Fall Practices Begin for
Beaver Softball Team
The MSU softball team finished their first week
of workouts and Coach Triplett likes what he sees. For one, he
is optomistic about the 2009-10 MSU softball team's chances of having another winning season. For another,
he really likes the sunny weather and the starting of a new year.
"I love this time of year and getting everyone
together for the first time", stated Triplett. "It's
exciting"!
The Beavers return four seniors in Janessa Penner,
Lindsey Landles, Molly Lundeen and Shannon Murray. Six sophomores
are also back including Deanna Mitchell, Kyla Thiesen, Brittany
Sparwood, Brittni Kruk, Josie Gilles and Nicole Ziler.
Newcomers are Melissa Elliott, Leah Matthewson,
Corinne Gautron, Bailey Waldner, Mandy Greenberg, Jana Britz,
Brittany Bartel, Janis Maxwell, Tiffany Friesen, Bethany Jundt,
Darcy Hornstein and Emily Hoehn.
Molly Lundeen isn't taking part in fall ball
as she is on the MSU volleyball team. Another freshman that is
trying out, Emily Hoehn, is also in that same situation.
"We've got a lot of new faces and we're very young.
Even so, there is lots of talent there. Our pitching staff got
a huge shot in the arm with the arrival of Mandy Greenberg and
Tiffany Friesen. Bartel, Maxwell, Gautron and Matthewson have
shown lots of promise and the same goes for junior college transfer
Melissa Elliott".
The Beavers will travel to Regina on Sept. 11
and play three games on Sept. 12 and three more on the 13th. For
the first time, changes in the DAC softball and baseball rules
allow two dates that DAC teams can play other schools in the fall.
"I think it's great", Coach Triplett
said about the rule change. "We'll take full advantage of
it. We'll learn a lot about ourselves that weekend and gain lots
of experience. It will also help the process along of getting
to know each other".
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Janessa Penner rips another base hit for Minot
State.
The two-time All-American will be a senior this year.
Senior Lindsey Landles had a great junior season
last year hitting .375 including five home runs .
Molly Lundeen is a senior from Bishop Ryan High School
right here in Minot. Molly was awarded a Gold Glove for her
stellar defense in the outfield and she hit .300 as well.
Deanna Mitchell had a good freshman year pitching
as well as
hitting. The sophomore from Portage la Prairie hit .300 and
had a 9-4 won/loss record pitching for the Beavers.
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MINOT STATE BEGINS MEMBERSHIP PROCESS INTO
NCAA DIVISION II

Today (July 10), Minot State University began
the three-year process of becoming a member of the National Collegiate
Athletic Association. The NCAA Membership Committee informed MSU
we would be entering year-one candidacy for NCAA Division II for
the 2009-2010 season.
“We're very pleased that the NCAA has chosen
Minot State as a university that it would like to have as part
of Division II. The change for athletics, the university and the
community is an important one and fits best for the present and
future of Minot State,” said Rick Hedberg, athletic director at
MSU. “Minot State University's Vision 2013 calls for the university
to become one of the premier public, regional universities in
the Great Plains. It is our belief that a transition to NCAA Division
II is one large step toward realizing that goal.”
“ Minot State University is interested in becoming
a strong and viable member of NCAA Division II,” MSU President
David Fuller said. “The Division II mission of integrating intercollegiate
athletics into higher education for the benefit of students and
student athletes is consistent with the mission and goals of our
institution and athletic department.”
After applying at the end of May, Minot State
was one of more than a dozen colleges and universities attempting
the jump to NCAA Division II. The decision to apply for Division
II membership comes at the end of nearly four years of research
by committees from Minot State, the athletics department, administrators,
the community and Beaver Booster Club members.
Applying for membership in NCAA Division II did
not guarantee Minot State would be accepted. The competitive process
to review applications started after June 1 and culminated in
the middle of July. The past four years of work preceding an application
for membership is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to
becoming an NCAA Division II athletic program.
“There is a candidacy period. We have two years
with our current association, the NAIA. Certain benchmarks need
to be reached during the process,” said Hedberg. “The third year
you're considered ‘provisional status,' and you are with your
new affiliation, in this case NCAA Division II. In the fourth
year, you can become a full-fledged member."
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Beavers Will Return to Arizona
Minot State Head Softball Coach, Bill Triplett,
says the 2010 schedule is almost complete and that the Beavers
will open the season in Hastings, Nebraska with a five game invitational
and head to Arizona after that. "The Arizona trip
is a great trip for us as well as our fans", stated Coach
Triplett about the Arizona trip. "Everyone really looks forward
to getting outside in the sun and playing against another team
instead of each other".
