The University of Minnesota Duluth will make its 2005 softball debut this Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 26-27) when the Bulldogs travel to St. Cloud, Minn., for the Husky Dome Classic. Six teams will compete in the round-robin event at the new Husky Dome on the St. Cloud State University campus.
THE SCHEDULE: UMD will take on Winona State University at 10 a.m. Saturday before facing a couple of Kansas schools -- Emporia State University (12 p.m.) and Pittsburg State University (4:00 p.m.) -- later that day. The following morning, UMD and Montana State University-Billings are scheduled to meet at 10 o'clock with the Bulldog-St. Cloud State clash to follow at 2 p.m.
POLL SITTERS: Host St. Cloud State hold down the No. 4 spot on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Preseason poll while Emporia State is ranked 19th.
THE RECORDS: While the Husky Dome Invitational marks the 2005 openers for UMD, Winona State and Montana State-Billings, St. Cloud State (4-2) and Emporia State (7-3) have already launched their respective new seasons.
EAGER TO GET GOING: This represents the second earliest start in the 30-plus year history of the Bulldog softball program. UMD commenced the 1991 season with three games in Minneapolis on Feb. 9-10.
LAST YEAR: The Bulldogs concluded the 2004 season with a overall record of 25-23, placed fifth in the final Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with a 10-6 mark, and placed second in the NSIC Tournament.
THE COACH: The winningest coach in the history of Bulldog athletics, Bill Haller (UMD, 1970) will begin his 24th season at the UMD softball helm this weekend. Haller has now directed the Bulldogs to a 636-274 overall record (for a .700 winning percentage), which including a whopping 211-35 mark (.858) in NSIC play. In addition, his Bulldogs have captured 13 regular season crowns and have made two visits to the NCAA North Central Regionals (1996 and 2002). In 1988, he guided UMD to a runner-up finish in its first-ever visit to the NAIA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. and followed that up with seventh- and fifth-place finishes in 1990 and 1991. Haller was selected as the 1991 NAIA-National Softball Coaches Association Coach of the Year after the Bulldogs made their third NAIA national tournament appearance in four years. Heading into the 2005 season, Haller ranked 17th all-time among NCAA II coaches in victories and 14th in career winning percentage.
NEW SURROUNDINGS: It will be a whole new ballgame (literally) for the Bulldogs in 2005 as they will begin their inaugural year as members of the North Central Conference. In its 21-year run with the NSIC, UMD claimed 13 regular season championships and won 211 of 246 games.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: New faces will abound on the UMD diamond this spring as over a third of the 2005 Bulldog roster is comprised of freshmen. Still, UMD has plenty of veterans at its disposal as nine letterwinners return from a year ago. Headlining that list of holdovers is the senior quartet of designated hitter/outfielder Erin Jensen, catcher Dayna Groom, second baseman Lindsey Lundeen, and pitcher Jill Struck. Jensen, a third-year starter, topped the Bulldogs in hitting in 2004 with a career-high .370 batting average en route to earning All-NSIC honorable mention acclaim. Lundeen hit .261 in her first full season of starting duty last spring while Groom has been stellar both at the plate (she's a .329 lifetime hitter) and behind it (she owns a .995 career fielding percentage mark and has made just two errors in 372 chances) during her two years as a starter. Struck, the lone returnee from last year's mound staff, established a career high for wins in 2004, going 10-4 overall, and posting a 2.74 earned run average.
The loss of Shannon Haasser, the 2004 NSIC Player of the Year and the school's career home run leader, leaves the Bulldogs with some big shoes to fill at first base, but Kayla Stanley, UMD's lone junior, appears ready to take on the challenge. The Rothschild, Wisc., product served as Haasser's primary understudy each of the last two seasons and received 43 games worth of playing time. Also back are sophomore third baseman Stacie Kapler, a 2004 All-NSIC honorable mention pick who finished with a .302 batting average, outfielders Nikki Jensen (.351) and Stacey Stokke (.319), both of whom were everyday starters as rookies one year ago, and sophomore Ellen Colby, a reserve catcher last season.
A talented contingent of freshmen round out the 2005 Bulldog roster, including pitchers Brittany Hansen (Shawano, Wisc.), Jessica Horne (Hastings, Minn.) and Kari Sagehorn (Maple Grove, Minn.) shortstop/third basemen Michelle Butkus (Medford, Wisc.) and Mel Johnson (Baldwin, Wisc.), first baseman/outfielder Gina Zech (Grant, Minn.-Hull Murray High School) and second baseman Amy Borg (Burnsville, Minn.-Lakeville High School).
BULLDOG BITS: UMD was 2-11 against current NCC teams last spring ... The Bulldogs have posted a winning record in 22 of the past 23 seasons (the only exception was in 1999 when UMD went 22-24) ... Following this weekend's activity, the Bulldogs will head to another indoor facility -- the Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich. -- for five outings on March 5-6.
