JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Softball headed north to compete against NCAA Division II and NAIA opponents in the Nelson Family Bubble.
In the first contest of the weekend, the Tigers squared off against Minot State. Both offenses started the day a bit slow, but Alison Ernsberger was able to dish out multiple frames of quality pitching, totaling 11 strikeouts against 28 faced batters. The Tiger offense would continue to struggle late into the contest, however, with Macy Moore, Liliana Arreola, and Avery Perkins being the only three to record hits against Minot State's starter, leading to the Beavers finding the first burst of offense in the bottom of the fourth. They would add to their lead in the fifth, resulting in a 5-0 deficit for Dakota Wesleyan that they would not ultimately be able to rebound from. The result put the Tigers at a 5-2 record overall.
The second contest of the tournament saw Dakota Wesleyan take on the NAIA's Dickinson State Blue Hawks, where DSU was able to take a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first to put the Tigers on the back foot early. DWU was able to battle back with competitive hits from Jaycee Tebay, Dusti Draper, and Kassidy Lopez, but the Tigers were still unable to cross home plate and get a consistent stream of offense going. Keirstyn Krcil recorded two strikeouts as the starting pitcher, but the Blue Hawks were slowly able to add to their lead with solo runs scored in the top of the third and fifth innings, and while Mandalyn Nachtigall prevented any more runs from scoring in her 2.2 innings of relief, the Tigers would fall, 4-0.
Game three saw the Tigers take on former GPAC foe, and now NCAA Division II member, Jamestown, on their home turf. DWU's offense would stall early, but another start from Ernsberger would see the Tigers fend off early-inning scoring runs from the Jimmies. Ernsberger would pass the 200 career strikeout mark in her two starts over the weekend and would add six strikeouts to her total during the contest against Jamestown, but later innings saw the Jimmies put together multiple solid outings as they started to score runs. When faced with a 9-0 deficit in the bottom of the sixth, Dakota Wesleyan was able to break the scoring drought as Arreola and Ernsberger would tally doubles, and Lydia Yost knocked a triple to earn DWU four runs. Dakota Wesleyan still fell by a final score of 9-4, but the offensive momentum carried itself into the final contest of the weekend.
Against Bismarck State, the Tigers were able to put up three runs in the top of the third to match an initial score from the Mytics, started by a defensive error that saw Lopez cross home plate on a bunt from Moore. Arreola knocked a double to left center field to grab the second run, and a Tebay single sent Arreola home to move the score to 3-1. The next couple of frames saw teams trade runs, with another error leading to a DWU run in the top of the fourth, but the bottom of the fourth saw BSC put up four runs to reclaim the lead, 6-4. Krcil, however, helped shut down the Mystic offense down the stretch with her efforts in relief, and when paired with stout defense from the rest of the lineup, the Tigers were able to prevent Bismarck State from scoring for the remainder of the contest. A steal at home plate from Tebay, a sacrifice fly from Jordyn Blogg, a double from Grace Ortmeier, and a single from Moore gave the lead back to the Tigers and extended the lead to 8-6, which would be the final score. Krcil earned the win, and the Tigers moved to 6-4 overall on the season.
DWU Softball will be back in action against Mount Marty in a technical non-conference matchup on Tuesday, February 24th, at 3:00 PM. See the full 2026 schedule here.