MSU Athletics - Softball

Janessa Penner steals second base vs. Dakota State.

Kira Peturson gets the high five after a home run .

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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 quite disappointed last year when the vote falied by just one vote, but 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 pretty happy about this".

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"ALMOST DONE"

Penner, Landles, Lundeen, Peturson, and Mitchell (l to r) return to the Beaver line-up next year.

That was the answer Coach Triplett gave when he was asked about how the recruitng has been going for the MSU softball program. "Almost done", he said.

"I plan on signing one more player and I'm in that process right now" stated Triplett.

"We return five starters in Janessa, Lindsey, Molly, Kira and Deanna. All five of them hit .300 or better! We hope Kyla Thiesen is ready to play after suffering an ACL injury that ended her freshman season in March. We have some holes to fill but we feel we've addressed that very well. We lost two pitchers and maybe three in Kayla Mitchell and Bree Bartholomew. Murray may be out due to injury, but we feel the pitching duo of Mandy Greenberg and Deanna Mitchell will be a great one/two punch for us. Thiesen should be ready at second. If not, we've got a couple other options to go to at that spot", said Triplett.

"Not only do we have to replace Kayla Mitchell, we also have to replace Alicia Penner at third, Lana Dubois behind the plate, Tracee Tesch in left field and maybe even Murray who played a lot of outfield this year for us. Murray is contemplating shoulder surgury that would most likely put her into a redshirt year.

"Whatever the scenario, we feel we're going to be solid." Triplett said. "I'm pretty high on Greenberg and Elliott and I also think some of the freshman will handle the jump into the DAC right away. I think we'll have another nice team".

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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, but they also had a stellar year in the classroom aswell. 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."