NCAA Division II Softball Digital Program
Regional Brackets (Truman on page seven)
Midwest 1 Regional Website
Midwest 2 Regional Website
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Having already played the most games in a single season in school history with 60, the Truman State University softball team has been guaranteed at least two more. Thursday, the Bulldogs (39-21, 18-10 GLVC) will open play in the NCAA Midwest Regional against Wayne State (37-13, 15-7 GLIAC) with first pitch set for 12 p.m. at UMSL Softball Field in St. Louis.
Been There, Done That
These two programs are no strangers to the postseason and have combined to make 38 appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament including 22 for Wayne State and 16 for Truman. Those 22 showings for the Warriors are good for sixth in the history of NCAA Division II softball while the Bulldogs rank in a tie for 13th in that category with Armstrong State, CSU Bakersfield and Shippensburg. In those 38 appearances, the two teams have combined to go 48-77 (.384 winning percentage) including 29-46 (.387) for Wayne State and 19-31 (.380) for Truman.
Déjà vu
When the 2016 NCAA Midwest Regional opened up, these two teams faced off, again at UMSL Softball Field in St. Louis. In the circle, Truman started one of the winningest pitchers in program history in
Kindra Henze (60 wins/fourth all-time) while then-No. 10 Wayne State did the same with the 2016 NFCA Division II National Player of the Year in Lyndsay Butler (100 wins/first all-time at WSU by 28). The Warriors got a complete-game, shutout performance from Butler and defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 3-0. Wayne State brought home one in the first and two more in the fifth. Shortstop,
Jamie Fowle, was the lone 2017 returner with a hit as she singled through the left side in the top of the second.
Best of the Best
This showdown will pit two of the best players in all of Division II against each other including Truman center fielder,
Christa Reisinger, and the aforementioned Wayne State pitcher, Lyndsay Butler, both of which hit leadoff in their respective lineups. Yes, you read that right, Butler hits leadoff for the Warriors and can do it with both her bat and arm. The 2016 NFCA Player of the Year and finalist for the same award right now is 14th in the country in batting average (.466) and first in ERA (0.59). Nationally, Butler is also sixth in shutouts (13), 11th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.32), 11th in toughest to strikeout, 12th in walks allowed per seven innings (0.79), and 14th in hits (82). Meanwhile, Reisinger is first in hits (107), tied for first in average (.517), fourth in on-base percentage (.575), fourth in total bases (149), seventh in runs per game (1.23), 33rd in stolen bases (39), 42nd in doubles (16), and 47th in slugging percentage (.720).
Something's Gotta Give
Truman's offense for 2017 will go down as one of the best this program has ever seen. The Bulldogs have already set the school's single-season records for runs scored (343), hits (564), doubles (97), RBI (308), total bases (801), and batting average (.332). Among the best offenses in the GLVC, the Purple and White are first in average, first in at-bats (1,701), first in runs, first in hits, first in doubles, first in RBI, first in total bases, first in walks (152), and first in stolen bases (116). Expanding this to national level, Truman holds its own as it is among the top 50 in average (18th), stolen bases per game (20th/1.93), doubles per game (29th/1.62), slugging percentage (35th/.471), on-base percentage (41st/.392), and runs per game (42nd/5.72). Wayne State's offense isn't too shabby, but its pitching is what sets it apart from everyone else. The Warriors are FIRST in the nation in ERA with a mark of 1.20 and ninth in shutouts with 18, two of which have come in their last three games.
Division II's Finest
The man that has been at the helm of Wayne State softball for the past 36 seasons, Gary Bryce, is the winningest coach in the history of Division II. The 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame inductee was 10th on the all-time NCAA wins list (all three divisions combined) with 1,209 victories entering this season and that mark is up to 1,246.
Truth or Dale
As a freshman in 2016,
Lauren Dale pitched just 38.2 innings, but it's tough to get time when you're behind
Kelsea Dorsey (67 career wins) and
Kindra Henze (60 career wins) in the rotation. But as is the case with collegiate athletics, eventually, everyone has to move on and Dale has taken full advantage of the departures of Dorsey and Henze. Her second time around, Dale has turned into quite the innings eater for Truman with 185.2 frames to her name and a 2.49 ERA to boot. Among the GLVC's best hurlers, those two numbers rank sixth and 14th, respectively. This past week in the GLVC Tournament, Dale was masterful with a 2.08 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched. The second-year pitcher was in the midst of everything all week as she picked up all pitching decisions for the Bulldogs and struck out 24 batters while walking only five of them with an opponent batting average of just .215.
"Lex" Luthor
Much like the DC Comics character, veteran catcher,
Lex Van Nostrand, has shown enhanced strength and endurance as a senior in 2017. In the GLVC, Van Nostrand is tied for first in home runs with 14 and that number is good for 16th in all of Division II. For her career, the undersized, but not undervalued backstop has put 33 balls over the wall, which is tied for fifth in program history. In the GLVC Tournament alone, Van Nostrand had 10 RBI in six games to give her 62 for the year, a new Truman record, and 152 for her career (third in school history). As far as endurance is concerned, Van Nostrand has set the bar pretty high for anyone that hopes to hop behind the plate in the future. Over the past four seasons, the Bulldogs have played a total of 215 games and the Palmyra native's name was in the starting lineup for 208 of them to go with 210 total appearances.
"The Duke"
John Wayne was quite the sharpshooter, and the Truman softball program might have one on its hands in freshman southpaw,
Alyssa Hajduk, or "Duke" as she's called by her teammates. In Friday's second game against Bellarmine, Hajduk became Truman's career record holder for saves with nine. In the day's second game, the walk-off win over McKendree, she became the first Truman freshman with over 100 strikeouts in a season since Henze had 100 in 2013, but Henze accomplished the feat with nearly 30 more innings pitched than Hajduk. For her rookie campaign, Hajduk has struck out 102 batters in just 93 and a third innings. Putting in that perspective, that equals out to a scalding 7.7 punchouts per seven innings, which is tied for 21st in the country, and Hajduk is one of only 10 freshmen in the top 50 for that category. That 7.7 strikeouts per seven is also the best among GLVC pitchers.
Up Next
If Truman wins, it will play the winner of UMSL and Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday at 12 p.m. If Truman loses, it will play the loser of that game a little later on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
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