expectations.
“Barbi and I have been on a lot of good teams, and we think this team has a good opportunity to really make some noise this year,” said Mark Mattson. “Having Emily Smith back, that gives us a real definite advantage in the circle.”
Strong Returning Group
Smith was the NSAA Pitcher of the Year and a 2nd Team All-American in 2019 after posting a 33-1 record and a 1.18 ERA in 195.2 innings. She struck out 262 batters and held opponents to a .177 batting average. She’ll lead a pitching rotation that also includes returners Amber Stewart and Joelle Lamontagne, and freshman Brooke Gaudry.
Anchoring the defense at shortstop is senior Joelle Aiello, a two-time All-Conference and NSAA Gold Glove selection. A native of Napa, Calif., Aiello has started at shortstop in all 128 games of her Viking career. Offensively, Aiello holds school records for single-season hits (84), triples (7) and career triples (13). She enters the season with 186 career hits, just 14 hits away from becoming the third Viking ever with 200 career hits. She is also within striking distance of the career hits record of 237 held by Cyndi Figol.
Sierra Crocker and Riley Perryman both return in the middle of the lineup after batting .400 or better during the shortened 2020 season. Crocker led the team last season – her freshman campaign – with a .443 average in 61 at bats. Also back for the Vikings are Marissa Hawkins, Autumn Perry and Keana Harmon – all of whom batted .315 or better last season and were fixtures on the 2019 World Series team.
Big Recruiting Class Joins Roster
VCSU’s strong returning core is joined by a big recruiting class of eight new student-athletes – including three transfers and five freshmen. Transfers Jessica Husband, Anne-Elise Gest and Andrea Rodriguez all played at Angelina College – where the Mattson’s previously coached – and Husband started for Angelina’s national runner-up team in 2019.
Season Schedule
Valley City State will play eight games at the PC Dome over the next two weekends. After that the Vikings currently have a schedule break until March 27-28 when they’ll begin conference play at Dakota State University. Mattson says the month off between games will be a good opportunity to fine tune things before starting conference play.
“We’re big on preparations and trying to be really good at the small things,” he said. “This gives us a time frame to play some games, evaluate some things and then go work on it with practice instead of trying to figure it out while we’re playing games. That’s going to be a really good preparation time for us and a chance to fix anything that we think needs to be fixed.”
Valley City State is currently scheduled to play 40 total games, including 28 conference contests. The NSAA conference tournament will be held in Bellevue, Neb., from May 6-9. The conference tournament winner earns an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round scheduled for May 17-19. The NAIA World Series will take place May 27-June 2 in Columbus, Ga.