Friday is opening day for Coyote softball as South Dakota will play five games in three days at the Bearkat Classic hosted by Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas.
 
USD will face teams from five different leagues. The only first-time meet is the host school and that will come in game two Friday. Sunday's clash with Texas-San Antonio is a rematch from last year when the team's split a pair of games in Austin, Texas. Wichita State is a 2021 NCAA regional finalist and is ranked No. 25 in several preseason polls.
 
The host team is not providing a live stream of the action, but you can follow along using the live stats links below. The forecast should be perfect for Friday. There's a chance of showers Saturday morning where the high is expected to be in the low 50s. Sunday is calling for sun and a high of 63.
 
The schedule and a deeper dive into the five opponents follows:
 
Tournament Schedule
Friday
12:15 p.m. – Houston Baptist | Live Stats
4:45 p.m. – Sam Houston State | Live Stats
Saturday
10 a.m. – Dayton | Live Stats
12:15 p.m. – Wichita State | Live Stats
Sunday
10 a.m. – UT-San Antonio | Live Stats
 
Houston Baptist (163 RPI in 2022, 22-17 in 2022, picked 4^th of 7 in the Southland)
Coach Mary-Ellen Hall has been with the Huskies since the program started more than 30 years ago. She took the team to nine NAIA national tournaments and is trying to crack through at the Division I level. She begins 2022 with five of her top hitters back including all-Southland performers Caitlyn Brockway (1B, .325 BA, 8 HRs, 33 RBIs) and Jasie Roberts (OF, .336 BA, 5 HRs, 29 RBIs). Third baseman Autumn Sydlik led the team with nine homers and 31 RBIs last season and is a preseason all-Southland pick. Pitching wise, one of two starters is back and she's a good one. Lyndie Swanson is 12-3 with an ERA below 1.30 in her first two seasons. She ranked 15^th nationally in ERA last year, didn't give up a homer and struck out 58 in 89 innings to earn all-conference honors.
 
Sam Houston State (137, 19-31, picked 2^nd in the "Texas" division of the WAC)
The Bearkats reached the NCAA tournament back in 2019 and are 28-48 since. The team loses two of its top hitters, but the rest of the lineup is intact. It includes Ellie Grill who hit .277 and stole 16 bases. All-conference catcher Hannah Scheaffer hit .256 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. Both starting pitchers are back, and the team has brought in freshman Brailey Wasik to improve upon a 5.26 team ERA. Mika Vento was 8-8 in 16 starts and 31 appearances with a 3.21 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 120 innings.
 
Dayton (191, 21-26, picked 5^th of 9 in the Atlantic 10)
The Flyers were one run and one win shy of winning the A10 Tournament last year, but must replace an all-region hitter and pitching ace to get back to that point this season. Senior first baseman Alyssa Cacini is back as a third-team all-region pick who hit .319 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs a year ago. Pitchers Sarah Bailitz (4-8, 3.78 ERA, 79.2 IP) and Kelsey Gumm (4-7, 4.45 ERA, 72.1 IP) posted similar numbers in the circle last season. The Flyers had a .972 fielding percentage last, good for 37^th nationally.
 
#25 Wichita State (25, 41-13-1, picked 1^st of 7 AAC)
Let's play good news, bad news:
Good News: The Shockers graduated four of their top eight hitters who combined to hit 44 home runs
Bad News: The Shockers return four of their top eight hitters who combined to hit 50 home runs
Good News: The Shockers top pitcher, Bailey Lange, has graduated
Bad News: Caitlin Bingham and Erin McDonald, who combined for a 19-4 record last year, are back
Good News (sandwich method): We beat them the last time we saw them (3-2, in 2017)
 
Yes, the 25^th-ranked Shockers are the cream of the crop in Huntsville this weekend. They are coming off perhaps their best season in program history, one in which they won their first AAC title (regular season and tournament) and advanced to the regional finals against Oklahoma. Junior shortstop Sydney McKinney is a returning all-American on this year's National Player of the Year Watch List. She is the reigning AAC Player of the Year after hitting .439 (.529 in conference play) with seven home runs, 31 RBIs and 56 runs scored. Outfielder Addison Barnard hit 22 homers and drove in 61 runs as a true freshman last year. Both numbers fell in the top-10 nationally.
 
UT-San Antonio (197, 15-31, picked 10^th of 12 C-USA)
The Roadrunners added seven fresh faces to bolster a lineup that hit .234 and struck out 324 times in 46 games a year ago. Senior infielder Riley Grunberg hit 14 of the team's 53 home runs last year to go with a .274 average and 43 RBIs. Those 53 RBIs ranked in the top 50 nationally. The team used seven different starting pitchers last year and a majority of them are back, although Clarissa Hernandez, who logged the most innings, is not. Sophomore Tatum Seith (4-4, 3.45 ERA, 65 IP) is the top returner.
 
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