It’s a new year, and a new season for the UND softball team.

In addition to the 2015 season starting, the team also will be welcoming a new head coach, Jordan Stevens.

Stevens spent the previous four years as the head coach at Valparaiso University in Illinois, where he guided his team to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and finished with an overall record of 163-104-1 in his tenure at the university.

“Everything’s new, and we’ll have a lot of new people out on the field too,” Stevens said. “A lot of freshmen making good contributions throughout the first month. We’re going to play a lot of people that didn’t have a chance the last couple of years, so it’s going to be new for everybody. It’s always exciting to start the year, and everybody’s ready to go.”

This year’s squad is home to only two seniors, along with five juniors. The rest of the eleven players consist of six freshmen and five sophomores.

“Were going to be inexperienced,” Stevens said. “We’re going to play two freshmen as No. 1 and 2 pitchers. They’ve thrown really well and they’re going to compete for us. We’re a little thin at that position this year in terms of depth with a couple injuries, but that’s no excuse.”

The Green and White kicked off the season last weekend with a tournament at  University of Illinois at Chicago. North Dakota went 0-3 in the first three games, but was able to sneak in a win in the fourth game, defeating Western Illinois 5-3.

Hannah Bergh, a freshman pitcher from Orono, Minnesota, picked up her first collegiate win of her young career last Sunday against Western Illinois. Bergh only allowed one run in 5.2 innings pitched.

“We played a more complete game today, and it was nice to end the trip with a win,” Stevens said. “We have to get back to work on things that are important to us, and get better each day until we get to play again.”

With the season starting to get rolling, North Dakota will look to improve from last season’s 6-39 overall record.

The team also was unable to clinch a playoff berth last season, finishing with a 3-11 in Big Sky matchups.

Playing better in the conference is an aspect of the team’s game Stevens said is a goal for this season.

North Dakota returns to action Feb. 20 when it will travel to Madeira Beach, Fla. for a tournament where it will open up against Robert Morris University.

“We said right from the get-go that we wanted to win the conference,” Stevens said. “We’re not really into plotting a course and waiting a long time. Although, I think that’s what people kind of expect for us — that it’s going to take a few years — but that’s not fair to the people that are here right now. So our expectations are to compete for the championship.”

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