RELATED: Five things to know ahead of Friday's first pitch

The 2020 season has finally arrived!
 
South Dakota will play five games in three days starting Friday inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. On the docket are the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams from the Missouri Valley Conference in Drake and Northern Iowa, a Murray State team the Coyotes first met last season down in Florida, and a DePaul team that has won three consecutive Big East Tournaments.
 
It's a tall task right off the bat, but a challenge USD is ready to face following one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Coyotes won 33 games last year, finished second in the Summit League to North Dakota State, and came within a game of knocking off the Bison to reach the NCAA Tournament.
 
Back is a quartet of all-Summit League performers headed by senior center fielder Camille Fowler, a three-time all-conference honoree. The left side of the infield features junior shortstop Lauren Eamiguel and junior third baseman Lauren Wobken. Junior pitcher Alexis Devers is back following a 13-win season in which she led the Summit in appearances and starts.
 
Graduated is a second quartet of all-Summit players, and head coach Robert Wagner is ready to see who emerges to fill those pieces. A number of talented returners and newcomers are vying for spots, and many will get a chance to shine this weekend.
 
Tournament Participants
South Dakota, South Dakota State, UNI, Drake, Murray State, DePaul
 
Tournament Schedule
Friday
9 a.m.                 SDSU vs. DePaul
11:15 a.m.          SDSU vs. Murray State
1:30 p.m.            South Dakota at UNI
3:45 p.m.            Murray State at UNI
6 p.m.                 South Dakota vs. Drake
 
Saturday
8 a.m.                 South Dakota vs. Murray State
10:15 a.m.          South Dakota vs. DePaul
12:30 p.m.          Murray State at UNI
2:45 p.m.            Drake vs. DePaul
5 p.m.                 SDSU at UNI
7:15 p.m.            Drake vs. SDSU
 
Sunday
9:30 a.m.            Drake vs. Murray State
11:45 a.m.          DePaul at UNI
2 p.m.                 Drake vs. DePaul
4:15 p.m.            South Dakota at UNI

How to follow: UNI is providing live statistics for all games at this link. There is no video stream available.

The Opponents
 
Northern Iowa (28-23, 16-10 MVC | RPI 89 | Picked 2^nd in MVC)
Like South Dakota, the Panthers fell in the championship game of their conference tournament a year ago. The Krodinger sisters, Brittney and Courtney, have graduated, but the remaining core of last year's team is back for coach Ryan Jacobs, now in his 13^th season at UNI. At the center is all-region shortstop Sammey Bunch, last year's Valley Player of the Year after batting .395 with a program-record 17 home runs. The battery of ace Jaclyn Spencer (11-5, 1.81 ERA) and catcher Ashley Chesser (.232 BA, 12 HRs, 39 RBIs) are back. Both seniors are two-time all-Valley performers. Third baseman Adara Opiola (.255 BA, 5 HRs, 19 RBIs) is a preseason all-Valley honoree.
 
Drake (43-16, 24-2 MVC | RPI 24 | Picked 1^st in MVC)
The Bulldogs begin life after All-American pitcher Nicole Newman, who tormented hitters to the tune of 1,223 strikeouts over the last several years before finally graduating. Junior Nicole Timmons was the No. 2 last year in the circle where she went 14-9 with a 2.95 ERA and earned all-Valley second-team honors. Younger sister Allie Timmons, also a pitcher, joined the squad at the semester. The batting order returns five of nine and is full of speed. Macy Johnson is an all-region center fielder who hit .331 and stole 23 bases a year ago. All-Valley shortstop Mandi Roemmich hit a team-best .380 with mostly singles. Right fielder Libby Ryan (.338 BA, 3 HR, 34 RBI) stole 26 bags and is also an all-Valley honoree.
 
Murray State (26-27, 16-6 OVC | RPI 129 | Picked 4^th in OVC)
Picked ninth in the Ohio Valley a year ago, the Racers finished one game out of first place with a 16-6 mark. Murray State will lean again on pitchers Hannah James and Taylor Makowsky, who combined for all but five Racer wins a year ago. James was the OVC's Newcomer of the Year after going 12-11 with a 2.58 ERA. She went six innings in helping Murray State top South Dakota 8-4 down in Florida last season. Three of the first four hitters in the lineup have moved on, but shortstop Sierra Gilmore is back. She hit .279 with five homers and 28 RBIs last year. Centerfielder Jensen Striegel also returns as does first baseman Lexi Jones who led the team with eight home runs.
 
DePaul (35-16, 11-5 Big East | RPI 79 | Picked 1^st in Big East)
An 8-run sixth inning gave DePaul an 11-10 win against Villanova to send the Blue Demons to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Nearly everyone is back in year two under coach and former DePaul All-American pitcher Tracie Adix-Zins. Junior Natalie Halvorson (21-8, 3.06 ERA) and senior Krista Dalgarn (14-8, 3.59 ERA) combined to throw every inning for DePaul last season. First baseman Morgan Greenwood will be missed, but shortstop Maranda Gutierrez hit leadoff last year and was the Big East's Defensive Player of the Year. All-conference catcher hit second and belted nine homers with 50 RBIs and a .343 average. All-conference left fielder Kate Polucha batted .282 with seven bombs and 38 RBIs from the four spot.