VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The top two softball teams in the North Star Athletic Association square off this weekend as Valley City State hosts Bellevue University in a four-game series.
The Vikings currently sit atop the standings with a 14-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference play. VCSU continues to receive votes in this week’s NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. Their lone conference loss came at Dickinson State University.
Bellevue University enters the weekend with a 22-13 overall record and is second in the NSAA standings with an 8-2 conference record. The Bruins’ two conference losses came during a series split with Viterbo University.
The Vikings and Bruins will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at VCSU’s Softball Comples. The series concludes Sunday with another doubleheader at 12 p.m. VCSU will produce live video and live stats for all four games.
This weekend marks the home opener for the Vikings, who have played their first 18 games on the road. Of the remaining 22 games, VCSU is scheduled to play 16 at home – including 14 conference games.
The Vikings currently lead the conference in most major statistical categories, including batting average (.343), runs scored per game (6.89), earned run average (2.14), opponent batting average (.193) and fielding percentage (.965).
It’s the same story with individual stats. Freshman Makenzee Stone is batting .475 overall to lead the conference, and is batting a stunning .600 in conference play. Riley Perryman has been the NSAA’s top run producer with 1.17 RBIs/game. Emily Smith tops the major pitching categories including earned run average (0.70), opponent batting average (.110) and strikeouts per game (12.72, 109 total).
Bellevue’s offense has produced the most power in the conference this season. The Bruins have hit 36 home runs in 35 games. That is 25 more home runs than the next team in the conference. Bellevue is the only team in the NSAA averaging at least one home run per game. Lauren Russell has the most pop for Bellevue, tallying nine home runs and 34 RBIs so far this season.
Bellevue’s pitching staff has been strong as well, posting a 2.56 team ERA. Lauren Jurek lead the Bruin pitching staff with a 12-5 record and a 2.18 ERA in 109 innings.