TUCSON, Ariz. — Dakota Wesleyan Softball went on a 12-game road trip down to Arizona to compete in the Tucson Invitational Games ahead of conference play.
The first game of the stretch saw the Tigers take on a high-powered Indiana Wesleyan team, and while DWU was able to find four runs in the first three innings of competition, IWU held the advantage down the stretch, scoring nine runs in the fourth and fifth frames to force a 12-4 run rule finish. Even in the loss, Dakota Wesleyan's bats were able to get runs on the board early, with Ashlen Johnson and Avery Perkins each knocking a double to send runners home, while Alessandra Ciurca and Macy Moore were able to take advantage of an error and a fielder's choice to grab more points. On the mound, Alison Ernsberger would go 3.2 innings with a strikeout, while Keirstyn Krcil tallied two of her own in 1.1 innings.
Later in the day, DWU was able to rebound against William Penn thanks to some big hits from Krcil and Moore, along with a full seven-inning win on the mound from Mandalyn Nachtigall. The first half of the contest was dominated by Nachtigall and the Dakota Wesleyan defense as the offense took a few frames to gain momentum. A single from Johnson at the top of the fifth was quickly taken advantage of, as Krcil would hit a triple to center field to send home Johnson, later converting on a second run after beating the throw home, giving DWU a 2-0 advantage. A solo-shot home run to left field from Moore would give the Tigers a third run, and while WPU struck back in the bottom of the seventh with a homer of its own, Nachtigall would close the game out, 3-1, in favor of DWU.
The second full day of competition saw DWU match up against Arizona Christian, where Perkins was able to get the Tigers on the board first with an RBI-double to left-center field to send Elle Feser home. Nachtigall was able to start the third game of the tournament in a six-inning, three-strikeout effort while Jaycee Tebay recorded her first RBI of the trip on a home run to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. The Firestorm was able to respond in the sixth and seventh innings, however, with a surge of offense to give them a 3-2 advantage over Dakota Wesleyan. Ernsberger would close out the top of the final inning with a strikeout in relief before the bottom of the seventh saw Jordyn Blogg start things off with a walk, sending in Lydia Yost as a pinch runner, before being ultimately caught stealing for out number two. A strikeout would end the contest in favor of Arizona Christian.
The Tigers faced Indiana Tech in their fourth contest, which remained scoreless for the first half of the game thanks to a strong initial effort from both defenses. Both Ernsberger and Indiana Tech's starting pitcher would go the full length of the contest without relief, with Ernsberger tallying four strikeouts in total in an impressive effort. DWU scored the first run of the contest in the top of the fourth off an exciting steal by Yost at home plate, set up by a Johnson single through the left side of the infield, before Indiana Tech responded with three runs of their own, which included a series of errors that favored the Warriors. The offense stayed hot for DWU, however, as keen baserunning, defensive errors, and a series of hits resulted in Macey Linke reaching home plate to tie the game up at 3-3. The remainder of regulation would go scoreless, sending the game into an eighth frame, which saw the Warriors walk the game off on a bunt after putting runners on base, giving the Tigers a 4-3 loss.
On day three of competition, the Tigers started the game against the Carroll Fighting Saints on fire, as a sacrifice fly from Tebay resulted in two runs following a throwing error before a single from Yost would see Liliana Arreola cross home plate to give DWU a 3-0 advantage. On the mound, the Tigers saw Nachtigall start her third contest of the trip, tallying four strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched before Ivy Woolwine and Krcil would each make 1.2-inning appearances in relief. Their combined efforts were not able to fully fend off the CC offense, as the bottom of the third would see Carroll put up five total runs to give the Saints a 5-3 advantage. Carroll put up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, and while the Tigers would add to their score off a single to right field from Arreola, the Fighting Saints would ultimately take the win, 7-4.
Dakota Wesleyan was able to get back in the win column against Valley City State following an exciting second inning that saw Johnson reach home plate on a wild pitch before Kassidy Lopez hit a two-RBI single into center field to get Blogg and Dusti Draper across the plate. DWU's offense would slow down, but the effort on the mound from Ernsberger would hold the Vikings from taking a lead, thanks to a seven-inning, eight-strikeout performance. Her 110 pitches would allow just two earned runs and shut the Vikings out of the final two innings completely, earning Dakota Wesleyan the 3-2 win.
DWU Softball will complete the remainder of its matchups in Arizona through Friday, March 13th. See the full 2026 schedule here.