MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University softball team recently completed a successful trip to Arizona, where the team won 11 of 14 games and showed off some of the young talent that has created a buzz around the program.
The trip was especially successful for freshman pitcher Sierra Haage, who won four games in five starts, including three last week. Her performance has earned the Sioux Falls, S.D., native her first career Great Plains Athletic Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week honor, it was announced Tuesday.
Last week, Haage went 3-0 in four appearances, starting the week with a complete game win over the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she tossed seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, while striking out three. In her next outing, Haage gave GPAC foe Midland University at taste of what they can expect for the next four years with a five-inning, one-hit shutout that included six strikeouts.
In her final appearance in Tucson, Haage went the distance once again, allowing two runs on six hits and tying a career high with seven strikeouts in a win over Benedictine of Mesa.
Haage is 6-3 this season with a 3.17 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. She ranks fifth in the GPAC in strikeouts per game with 6.45.
The Tigers open GPAC play against Briar Cliff University in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Tuesday at McWhirter Field in Mitchell.