University of South Dakota Athletics

What a difference a year makes.
 
Last year's South Dakota softball team brought 15 newcomers to Vermillion. They won 17 games, five in conference play, and were winless on their home field. One trip around the sun and that same group has put itself in a position to claim the program's first conference title in its 42 seasons.
 
Credit the coaches certainly. Robert Wagner named all-region pitcher Nicole Steinbach his assistant in the offseason and the move has paid dividends. But the work on the field has been carried by Wagner's five seniors – two four-year starters from Lincoln, Nebraska, and three junior college transfers from Arizona.
 
Thirty wins. Undefeated at home. An 11-1 start to Summit play. All has set the stage for this week's showdown with defending champion North Dakota State (30-12, 8-1 Summit). Friday's doubleheader at Nygaard Field starts at noon with game three set for Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
"Becoming the first Coyote team to reach 30 wins in the Division I era is a big deal for us, our coach and our program," said Alyssa Fernandez, one of the five seniors. "We have an opportunity to do something for the first time here and that is to put a banner up on the wall."
 
South Dakota graduated three senior position players in 2018, but the rest of the lineup has stayed intact. The obvious changes from a statistical standpoint have come from the pitching staff, which has taken last year's 5.79 ERA down to 3.50, and it's 1.53 thru 12 conference games. Senior pitcher Dustie Durham has already won 12 games, one more than last year, and boasts five shutouts.
 
"We got a couple extra coaches, and got some new views of things," said Durham. "Nicole has taught me a lot in just this one year that I can take into games. And it's not just me, but all of the pitchers in general, we like that, and we've all improved tremendously."
 
Durham has bar none been the Summit's top pitcher/position player in each of these last two seasons. In addition to her pitching prowess, she ranks sixth in the conference with a .344 batting average and has five home runs and 31 RBIs.
 
The heart of South Dakota's lineup is filled with seniors. Jamie Holscher has been the top pick for Summit MVP all season and hasn't slowed down. She continues to hit .396 while leading the league with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs. Jessica Rogers, an all-region catcher last year, has 31 career homers and is the reigning Summit Player of the Week. She rides into Friday's showdown with a five-game hitting streak in which she has gone 9-for-15 with three home runs, three doubles and eight RBIs.

Fernandez, the Summit's leading scorer with 38 runs, boasts the Coyotes' second-best on-base percentage in their Division I era (.454). She has drawn 55 walks and been hit 14 times in fewer than 100 games. In Summit play, she has been on-base a league-best 59 percent of the time. Couple that with the fact that she is one of the best defensively to play second in program history.
 
Senior Ashtyn Blakeman's story has come full circle. Wagner was her hitting coach in middle school and played for Wagner's wife, Caylyn, at Scottsdale Community College before arriving in Vermillion with Durham and Fernandez. She totaled five hits last year, but on this year's team is batting .250 (26-for-104) with a home run and 12 RBIs.
 
"Our roles have changed a lot this year," said Fernandez. "Wags made that clear that this is the last time we're going to do everything, with this group of girls, with Dustie with Ashtyn. Not being a captain, but just showing them that we have their backs and leading by example. It doesn't even have to be a senior. There are girls who have stepped up that are freshmen, that are sophomores, and it's been a domino effect."
 
"Spending a year here getting to know everyone's personalities has helped a lot," added Durham. "There aren't as many newcomers so we understand each other better. Everyone on this team can be a leader and I feel like everyone has been a leader. It's awesome because it takes a lot of weight off our shoulders."
 
All of that preparation, all of the travel to weekend tournaments, the wins against prominent programs, the 11-1 start in Summit play, has given the Coyotes this chance. The foe is familiar – an NDSU program that rarely loses. The Bison have won six of the last seven Summit League regular season titles and five straight tournament titles. They won 20 straight before losing the third game of its series against SDSU Monday in Fargo.
 
"We are hungry, we are ready," said Fernandez.