The University of Great Falls and the University
of Regina are going to play the Beavers four games each in Minot
and the Beavers are also going to schedule double headers with
Divison II schools, Bemidji State and hopefully Crookston. When
you add that to the 24 conference games in the DAC, Minot State
will have a very tough schedule.
"As far as the entire schedule goes, that's
exactly how we want it', said Triplett. "We get to play some
GPAC schools in Hastings and then we see some tough teams in Arizona.
You throw in games with Bemidji, Crookston, UGF and Regina and
you have a great non-conference schedule. Our conference is loaded
with great teams so it is going to be awesome to be able to get
out there and compete with those teams. We're going to be young
but we've got some really nice freshman coming in that will help
right away as well as a couple j.c. transfers. We just hope the
weather cooperates a little more this year than last".
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Beavers Add Freisen to Pitching Staff
Minot State head softball coach, Bill Triplett,
has announced that Tiffany Friesen will be joining the MSU fastpitch
softball program this fall. Friesen is a pitcher from Morden, Manitoba that can also play third or first, attended Jamestown College
last year but was injured and did not play. She will have four
years of eligibility to compete for MSU.
Friesen has received the top defensive and offensive
player awards for the Winnipeg Lightning club team. She also won
a bronze medal at the Senior Canadian National Championships in
2008 and has participated in several national championship
tournaments. This year in Super League, she currently has a 0.00
ERA with a 1.84 strike outs per inning.
"We're very happy that Tiffany has decided
to get back into playing softball at the collegiate level and
that Minot State is where she wanted to be", stated Triplett.
"Tiffany is a very good pitcher that has done very well at
the provincial and national level. We've been looking to add quality
depth to our staff and now we've done that. Plus, this will take
some pressure off Greenberg and Mitchell and also give us some
insurance just in case any one of them has an injury or is unable
to compete for any reason".
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DAC Presidents Approve Fall Scrimmages
With the vote of approval by the university presidents
of the member schools of the DAC, each school will be allowed
to play two days of fall scrimmages beginning this fall.
"I think it's great", said Minot State
head coach Bill Triplett. "I was really disappointed last
year when the vote failed by just one vote. This time it passed. It will be
good for us to get out there and play some in the fall against other teams and see
all of our new players. We are pretty happy about this. We're actually going to use the two dates on Sept. 12th and 13th. We're going to run up to Regina and play 4 varsity and 3 j.v. games those two days".
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Minot State Softball Team Earns Academic Award
The Minot State Beaver softball team not only
had a great year on the field with their 27 wins, they also
had a stellar year in the classroom as well.
The Beavers complied
a team Grade Point Average of 3.5 In doing so, the MSU Beaver
softball team is eligible for a National Scholar Team Award from
the NAIA.
"That really shows how dedicated they are",
stated Coach Triplett about his team. "They get a little
stressed out when they miss class due to games but they also study
on the buses, planes, in the motel rooms and work very hard at
getting good grades. This is great that they can play ball and
do so well".
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Elliott Signs with MSU
Minot State Head Softball Coach, Bill Triplett, has announced
that Melissa Elliott, a sophomore outfielder from Palomar College
in San Marcos, California, will be joining the Beavers next fall.
Elliott, who hit .360 for the Pacific Coast
Conference champion Palomar Comets, was an all-conference performer
for Palomar and was also voted her team's Most Improved Player
this year. Melissa recently graduated from Palomar College with
an A.A. Degree and over a 3.6 GPA.
"Melissa will add a lot to our team”,
stated Minot head coach Bill Triplett. “She's coming out of Mark
Eldridge's program which is one of the best junior college programs
in the nation. Melissa knows how to play the game. She can run,
hit, and throw very well".
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Penner Selected All-American for Second Time
Janessa Penner was named 2nd Team All-American
by the NAIA this week. The junior shortstop from Morden, Manitoba
knocked out 71 hits in 150 at bats this year for a torrid batting
average of .473
The speedy lefthanded hitting Penner also had 14 extra base hits
including 3 home runs, 2 triples and 9 doubles.
"Being a two-time All-American is awesome", stated Minot
State head softball coach Bill Triplett. "Janessa can pretty
much do it all on the softball field". She can hit for average,
hit for power, run, defend, and she has a great arm. That's basically
the whole package. That's what they call a "five star"
player and that's exactly what she is."