Softball in Fargo works
Darren Mueller must like to prove people wrong.
Not because he can convince players from California to move to North Dakota.
Because the NDSU softball coach has proven that Division I college softball can be successful in this area of the country.
The Bison will wrap-up their season this Saturday with a home doubleheader versus Mary.
For the first time since the program transitioned to Division I, the Bison (34-23) will end the season with a winning record.
From the beginning of the season, NDSU has consistently competed with quality Division I opponents.
To start this season, the Bison won seven of their first eight games and won the Northern Iowa Invitational and the College of Charleston tournament.
Teams from this area don’t usually start seasons on such a high note.
Unlike nearly all of its opponents, NDSU’s first glimpse of an outdoor field comes during its first games. The majorit of teams the Bison battled with during the season play softball year round.
The Bison don’t have this luxury, unless you count batting practice on the stage of Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
“We try not to use it as too much of a liability,” said Mueller of never practicing outdoors. “We try to use our strengths to make us better. We don’t think about it. We feel like we can win any game.”
Mueller thinks that having several players from warmer areas of the country help his team succeed early in the season. There are seven players from California on NDSU’s roster and three more have signed letters of intent to join the team next year.
While the softball team struggled its first two years in Division I, Mueller had a proven track record of producing solid softball teams in this area.
In addition to the help from the Sunshine State players, the program is starting to have more local players contribute – another sign the program is developing. Two of the team’s top producers this season are from Minnesota. Pitcher Allison Bakke from Anoka, Minn. is the leader in Division I Independent competition with 22 wins. Freshman Melissa Chmielewski from Circle Pines, Minn. is hitting .317 with six home runs and a team-high 49 RBIs.
Mueller was an assistant coach for the Bison in 2000, when it finished 68-10 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship.
In its first two seasons as a Division I team, the team’s schedule was still sprinkled with Division II-caliber teams. This season though, the Bison have only played one non-Division I team and will play a second this weekend.
With the program’s development, Mueller said he has noticed his team is gaining more attention all over the country.
“In all aspects we are,” Mueller said. “I have heard a lot of good things around the country. We are starting to get recognized.”
Not bad for a squad that has played only three home games this year and has to rent out the Fargodome to simulate a regular-sized field in the winter.