SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Dakota Wesleyan Softball rounded out its time at the first event of the season at the American State Bank Sports Complex with two additional wins against NAIA opponents.
Dakota Wesleyan was able to open the day of competition in dominant fashion against the Mount Mercy Mustangs, with a powerful offensive showing that was matched on the mound by Alison Ernsberger, who recorded her second win of the season, and Ivy Woolwine, who closed out the contest for the Tigers. Ernsberger tallied seven strikeouts in five innings pitched while Woolwine completed the shutout down the stretch, and was aided by a stout defensive effort from the rest of the lineup. Offensively, the Tigers got rolling in the third inning thanks to a huge grand slam from Jaycee Tebay that paid off productive at-bats from Ashlen Johnson, Elise Nopola, and Alessandra Ciurca to set the score to 4-0, and were able to add another run to the board in the fourth following a triple from Macy Moore. DWU would have to defend against a final offensive push from Mount Mercy, but a pivotal throw from right field to home plate would keep the Mustangs scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Added assurance from Liliana Arreola and Johnson pushed the Tigers to a 7-0 victory to move to three straight wins to open the season.
The Tigers found their match on the scoring front in their second game of the day, as they traded two-run home runs in the first inning of the contest with Mayville State. Arreola was able to capitalize at the bottom of the frame to tie the score up, but the Comets were able to respond with a third run scored in the next inning. Another big hit from Arreola in the third evened the score back up, and Johnson was able to capitalize with a two-run home run to extend the DWU lead to 5-3. Allyson Muth and Mandalyn Nachtigall split responsibilities on the mound, with Muth recording two strikeouts in 3.2 innings, and Nachtigall recording five of her own throughout the remainder of the contest. A fourth-inning assurance run registered by Kassidy Lopez, thanks to a Mayville State error, was able to carry the Tigers through the remainder of the contest, and while a sixth-inning single brought the score back within one run, Nachtigall would close out the final frame to pick up her first win on the mound in 2026. The 6-5 scoreline extends DWU's season-opening win streak to four.
DWU Softball will be back in action in an out-of-conference road doubleheader against Northern State University on Saturday, February 14th. See the full 2026 schedule here.