FREMONT, Neb. — Dakota Wesleyan Softball played the first two games of their stint in the GPAC Championship Tournament against the fifth-seeded Northwestern Red Raiders and the eighth-seeded Hastings Broncos.
Game one would see the Tigers square off against the Red Raiders in what began as a fast-paced matchup. Northwestern opened the top of the first with a run, but Dakota Wesleyan was able to strike back with an RBI from Liliana Arreola and Dusti Draper taking advantage of a wild pitch to go up 2-1. NWC scored on a triple to right-center field to tie it back up, but a home run from Elle Feser gave the Tigers a one-run lead once again. The Red Raiders were able to tie it up again at the top of the third with a double that got through the left side. On the mound, Mandalyn Nachtigall posted three strikeouts through 3.2 innings pitched, and Alison Ernsberger would step in for the remaining 3.1 innings and go on to record four strikeouts in the circle en route to her 16th recorded win of the season. The game would keep a similar pace even after the pitching switch, with both teams able to take advantage of good hitting and runners-on situations, including Alessandra Ciurca pushing DWU back into the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single.
The Red Raiders would post three runs in the next frame; however, they were able to take their first lead since the top of the first following multiple RBIs with stacked bases. An error by the NWC catcher would allow Macy Moore to score before Avery Perkins tied the game back up at 6-6 with a sacrifice fly, getting Ashlen Johnson across home plate. Two scoreless frames from Ernsberger on the mound would prevent Northwestern from scoring in the final stretch of the game, and Moore wearing a pitch with loaded bases and a 3-2 count would give the Tigers the final lead change of the game in the bottom of the sixth, 7-6. With the win, the Tigers moved to 35-15 on the season, surpassing the 2025 team’s single-season wins record, and advancing on the winner’s side of the GPAC Championship bracket.
The next contest saw the Tigers face the eighth-seeded Hastings Broncos, who upset the hosting and top-seeded Midland Warriors in the first game of the day. The game would begin at a slower pace than DWU’s first, with Nachtigall once again getting the start and going a full four innings, tallying three strikeouts against 19 faced batters. Dakota Wesleyan struck first as Perkins added her second RBI of the day to the board to take a 1-0 lead. Hastings would strike back with a home run, but Feser was able to come through in the top of the fourth with a hit that allowed Johnson to cross home plate, claiming a 2-1 lead for the Tigers.
The top of the fifth would see the momentum shift heavily in favor of the Broncos, however, as Hastings posted five runs in the top of the fifth and another in the sixth to grab a 7-2 lead. Dakota Wesleyan put together a final rally in the final two frames, with a taken walk from Jaycee Tebay with bases loaded and singles to right-center field from Ciurca and Johnson bringing DWU within one run of Hastings, but a final strikeout would give the Broncos the win, 7-6. The win does not eliminate Dakota Wesleyan from the GPAC Tournament, as it is a double-elimination tournament, but they will move down to the bottom side of the bracket following the result.
DWU Softball will face No. 1 seed Midland in the opening game of tomorrow’s (April 30) slate at 12:00 PM, followed by a potential second game. See all of the GPAC Softball Championship information here.