Softball: Minot State preparing for NSIC Tournament

MINOT, ND — The first round of spring postseason softball is set to get underway this week in Sioux Falls, SD as Minot State finishes up an eighth straight regular season with an above .500 record ahead of the NSIC Tournament.

You’ll find the word “together” on the back of Minot State softball’s batting helmets, a tradition carried on by multiple coaching staffs and a rallying point for players.

“We play together, we play for each other. It’s a team sport, it’s not individual. We have to do well as individuals, but we don’t want to be selfish, and we want to play for the girls on the field next to us,” Senior Courtney Chatburn said.

That mentality and staying together and doing it for one another. I’m doing it for the girls to the left and right of me. Doing it for the name on the front of my chest, not the name on the back,” Senior Brooklyn Morrison said.

Togetherness is evident for an MSU team in the top seven of the NSIC in batting average, ERA and fielding percentage, making Sal Rodriguez’s first year as head coach easier.

“It’s been honestly not the biggest challenge, because the ladies show up every day ready to go. They allow us to push them and then they push each other really well and so when you have a team like that just handles business on their own, I’m just there to write lineups it feels like, but they’ve done a great job and it’s easy when you have a group like this,” Rodriguez said.

The Beavers just missed out on a top six seed in the conference tournament, setting up a first round matchup against Northern State.

Morrision: “Going into the NSIC Tournament, I think we’re just ready to show what we’re made of and show what we’ve got throughout the week, so we’ve kind of building up to this point in the season so I think we’re all just ready to get at it.”

And the Beavers will lean on that balanced attack in the postseason.

Rodriguez: “It’s going to take a well rounded effort from everyone. Our pitchers staying hot, our batters continuing to have really good at bats like we did at St. Cloud, and then playing clean defense, which for us has been a little bit of a love/hate relationship but I think we’ve honed it in a little bit and I’m excited to see what happens.”

Chatburn: “We’re feeling really good. We’re really excited to go. We’ve worked out some kinks we had early on in the season and we’ve really progressed and got a lot better since then so, everything’s coming together really nicely and I think that we have a good chance this year and the tournament so we’re all really excited. “>

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