Another good test awaits Coyotes in Miami
South Dakota backed up its opening weekend with another 4-1 showing last week in South Carolina. Week three shifts to sunny Miami, Florida, for perfect-weather games against four new foes. Two of the opponents are first-time meets in Brown (Friday) and Stony Brook (Saturday & Sunday). The other two – Drexel and Florida International – USD has played recently. All but the host team, FIU, is making its 2022 debut.
The scouting report reads that most teams this week will be playing around with a new batting order from a year ago, but plenty of pitching arms return. The Coyotes’ 8-2 start ensures that their offense is likely to draw the best of the best. That would include at least one matchup against Stony Brook’s all-region pitcher Dawn Bodrug. The bats USD will face include Drexel’s Kristi DiMeo, who has a history against the Coyotes. In FIU, South Dakota faces a team that topped them three times in 2021.
South Dakota has to be happy with an 8-2 start that includes wins against then-No. 25 Wichita State and four-time defending NEC champion Saint Francis, but you could also build a case it could be even better as the Coyotes were nipped late in their two losses. The turnaround is two-fold. Freshmen pitchers Clara Edwards (41 IP) and Kynlee Marquez (10 IP) have combined to allow just seven earned runs in 51 innings. The offense has already surpassed its home run count from all last year.
Edwards has made an appearance in every game and started half the 10. She has a 1.02 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings. Marquez didn’t make her debut until game seven and then tossed six shutout innings against Saint Francis in game eight.
Offensively, USD has seven batters hitting above .310 and five different players have hit a homer. Jordyn Pender and Jadyn DeWitte hit grand slams last week and Pender has 13 RBIs in nine games. Third baseman Aleesia Sainz homered three times in South Carolina and leads the Summit with an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.370.
The schedule and a deeper dive into the four opponents follow:
Tournament Schedule (all times eastern)
LIVE STATS will be provided for all games at this link
Friday
11:30 a.m. – Brown
4:30 p.m. – Florida International
Saturday
9 a.m. – Drexel
11:30 a.m. – Stony Brook
Sunday
9 a.m. – Stony Brook
Brown (did not play in 2021, picked 8th of 8 in the Ivy League)
The Bears were 1-9 in 2020 when COVID-19 brought sports to a halt. The program has played just two games since and are set to make their 2022 debut this week in Miami. The passing of time means plenty of new faces for Brown eager to take the field. The few holdovers include pitchers Lauren Innerst and team captain Grace Ladd. Innerst is 6-14 with a 3.46 ERA in 33 career appearances. Ladd is 5-9 with a 3.78 ERA in 39 appearances. Seven different pitchers are listed on Brown’s roster.
Florida International (27-16 last year; 4-7 this year; picked 8th of 12 in C-USA)
The Panthers are hosting a tournament for the third straight week and who could blame them with climate. FIU beat 34-game winner UNC Greensboro in its season opener and dropped a 4-3 decision to nationally-ranked Tennessee. Losses include two to Tennessee, two to Penn State and, on Tuesday, an 11-0 loss to UCF. Veteran pitchers Alexys Lawson and Kendahl Dunford are back and have pitched all but 11 innings this season. They combined for all three wins against South Dakota last season. They need more run support from an offense that’s batting .213 at the start with 10 extra base hits – all doubles.
Drexel (29-12 last year; 0-0 this year; picked 5th of 8 in the Colonial)
The Dragons are coming off perhaps the program’s best season, a team that finished with the highest win percentage and clinched the CAA’s North Division title. A lot of big bats have moved on, which may explain the fifth-place prediction, but one that has not is senior first baseman Kristi DiMeo. USD first met Drexel in 2019 when DiMeo was a sophomore. The teams split their pair of games, but DiMeo was 6-for-8 with three home runs in the series. She’s totaled 43 other home runs during a brilliant career.
Drexel returns its pitching staff including ace Brooklyn Daly, a 10-game winner last year with a 2.57 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 87 innings. The Dragons posted a 3.46 team ERA in 2021.
Stony Brook (27-16 last year; 0-0 this year; picked 2nd of 7 in America East)
The Seawolves were runners-up in America East last year. They are another team that lost some key bats, but brings back pitching. Indeed, Stony Brook features all-region standout Dawn Bodrug who struck out 245 hitters in 163 innings a year ago. She posted a 17-8 record, a 1.67 ERA and teams hit just .157 against her. Stony Brook needs a new number two to back her up and has added NJCAA D-III Pitcher of the Year Ashton Melaas along with freshman southpaw Maddie Male. Both Bodrug and Male hail from Ontario.
