Lex Van Nostrand

The 2015 Bulldog softball team finished the season with its second straight NCAA Division II tournament appearance, capping the year with a 33-16 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Truman battled weather throughout the first month of the season, as the Bulldogs opened with a 1-3 record at the Arkansas-Monticello Classic in mid-February, but was unable to take the field again until March 6, when the team kicked off play at the National Training Center Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. From there, the Bulldogs used a 7-1 trip to the Sunshine State to put the season in full motion, starting GLVC play upon its return with 15 wins in its first 16 league games en route to a 21-7 regular season conference mark.

After a 1-2 record at the GLVC tournament, Truman earned the No. 6 seed in the Midwest regional, earning a trip to Indianapolis for opening round action in the NCAA Division II tournament. However, the ’Dogs lost a pair of nail-biters, falling 5-4 to Ashland (Ohio) and 3-1 to Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) to close the 2015 campaign.

The Bulldogs put five players onto the All-GLVC teams, including first-team honoree, sophomore catcher Lex Van Nostrand. Senior infielders Andrea Klipsch and Liz Leath, along with junior pitcher Kelsea Dorsey, picked up second-team accolades, while junior pitcher Kindra Henze logged third-team honors. Van Nostrand eventually added first-team all-region honors from the NFCA, while Klipsch became a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Head coach Erin Brown’s squad graduates four seniors, but will return six position starters and both regular starting pitchers for the 2016 season, which will begin next February.