SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Dakota Wesleyan Softball traveled to the campus of GPAC foe Dordt to face four out-of-conference teams in the American State Bank Sports Complex Softball Classic.
The Tigers first squared off against the Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who had defeated DWU just a week earlier, up in Jamestown, North Dakota. Dakota Wesleyan was able to find the initial advantage on Dickinson State this time around, with three different Tigers recording home runs in the first four innings of the contest. Elle Feser would send one beyond the fence in the second, Macy Moore recorded a home run in the third, and Jaycee Tebay recorded her third home run of the season in the fourth as the Tigers took a 3-0 lead on the Blue Hawks. DSU was able to battle back with scores on errors in both the fourth and fifth, but a full-game effort from Alison Ernsberger helped the Tigers hold steady, taking a 3-2 victory. Ernsberger recorded her fourth win on the mound while tallying eight total strikeouts on 27 batters faced.
Game two of the classic saw Dakota Wesleyan take on Haskell, who took the initial advantage in the contest following a three-run first inning, putting DWU at a 3-0 deficit. It took Dakota Wesleyan a couple of innings to get rolling, but once the offense arrived, the game swung quickly back in favor of the Tigers. The bottom of the third saw DWU match Haskell's three runs as RBI-doubles from Liliana Arreola and Ashlen Johnson, along with an RBI-single from Avery Perkins, tied the game up at 3-3. The Tigers acted quickly to end the contest, as seven added runs in the bottom of the fourth put Dakota Wesleyan in a position to force a run-rule victory. A bases-loaded situation resulted in a fielder's choice run scored before a home run from Arreola added four runs to the board before a two-RBI double from Baylee Brown extended DWU's lead to 10-3 at the end of the fourth. Haskell added one more run to the board, but a triple from Moore and a double from Arreola in the bottom of the fifth ended the contest, 12-4. Grace Ortmeier stayed on the mound for all five innings of the contest, putting up two strikeouts, and was aided by the defense in her winning effort.
The third game of the event, and first game of the second day, saw the Tigers take on the Statesmen of William Penn. The pace of the game would be much slower than what DWU had seen most of the weekend, with the only two runs being scored in the bottom of the first by William Penn. The Tigers would reach base only once, with Feser making it to first on an error, and DWU ended the game with zero recorded hits, resulting in no runs ultimately being scored. WPU's run-scoring double and single in the bottom of the first was enough to put them over the edge, and even with Ernsberger recording six total strikeouts in her full-game appearance, Dakota Wesleyan dropped its only game of the weekend, 2-0.
Dakota Wesleyan was able to rebound from its loss earlier in the day with a stout offensive showing against Viterbo. The V-Hawks would strike first with three posted runs in the top of the second, but the rest of the game was in favor of the Tigers, as Perkins got the scoring effort rolling in the bottom of the second with an RBI-double. Feser would record a three-run homer in the bottom of the third to officially take the lead, and an RBI-double from Johnson extended the lead to 5-3 at the end of the third frame. Keirstyn Krcil started the game on the mound, recording a strikeout through 3.1 innings pitched and 20 batters faced, and would be aided by Mandalyn Nachtigall in relief, ultimately holding Viterbo scoreless for the rest of the contest with quick outs in her 3.2 innings pitched. Nachtigall earned the pitching win as a busy fifth and sixth inning saw Dakota Wesleyan take the win, 9-3. A throwing error, sacrifice fly, and RBI-double from Jordyn Blogg in the bottom of the fifth, along with an RBI-double from Olivia Kayser in the bottom of the fifth, ultimately pushed the game out of reach for the opposition. With the three wins over the weekend, the Tigers move to 10-5 on the season.
DWU Softball will be back in action at the Tucson Invitational Games starting on Friday, March 6th. See the full 2026 schedule here.