Mustang
SOFTBALL
SATURDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 9-10, 2022 Anxiously awaiting May flowers, Morningside University dances around the April showers with an adjusted weekend schedule. The Mustangs, seeking a rebound from a pair of Great Plains Athletic Conference losses at Midland on April 5, welcome Briar Cliff University and Mount Marty University to Jensen Family Softball Complex. The four-game set was initially planned for Friday and Saturday, with MMU first followed by BCU.
THE SERIES Head coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann’s program has a 69-18-2 lead over their fellow Sioux Citians. The all-time roll includes a current stretch of 10 victories in the last 11 meetings. Mside has won 14 in a row over the Lancers, dating back through the second game of the 2014 regular-season doubleheader. The all-time total shows the Mustangs holding a 47-4-3 advantage.
THE MATCH-UP The Mustangs, sporting a 15-9 overall and 3-3 league mark, are still within range of an impressive conference finish. The middle of the GPAC standings couldn’t be much closer. Only two games separate Dordt University and the College of Saint Mary, tied for second and 10thplace Hastings College. Midland and Concordia are the only two programs to have played ten loop contests. Jones-Sitzmann’s squad dropped out of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ top 25 with the April 6 poll release. However, Morningside is the leader in the Others Receiving Votes section with 107. Senior infielder Morgan Nixon’s .407 batting average guides an offense with seven individuals hitting .300 or higher. Her 27 RBI are second to fellow infield upperclasswoman Lexie Stolen’s 28. She’s also tied for second in doubles (seven) with senior utility player Bre Tjebben, as senior outfielder Ellie Cropley’s eight two-baggers are first. Freshman Grace Buffington’s eight victories and 2.08 earned run average are first in the circle, while senior Katherine Wurtz’s 46 strikeouts lead the way. A span of six games in six days started with a pair of losses at the hands of GPAC-leading Midland on April 5. Stolen crushed a pair of home runs and drove in five in game one, and Buffington battled with a complete-game, three-strikeout effort in the nightcap. Briar Cliff, coached by Erin Bly, took a 15-10 overall and 5-3 conference mark into a doubleheader at College of Saint Mary Friday. The infielding combination of sophomore Aubrey Chichurka and junior Josie Chronic was first and second in batting average through 25 games at .420 and .407, respectively. Senior Kayla Guerrero and freshman Georgia Krohn compiled nine wins and 66 strikeouts between them pitching-wise. Head coach Kayla Bryant’s Lancers also prefaced their Jensen journey with games at College of Saint Mary Saturday. They took a 17-9 overall and 5-3 league record to Omaha. Junior infielder Emma Burns, the reigning NAIA Player of the Week, registered a stratospheric .545 batting average and 1.045 slugging percentage due to nine home runs, 11 doubles, and three triples over 26 contests. Classmate Bailey Kortan also had some plate pop with a .413 average and .696 slugging percentage in the same timeframe. In the circle, junior Kaylee Rogers’ six wins and senior Maureena Vornhagen’s 51 strikeouts were at the front of the class. Morningside is scheduled to resume six in a row at home Tuesday, April 12. Concordia University takes a northeastern trek for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.
Morningside Mustangs NO. 00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18
NAME Natalia Linn Mackenna Sidzyik Ellie Cropley Mykel Ann Gray Maria Ras Carlie Benes Mia Barozzo Katherine Wurtz Sydney Struve Lexie Stolen Liz Hammer Hope Rose Brooke Haage Ellie Gengler Maggie Fisher Morgan Nixon Katie Murphy
POS. 1B INF OF UT C OF P UT OF/P UT OF C INF INF P UT C/UT
YR. Fr. So. Sr. Sr. Fr. Sr. So. Sr. So. Sr. Fr. So. So. Fr. Fr. Sr. Jr.
HOMETOWN Norfolk, Neb. Omaha, Neb. Sioux City, Iowa Ames, Iowa Bancroft, Neb. Valparaiso, Neb. Santa Paula, Calif. Omaha, Neb. Granville, Iowa Sioux City, Iowa Pierce, Neb. South Sioux City, Neb. LeMars, Iowa Sioux City, Iowa Ankeny, Iowa Omaha, Neb. Sioux Falls, S.D.
19 21 22 23 25 26 28 29 30 32 33 40 43
Kennedee Jones INF Shariah Stuart C Taylor Richter INF Breanna Tjebben INF Ellie Schwede INF Grace Buffington P Emma Christensen C Brianna Lux OF Halleigh Kokenge OF Emme Dietrich OF Vanessa Bohuslavsky UT Sami York INF Sydney Petersen INF Aridiana Zamora
So. Fr. Jr. Sr. Fr. Fr. So. Fr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Fr.
