Sports Parent

Bison Softball Earns Split Against #10 Minnesota

North Dakota State University bounced back from an 8-0 no-hit loss to hold on for a 5-4 win in game two to gain a doubleheader split with No. 10/12-ranked Minnesota on Wednesday, April 22 at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.North Dakota State (36-8) is scheduled to travel to No. 21-ranked University of South Alabama for a three-game series onFriday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 at Jaguar Field in Mobile. NDSU recorded its sixth win in the last 18 meetings against a nationally-ranked opponent in the second game at Minnesota.The Bison scored first in the nightcap. Cheyenne Garcia walked and scored on Amanda Grable’s RBI single in the first inning to break the hitless streak and take a 1-0 lead.Minnesota (38-8) tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth on Taylor LeMay’s two-out RBI single.NDSU exploded in with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Jenna Isbel and Katie Shoultz both singled with one out to start the rally. Garcia followed with a run-scoring double to send Isbel home and Shoultz to third.Logan Moreland delivered a two-run single to score Shoultz and Garcia. Alyssa Reina closed out the scoring with a two-out RBI single. Moreland went 3-for-4 to lead the Bison, while Shoultz added a pair of hits.Minnesota closed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning on Paige Palkovich’s bases-loaded triple with two outs.The Gophers threatened in the bottom of the seventh. Sara Groenewegen was hit by a pitch with one out. Hannah Granger doubled, but the relay from center fielder Alex Sobrero to shortstop Moreland to catcher Reina erased the runner at the plate. After an intentional walk, a force out at second ended the game.Krista Menke (26-3) rebounded from the first game start to record the win. Menke struck out three, walked two and hit one batter. The Bison improved to 7-1 against the Big Ten this season.Kylie Stober (8-2) and Nikki Anderson pitched for Minnesota. Stober, who picked up the loss, allowed four hits, struck out four and walked one over the first 4-1/3 innings. Anderson gave up six hits and struck out one.It was all Sara Groenwegen in the first game for Minnesota. Groenwegen tossed her second no-hitter of the season and third of her career. She struck out seven and walked two batters in the top of the fifth inning.Groenwegen went 2-for-4 with a double and four runs batted in. She started the scoring with a RBI single in the first inning and also scored. Her ground out in the second accounted for another run. Groenwegen ended the game with a two-out, two-run double in the fifth inning.Hannah Granger delivered an inside-the-park home run, while Erica Meyer had a RBI double, Sam Maken contributed a sacrifice fly and LeMay added a run-scoring single.Menke started and went the first two innings before being relieved by Jacquelyn Sertic in the third inning. Menke and Sertic combined to allow 10 hits and five earned runs, walk three and hit two batters.NDSU was no-hit for the first time since Feb. 15, 2014, at No. 12-ranked Florida State and third time in the Division I era.

Issendorf Joining Concordia Football Staff

Concordia head coach Terry Horan announced that Fargo South High School Eric Issendorf has joined the Cobber staff as a defensive assistant. Issendorf takes over for Luke Peterson who left to become a graduate assistant at the University of Mary.”Eric will be an excellent addition to the staff,” said Horan. “His knowledge of the game and experience with helping teams win championships will be a big asset for the program.”Issendorf spent 10 seasons with the Fargo South HS program. He had been the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach from 2010-14. He started out as the defensive line and assistant offensive line coach in 2005.During his 10 years as assistant coach at Fargo South, the Bruins won the North Dakota State Championship four times and were the runner-up on three occasions. While he served as the team’s defensive coordinator, the Bruins won two state titles, played in the state semifinals on two occasions and he mentored seven defensive players who earned North Dakota All-State honors.   “Eric will continue our trend of hiring young, energetics coaches that have a passion for the game,” stated Horan. “His ability to form relationships with the players and get the most out of student/athletes is exactly what our program is all about.”Issendorf, who is a native of Hawley, graduated from North Dakota State University and earned his master’s degree in Leadership in Physical Education and Sport from NDSU in 2013. 

Boston University Eliminates UND at Frozen Four

BOSTON (AP) _ Jack Eichel scored two goals and Boston University held off North Dakota 5-3 on Thursday night in the Frozen Four to advance to the championship game.The Terriers (28-7-5) will face Hockey East rival Providence (25-13-2) in the title game Saturday night at TD Garden. The Friars beat Nebraska-Omaha 4-1 in the first semifinal.Eichel opened the scoring on a power play in the first period, Brandon Hickey also had a power-play score and A.J. Greer and Doyle Somerby had second-period goals.Matt O’Connor made 36 saves for the Terriers, seeking their sixth NCAA title. Providence, making its second trip to the championship, is trying to win for the first time in school history.Luke Johnson, Troy Stecher and Connor Gaarder scored for North Dakota (29-10-3). Zane McIntyre stopped 22 shots.

