Sub-zero temperatures don't hinder softball team
Team opens season with indoor tourny at Northern Iowa
With temperatures below zero, spring sports are likely the last thing on fans minds right now. Don’t tell the NDSU softball team that.
Using indoor facilities on campus, the team has been practicing in preparation for its season-opening games this weekend at the University of Northern Iowa-Dome Invitational.
Luckily for the team, they will get to play indoors this weekend as well, with the tournament being held inside the UNI-Dome.
The venue is usually used for by the Panther football and track team, but because of the cold weather, it will be transformed into a softball field.
In addition to NDSU, Northern Iowa, Drake, South Dakota State and Northern Illinois will compete in the round robin tournament. Each team will play four games, starting on Saturday and ending Sunday.
“When playing in a dome the surface is a lot faster, I think it will be a good advantage for our team,” senior outfielder Lynnae Foshag said. “We have a lot of speed and we have some slappers, that can hit the ball into the ground and it bounces up.”
NDSU coach Darren Mueller is excited about his team playing at the UNI-Dome, but hopes that playing inside won’t have negative affects on his team.
“This weekend will be nice to play in a dome down in Iowa, but I am concerned about next week,” Mueller said. “Because the hops off the turf are different than the ones off the dirt.”
The dome tournament will be the only one of its kind for NDSU this season. To prepare for the season, the Bison have been practicing inside the Fargodome and Benston Bunker Fieldhouse.
“The nice thing about practicing in the Fargodome is we can do a full infield and even scrimmage,” Mueller said of the practice facilities. “And the nice thing about Bentson Bunker is that we can use the (batting cage) and hit. But I would have to say the Fargodome is much better to practice in because of all the space.”
The early start to the season and added number of games can be traced back to the team’s transition to Division I.
“When we were Division II our first week of actual games would be the beginning of March, so now we are about month ahead of that,” Foshag, one of four seniors on the squad, said.
The team seems to be in favor of the early start on games, rather than practicing for another month. Mueller also likes to start earlier, but says the team needs to adjust to play in inclement weather.
The Bison will need to adjust fast, because they are scheduled to play 24 games against 2006 NCAA tournament teams.
“Our home schedule will be our most challenging ever,” Mueller said.
The team will try to improve upon their 28-29 record of last season, a year in which they won the Division I Independent Tournament.