VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The Viking Softball team had to wait over a week before they could get back on the field. Their four-game series with Bismarck State that was supposed to be on Thursday April 2^nd and Friday April 3^rd was moved to Wednesday April 8th and Monday April 13th. The games for Monday April 6th have been moved to the 13th.

The Vikings come into the series with a four-game winning streak and have won six of the last eight games. VCSU swept Dakota State last weekend at the VCSU Softball Complex. Kylee Banerd had a a great series which led to her receiving Player of the Week honors in the Frontier Conference. Banerd was 7 for 11 in the four games with five runs scored, four home runs and eight RBI. Three of those home runs and seven RBI came in the series finally. She was 4 for 4 in the game and raised her season average to .408. Kennadi Stone still leads the team with a .443 batting average. In the circle, Maddy Hazelton had a great series, having a hand in three of the four wins. She picked up two shutout wins and added a save. For her efforts, Hazelton picked up her second Pitcher of the Week honor.

The youth movement is strong at VCSU this season. Of the ten batters hitting over 300, five are freshmen and one sophomore. Pascale Kihn is the top freshman so far hitting 344 and is second on the team in at bats (93), runs (22), hits (32), and doubles (6).

Hazelton is leading the team in several pitching categories including wins (8), complete games (8), Shutouts (2), Saves (2), Innings pitched (85.1), and strikeouts (82).   

This will be the first ever meeting between the Vikings and the Mystics. Bismarck State is in its first year as a four-year institution and joined the Frontier Conference this season.

Valley City State is 16-13 on the season and 6-2 in the conference. The Vikings are in first place in the Frontier with Providence right behind at 8-3, Dickinson State is 6-4 and Bellevue is 7-5.

First pitch for game one on Monday is scheduled for 2pm with game two at 4pm. Wednesday, the schedule is also 2pm and 4pm. With cold temps still forecasted for Monday, games may get moved to Tuesday and Wednesday. Keep an eye on vcsuvikings.com, Facebook and X for any more changes in the schedule.

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