Michelle Jones led USD with seven homers and 32 RBI in 2010.

The University of South Dakota softball team ended the 2010 season on a strong note with a second-place finish at the Great West Championship at Farmers Branch, Texas on May 17. That finish was part of a good stretch of play late in the season for the Coyotes, who finished 9-3 over their final 12 games and 16-11-1 over their final 28 games. Part of that stretch included a season-high six-game winning streak.

USD, under the direction of third-year Coach Amy Klyse, played a difficult nonconference schedule which included doubleheaders against two 2010 NCAA tournament qualifiers -- North Dakota State and Nebraska. A highlight of the season for the Coyotes was a 1-0 win at NDSU on April 27, the first time USD had beaten a team that had qualified for the NCAA tournament the year before. In that game, USD’s Mel Johnson fired the shutout and hit the game-winning home run.

USD also played competitive at Nebraska, leading much of the first game of the doubleheader before losing, 7-5.

The Coyotes also posted impressive wins over nonconference foes Seattle, Sacred Heart, Youngstown State and Detroit Mercy during the season. USD finished a perfect 6-0 at home, including an impressive sweep of North Dakota to close out the regular season. The Coyotes outscored their opponents 48-11 at home this season.

In Great West Conference play, USD was 3-3, losing a pair of extra-inning games. The Coyotes entered Great West Championship as the No. 2 seed and opened with a 7-5 win over Houston Baptist. USD also avenged two losses to Utah Valley with a 3-1 win over the Wolverines in an elimination game to advance to the championship, where the Coyotes suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to North Dakota in the championship. USD finished the tournament 2-2 and took second. Dani Bahlmann, Rachel Fricke, Johnson, and Callie Roan each earned all-tournament honors.

Johnson was named the Great West Pitcher of the Year and earned first-team All-GWC honors, while four Coyotes -- Melissa Blackburn, Michelle Jones, Callie Roan and Alexa Rudeen -- were named to the All-GWC second team. Johnson was a two-time Great West Conference Pitcher of the Week while Erica Denney, Jones and Roan also earned weekly honors from the league.

Several Coyotes ranked nationally in statistics in 2010, according to the NCAA stats web site:
--Callie Roan finished third in the nation in sacrifice hits per game at 0.4.
--Alexa Rudeen finished tied for 35th in doubles per game at 0.31.
--Lexie Eversley ranked tied for 35th in being hit by a pitch per game (0.25).
--Mel Johnson finished tied for 113th with 16 wins.
--Roan finished tied for 135th in walks per game (0.52).