University of South Dakota Athletics

South Dakota is headed back to Arizona for the first time since opening weekend. The Coyotes will play five games at the Grand Canyon Classic, which takes place Friday thru Sunday, before continuing play in the state for spring break. USD will take on Arizona State next Tuesday and Arizona next Thursday on the first day of the Wildcat Invitational.
 
Two of the four teams at Grand Canyon are familiar. South Dakota met UNLV two weeks ago in Las Vegas, and dropped a 5-4 decision to Valparaiso last year in Iowa City. Grand Canyon, who the Coyotes will face both Friday and Sunday, is a new foe as is Princeton.
 
USD won two of its final three games in Louisiana last week to improve to 3-13 overall. Dustie Durham was the star there, earning both wins in the circle and going 7-for-11 at the plate with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored. Camille Fowler hit .467 (7-for-15) last weekend and had half of the team's four steals. Emily Winckler homered in both Coyote victories to up her season total to six, tied for ninth-most nationally.
 
Alyssa Fernandez and Taylor Steinfeldt pace the Coyotes' offense with averages of .364 and .362, respectively. Fernandez continues to lead the Summit in runs (14) and on-base percentage (.525) and ranks in the top-three in hits (16), home runs (5), RBIs (10) and slugging (.727). Her .364 average ranks sixth.
 
Defense continues to be a work in progress for coach Robert Wagner's young squad. Only 11 teams are allowing more runs per game than the Coyotes, who have committed far too many errors thru three weekends. Durham has 25 punchout's in 34 innings to aid the effort, but no other Coyote pitcher has double-digit strikeout totals.
 
Here is a look at this week's opponents:
 
UNLV (11-4)
UNLV is 11-4 under new coach Kristie Fox, including a 6-2 win against South Dakota in Las Vegas on Feb. 17. Defense has keyed UNLV's success. The team has committed just seven errors in 15 games and the staff includes Janine Petmecky, a senior who is 5-1 with a 0.99 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work. Petmecky, who played exclusively in the outfield last year, is also batting .286 with seven RBIs. Junior catcher Myranda Bueno is batting .429 (15-for-35) with three doubles. Freshman first baseman Mia Trejo is hitting .317 (13-for-41) and is one of three Rebels with two home runs.
 
Grand Canyon (9-8)
Grand Canyon's best win to date was a 7-4 decision over Weber State back in week one. Losses include games against Oklahoma (2), UCLA, Stanford, Arkansas and Syracuse. The Lopes are led by twin sisters Shea and Sierra Smith, juniors who both earned all-WAC honors last season. Both are batting .411 with 23 hits in 56 at bats. Shea, who plays short and bats leadoff, has two more doubles and one less home run. Sierra, who plays third, has two homers and five steals, two more than her sister. Sticking with the theme, Grand Canyon has a trio of pitchers with identical 3.6 ERAs. All-WAC performer Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage is 5-4 in 10 appearances and has six complete games. The other two hurlers are freshmen.
 
Valparaiso (6-3)
The Crusaders are picked to finish ninth in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference. Saturday will be the team's first game since Feb. 18. Junior shortstop Jaymee Lawton, who hit .246 last year, is 13-for-25 (.520) in eight starts this season with two home runs and 14 RBIs. Senior Taylor Lawson has 12 hits – all singles – and is 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. Lawson has 56 steals in a career that began in 2014. Senior pitcher Kenzie Grossmann is 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in four starts this season after winning 20 games a year ago. Sophomore Emily Richardson has pitched 15 innings without allowing an earned run.
 
Princeton (25-20, 15-5 Ivy; 2017 RPI: 141)
It is opening weekend for the two-time defending Ivy League champions. Princeton was picked to win the Ivy again this season despite graduating its top hitter and top two pitchers. The Tigers bring back three starters who hit better than .300 last year in all-Ivy Leaguers Megan Donahey (.377) and Kaylee Grant (.310) and 2017 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Allison Harvey (.317). Senior Ashley LaGuardia has the most experience in the circle. She is 17-23 in 41 collegiate starts with 138 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.44.
 
Grand Canyon Classic
Friday (March 2)
USD vs. UNLV – 9 a.m. (MT) | Live Stats
USD at Grand Canyon – 2 p.m. (MT) | Live Stats | Watch
 
Saturday (March 3)
USD vs. Valparaiso – 9 a.m. (MT) | Live Stats
USD vs. Princeton – 11:30 a.m. (MT) | Live Stats
 
Sunday (March 4)
USD vs. Grand Canyon – 11 a.m. (MT) | Live Stats | Watch