Upstart Bison draw defending national champs Washington in first game of NCAA softball tourney

Upstart Bison open against softball power Huskies

FARGO, N.D. — Drawing the top-ranked team in the country would seem a daunting task for the North Dakota State softball team — if the Bison weren’t already accustomed to that scenario.

A year ago, in NDSU’s first year of NCAA Division I eligibility, the season was interrupted by a record Red River flood that forced the players to put down their bats and pick up sandbags. The Bison qualified for the national tournament anyway.

This year, after waiting for their freshman pitcher to develop, the Bison rallied down the stretch to earn a return trip to nationals. Their reward is an opening-round game Friday in Seattle against defending national champion Washington, the No. 1 team in the country.

The Bison were surprised to see the Huskies receive the No. 3 seed after staying atop the polls all season.

“I don’t know how you even try to convince someone they’re not the No. 1 team in the nation,” NDSU first baseman Melissa Chmielewski said. “But we’re a ‘prove it wrong’ team. We’re going to go in there and give Washington our best effort and hopefully prove some people wrong.”

The Bison have plenty of experience on the road. Last year, they had only five home games because of the weather and this year they played their first 33 games on other fields while the snow melted in Fargo. Their 16th and final game at home was last weekend’s 3-2 win over top-seeded Western Illinois for the Summit League championship.

“I think we’re making people realize that we mean business,” said second baseman Laurel Pipkin, a senior from Alameda, Calif. “We’re not just a little rinky-dink Midwestern school. It’s nice to get our name out there and not just be a one-hit wonder like people thought we were last year.”

The Bison stunned No. 7 Oklahoma in its first national tournament game a year ago, but that would be considered a mild upset compared with beating Washington. The Huskies have possibly the best pitcher in the nation in Danielle Lawrie, who is 35-2 this season with 407 strikeouts in 247.1 innings.

“Well, they’re definitely better than us,” NDSU coach Darren Mueller said with a smile. “It’s going to be interesting. Just like last year, we have nothing to lose.”

Lawrie has been clocked throwing more than 70 mph, which Mueller compares to a baseball pitcher throwing more than 95 mph. The Bison spent a couple days this week hitting against assistant coach Darcy Byrne, a standout men’s pitcher who throws 75 mph.

“That got our eyes going a little bit quicker,” Chmielewski said. “Hopefully that helps.”

The Bison are riding the young arm of Whitney Johnson, who became only the second pitcher in school history to get more than 300 strikeouts. She’s 26-16 with 315 strikeouts and 128 walks in 263 innings. She was selected MVP in the Summit League tournament.

Johnson, who graduated early from high school in Lake Crystal, Minn., turned 18 on March 16.

“She’s pretty confident right now,” Mueller said. “It took a while because of her youthfulness and the experience thing. I think people over the last few weeks have bought in to how she’s pitching and that has really helped our program.”

Chmielewski, the Summit League player of the year, leads the Bison with a .398 average, 10 home runs and 59 RBIs. Catcher Maryssa McKenzie, in her first year as a starter and two years removed from Tommy John surgery, has hit five homers and thrown out 14 of 30 runners trying to steal.

Mueller, a Fargo native, has managed the transition from Division II to Division I by signing the bulk of his players from California and landing two top prospects from Minnesota, Chmielewski and Johnson. McKenzie, a junior from Brentwood, Calif., took her recruiting visit to Fargo in the middle of the winter.

“So I knew what I was getting into,” she said, laughing. “But I had a great first impression. It’s all about the people.”