ABERDEEN, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Softball traveled north to take on the NCAA Division II Northern State Wolves in an out-of-conference doubleheader.
The Tigers were able to open the doubleheader with a booming home run from Liliana Arreola in the two-spot of the lineup, setting the stage for an explosive contest from DWU. The 1-0 lead was added to in the top of the third frame, as Ashlen Johnson sent a single through the left side of the infield to send home Macy Moore, who ended the first contest with two hits on four at-bats. Reigning GPAC Softball Player of the Week Jaycee Tebay further padded the lead with a double down the left-field line to take a 3-0 lead before a wild pitch would send Johnson home. Jordyn Blogg capped off the frame with a knock to shortstop that sent Tebay home, extending DWU's lead to 5-0. On the mound, Alison Ernsberger earned her third win of the season after pitching six innings and facing 23 batters while allowing just two runs, both of which came in the bottom of the sixth inning, along with an unearned run to bring the score to 5-3. With the late surge, Northern State was able to carry some momentum into the final frame, but a grand slam from Elle Feser would extend DWU's lead to 9-3 before Mandalyn Nachtigall closed the game in relief. Johnson led the team with three hits, while Feser's four RBIs topped the statsheet in the victory.
The second contest saw a much more aggressive Wolves offense take advantage of their bats early, setting up an eventual four-run homer to claim a 4-0 lead over DWU in the first inning. Dakota Wesleyan's defense was able to stabilize for the next few frames, but the offense was not able to put an extended scoring run together. Northern State's pitcher would only give up three hits, with one credited to Feser, one tallied by Grace Ortmeier, and the last one knocked by Alessandra Ciurca, which would result in a scoreless outing for Dakota Wesleyan. The bottom of the sixth inning saw a string of NSU offense extend the Wolves' lead, as a single, double, and subsequent walk would result in an 8-0 scoreline, ending the contest after six innings. Keirstyn Krcil faced 29 batters and recorded two strikeouts on the mound through 5.1 innings.
DWU Softball will be back in action at the Nelson Family Bubble Tournament starting on Friday, February 20th. See the full 2026 schedule here.