Ankeny, Iowa Omaha, Neb. Rock Valley, Iowa Fort Dodge, Iowa Hoskins, Neb. Gretna, Neb. Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Arcadia, Iowa Sioux Falls, S.D. Kensett, Iowa David City, Neb. Essex, Iowa Omaha, Neb./Millard North South Sioux City, Neb.
Head coach: Jessica Jones-Sitzmann Assistant coaches: Brooke Pruner, Cindy Foland, Mara Amsberry, Mackenzie Neely
Briar Cliff University Mount Marty University NO. NAME POS. YR. HOMETOWN 1 Elizabeth Bochert UT Fr. Lecanto, Fla. 2 Veronica Pitzl OF So. Sioux Falls, S.D. 3 Caroline Dooley P Fr. Villa Park, Ill. 4 Callie Billings OF Jr. Omaha, Neb. 5 Mackenna Raby P/2B So. Austin, Tex. 6 Karina Cupples LF Fr. Drumright, Okla. 7 Kylee Lukes SS So. Jefferson, Wis. 8 Jessica James RF Fr. Rio Linda, Calif. 9 Isabel Sayler SS So. Freeman, S.D. 11 Aubrey Chichurka 3B So. Houston, Texas 12 Sydney Lierman 1B Fr. Hillsboro, Ore. 13 Brooke Masi 2B/UT Gr. Kenosha, Wis. 15 Kayla Guerrero P Sr. Anaheim, Calif. 16 Morgan Moffitt 1B/3B So. Clovis, Calif. 17 Georgia Krohn P Fr. Brandon, Fla. 19 Morgan Jones P/1B So. Annandale, Minn. 21 Alexis Westercamp C Gr. Oskaloosa, Iowa 24 Kennedy Andersen C/UT Jr. Panora, Iowa 26 Madaleine Dishaw C Fr. Wales, Wis. 27 Josie Chronic 2B Jr. Omaha, Neb. 32 Hunter Pitts UT Jr. St. James, Mo. 36 Kieya Belmont SS Fr. Pueblo, Colo. 44 Samantha MacDonald 3B So. Blair, Neb. 77 Bella Valdez P So. Meridian, Idaho 99 Claire Skinner 2B Fr. Zearing, Iowa Head coach: Erin Bly Assistant coach: Bryce Bly
REMAINING SCHEDULE APR 12 Apr 15 Apr 18 Apr 22 April 23 APRIL 30
CONCORDIA* Doane* Dakota State Dordt* Northwestern* HASTINGS*
3 P.M. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 P.M.
NO. 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
NAME Abby Thomas Adri Sommerville Sami Noble Elisabeth McGill Adrian Schoby McKenzie Gray Karlee Arnold Madi Biller Mo Vornhagen Taylor Woolley Madi Van Wyhe Emily Garza Ella Ray Elsie Marquardt Abby Garza Emma Kerns Bri Rodriguez Emma Burns Molly McCloud Kelly Amezcua Janeah Castro Bailey Kortan Abby Page Rose Kinyon Kaitlyn Roberts-Roe Kaylee Rogers Melissa Hagedorn Raegan Harper
POS. Sr. Jr. So. Jr. Fr. So. Sr. So. Sr. Fr. Sr. So. Fr. So. Fr. Sr. So. Jr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Fr. Jr. So. Fr.
Head coach: Kayla Bryant Assistant coach: Ramon Romero
Home games in bold *Great Plains Athletic Conference game All dates doubleheaders
YR. OF INF OF INF OF P C P P OF OF INF OF INF OF INF UTL INF INF C/INF INF UTL INF UTL P P C/INF UTL
HOMETOWN Loretto, Minn. Blue Diamond, Nev. Corona, Calif. Thornton, Colo. Brandon, S.D. Imperial Valley, Calif. Parker, Colo. Kiowa, Colo. Kearney, Neb. Post Falls, Idaho Baltic, S.D. Corpus Christi, Texas Brandon, S.D. Yankton, S.D. Corpus Christi, Texas Omaha, Neb. Imperial Valley, Calif. Rapid City, S.D. Rapid City, S.D. Riverside, Calif. Filmore, Calif. Tabor, S.D. O’Neill, Neb. Rapid City, S.D. Sturgis, S.D. McKinney, Texas West Point, Neb. Billings, Mt.
MUSTANGS
The Morningside University experience cultivates a passion for lifelong learning and a dedication to ethical leadership and civic responsibility.
MUSTANGS
MUSTANGS
MUSTANGS
The Morningside University experience cultivates a passion for lifelong learning and a dedication to ethical leadership and civic responsibility.