NDSU Wrestling Takes Home Honors

As voted by its coaches, the Western Wrestling Conference has announced postseason award winners for the 2014-15 season. North Dakota State University swept the honors as 184-pound junior Hayden Zillmer was named the WWC Wrestler of Year, 149-pound redshirt freshman Clay Ream was tabbed WWC Freshman of the Year and Bison head man Roger Kish was chosen by his peers as the WWC Coach of the Year.The Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches this past week, while the Coach of the Year balloting was determined after the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships last month.Wrestler of the Year: NDSU – Hayden Zillmer, Jr., 184 lbs., Crosby, Minn. (Crosby-Ironton HS)Zillmer capped off a stellar season with a sixth-place finish in his weight class at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships two weeks ago. The Bison junior had to reel off five straight wins in the wrestlebacks after getting upset in the first round at nationals en route to earning the first All-America finish of his career. Zillmer, who entered the national tournament as the six seed at 184 pounds, finished his 2015 NCAA run with a 5-3 record. Two of his wins came over No. 2 Max Thomusseit and No. 4 Jack Dechow of Old Dominion during the streak and all five were over fellow seeded foes. Zillmer and his teammate Kurtis Julson were the lone two All-Americans in the WWC this year and marked the first time in program history that NDSU has produced two Division I All-Americans in the same season.Zillmer finished his 2014-15 campaign with a 36-7 record and a perfect 13-0 mark in duals. He was a three-time WWC Wrestler of the Week and won his second straight NCAA West Regional/WWC Championship title despite moving from 174 to 184 this year. The Crosby, Minn., native also took third at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a win over the then top-ranked wrestler in the nation and eventual national champion Gabe Dean of Cornell. He also placed fourth at the Midlands Championships and finished the year with eight falls, four tech falls and three major decisions. Zillmer also currently holds a 3.17 GPA while majoring in physical education.Freshman of the Year: NDSU – Clay Ream, RFr., 149 lbs., Wentzville, Mo. (Holt HS)Ream qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time by earning an automatic bid after winning the 149-pound title at the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships last month. At nationals, the North Dakota State redshirt freshman put together a solid run as he finished with a 2-2 record with a pair of big wins over the 2014 NCAA runner-up Joshua Kindig of Oklahoma State as well as Hunter Stieber of Ohio State.The Wentzville, Mo., native finished the year with a 25-13 overall record, which included a 10-3 mark in duals. Ream recorded seven pins, five major decisions and one tech fall en route to tallying 25 wins on the year. He also placed fourth at both the Bison Open and the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open, while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA in biochemistry and molecular biology.Coach of the Year: Roger Kish (NDSU)Kish, who just completed his fourth season as NDSU’s head coach, was named the 2014-15 WWC Coach of the Year. The honor is Kish’s third straight, as he also received the award for both the 2012-13 season as well as the 2013-14 one. This year, Kish led his team to both the NCAA West Regional/WWC Tournament title as well as the WWC regular-season dual title with an unblemished 5-0 conference record.Kish led his 2014-15 club to a 9-4 overall record, which included a 22-21 win by criteria over No. 18 Wyoming. NDSU also finished the season ranked 20th on the final NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll. Kish also helped the Bison send a school record six wrestlers to nationals this year, as well as coach a program best two All-Americans in Zillmer and Julson.The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of six schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. The conference formed in April 2006.

150 Ticket Packages Made Available for NCAA West Regional

The University of North Dakota Athletic Department and SCHEELS Arena announced Wednesday that approximately 150 reserved seating ticket packages have been made available for public sale for the 2015 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey West Regional.The tickets will be sold in person at the SCHEELS Arena box office at 9 a.m., Thursday, March 26. The packages are good for all three games of the tournament and are priced at $79 each.In addition there is a very limited amount of single game reserved seating tickets have been released to the public for the regional final to be played at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 28. These tickets will be sold in person only at the SCHEELS Arena box office at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 26. These single game tickets are good for the regional final only and are priced at $59 each.These tickets will be sold in person only at SCHEELS Arena, not online or on the phone.There is a limit of two tickets per person. There is no re-entry to SCHEELS Arena between games on Friday.