DETROIT -- The Wayne State University softball team (2-0 overall) will head to Chicago this week for five games in the Lewis Dome Invitational this Thursday through Saturday.

Last week, WSU won both Saturday games at the Lincoln Memorial Invitational blanking the host Railsplitters 7-0, then out-scoring Bluefield State 10-6.  The Sunday games were canceled due to inclement weather.

The Warriors begin tournament play at 3:30 PM (Central Time) on Thursday against Concordia-St. Paul (2-2 overall), before battling invitational host Lewis (1-3 overall) at 6 PM (Central Time).  Wayne State's only game on Friday is against Minnesota Duluth (4-3 overall) at 8 PM (Central Time).  WSU concludes invitational play on Saturday with contests vs. Quincy (2-6 overall) at 3:30 PM (Central Time) and Winona State (6-1 overall) at 6 PM (Central Time).

SERIES HISTORY
WSU has faced the CSP Bears just four times, with all four meetings during Spring Break in 2001, 2014, 2015 and 2017.  CSP won the first match-up, 1-0, but the Warriors have prevailed in three close battles since 5-3, 6-4 and 5-4.

Wayne State has a 12-8 lead in the all-time series with Lewis dating back to 1993, despite the Flyers winning the last four meetings.  Eleven (11) of the last 12 games in the series have taken place in Rosemont with the Flyers holding a 6-5 advantage in those outings.

The Warriors have a commanding 9-4 lead in the all-time series vs. Minnesota Duluth.  This will be the fourth meeting in Rosemont as 10 previous match-ups have occurred in Florida.  Last season, WSU fell 16-6 to the Bulldogs at the Dome.

Wayne State has a 7-6 lead in the all-time series against Quincy after winning four of the last five match-ups.  This will be the first meeting in the Dome between the two schools.  Other venues for previous contests include SIUE Cougar Classic (Edwardsville, Ill. in 1989), KWC Invitational (Owensboro, Ky. in 1990), Central Missouri State Invitational (Warrensburg, Mo. in 1992), Quincy Tournament in 1993, GLIAC/GLVC Crossover (Joilet, Ill. in 1998 and Battle Creek, Mich. in 1999), UMSL Tournament (St. Louis in 1999), a doubleheader at WSU in 2007, a spring break game in Florida in both 2010 and 2024, and an NCAA Regional battle in 2010 in Detroit.

Wayne State has had eight previous games against the Winona State Warriors with each squad winning four times.  The first seven match-ups were at the Lewis Dome Invitational (2014-2022), before last year's contest in Florida, which the Warriors of Detroit prevailed 3-0.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Wayne State is led offensively by sophomore shortstop Hunter Near (Coopersville, Mich.) and sophomore pitcher/first baseman Elly Koopman (Hudsonville, Mich.).  Near hit .625 at the LMU Invitational with multiple key hits including the squad's only home run.  Koopman went 5-for-5 with three walks in eight plate appearances, driving in a team-best four runs.  Junior Sydney Long (Grand Blanc, Mich.) tossed a three-hit shutout of Lincoln Memorial, twice retiring 10 batters in a row.

Head coach Nicole Tines is in her fifth season leading the Warriors.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Concordia-St. Paul will take a 2-2 record into Thursday's game against the Warriors.  CSP defeated Bemidji State (5-4 in 8 inn.), split with Southwest Minnesota State (lost 4-10; W 11-3 in 6 inn.) and lost to St. Cloud State (2-1) on Feb. 6-7 at a dome tournament in St. Cloud, Minn.  Junior infielder Alexis Monty is batting a team-best .500 (5-for-10) with six walks for a .688 on-base percentage.  Senior catcher Danni Sharum leads the squad with four RBI.  Emmy Browne has notched both wins (2-0) while compiling a 3.50 ERA and seven strikeouts in 14 innings.  Bob Bartel is in his 22nd year leading the Bears.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Lewis will take a 1-3 record into a pair of games at the Dome on Wednesday, prior to facing WSU in its lone Thursday contest.  The Flyers played four games in Dallas (Jan. 30-Feb. 1) defeating Metro State [Denver] (10-3), but losing to Emporia State (5-2), Northwest Missouri State (8-7) and UT Dallas (10-7).  Senior Kristen Graham is hitting a team-high .600 (6-for-10), while classmate Anna Frafjord has a team-best nine RBI.  Freshman Jolee Strohmeyer is 1-1 in the circle with a 3.59 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 13.2 innings for 12th-year head coach Becky Pearl.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth will play Lewis on Wednesday, Roosevelt and Ferris State on Thursday, before playing Truman State and Wayne State on Friday at the Dome Invitational.  Freshman Daphne Evans is batting a team-best .423 (11-for-26) and is tied for the team lead with six RBI, along with Khendal Johnson and Kendal Jenkins.  Allyssa Williams has a 3-1 record with a 4.92 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 21.1 innings.  Emmie Sylvia-Cochran is 1-0 with 18 strikeouts in 12.2 innings for second-year head coach Nat Wagner.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Quincy will take a 2-6 mark into the Dome Invitational where they will play Ferris State and Hillsdale on Friday, and Concordia-St. Paul and WSU on Saturday.  Freshman Makala Koozer is batting .409 (9-for-22) to lead QU, while sophomore Kaidence Dumas has a team-high eight RBI.  Both freshman Hailey Platt and classmate Hailey Martin have tossed 15.1 innings.  Platt is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA and seven strikeouts with Martin compiling a 1-2 record with a 5.48 ERA and nine strikeouts for fourth-year head coach Cathy Monroe.

SCOUTING THE WINONA STATE WARRIORS
Winona State will play four games at the Dome Invitational starting with the Saturday game against Wayne State.  Junior tiegan Mancuso is hitting a team-high .500 (9-for-18), while sophomores Hannah Soderback and Jenna James have driven in six runs apiece.  Junior Jayda Berg is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 23 innings, while redshirt junior Izzy Howe is also 3-0 with a 3.05 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.  Greg Jones is in his 26th season leading Winona State.

UP NEXT
After the Dome Invitational, WSU is slated to host Division 1 Oakland University for a twinbill on Saturday, March 7th weather permitting.  The Warriors are scheduled to play eight games in five days in Florida from March 13-17.