New faces are being welcomed as the UND women’s softball team prepares for its upcoming season.

While the team’s scheduled games this weekend against Mayville were cancelled due to weather, UND will look forward to a pair of games this weekend against South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D.

The team’s former head coach, Eric Oakley, resigned last spring after his third season, in which he collected a 6-39 record. Jordan Stevens was hired as the new head coach this past summer.

Stevens, who coached at Valparaiso for five years, brings with him a winning record as he took the Guilders to two back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013.

“We are excited to have Coach Stevens take on leadership of UND softball,” UND athletics director Brian Faison said in a press release. “Coach Stevens brings solid head coaching experience, along with a strong track record of balancing academics with competitive excellence by his student athletes.”

Stevens made his first move as coach by announcing the hiring of two new members to his coaching staff. Borth Shelly Prochaska and Allison Kutz were hired in August and will serve as assistant coaches.

Prochaska was the assistant coach at Boise State, where she primarily worked with pitchers and catchers.

“She will be able to come in and make an immediate impact with our pitchers and catchers, and her recruiting efforts will bolster our program,” Stevens said.

Kutz joins the squad after a year as an assistant coach in Western Oregon.

“Her experience coaching both college and travel, as well as playing at one of the highest levels in the sport, will undoubtedly be a big assets to us,” Stevens said.

UND added nine freshman in the offseason. This move was made after the Green and White saw the loss of six seniors last year.

Last year’s seniors lead the majority of categories for the team, including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI’s, doubles, triples and home runs.

For a team that only scored 148 runs last year, offense becomes a crucial part of the upcoming season.

The defense also struggled last year, letting up 440 runs.

But Stevens sees a level of optimism surrounding the softball team this year.

“The potential for this program moving forward is something that we should all be excited for,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with everyone, including our current players and recruits, to reach our goal of winning Big Sky championships.”

Kyle Beauchamp is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].