Finally the wait is over as Corbett Field makes room for its newest attraction. The Minot Honeybees softball team will be playing their first official home game at the venue on Tuesday, June 25, as they start a three game home series against the Madison Night Mares.

The Honeybees (2-4) started their debut season by playing four games against Mankato Habaneros starting on June 16. They followed up by playing one game apiece against Wisconsin based teams: La Cross Steam and Night Mares.

The Honeybees will be showcasing players from all over the country. Several players from the local area are on the roster. One of those players is Mandan’s own Caitlyn Dannenfelzer, who attends North Dakota State College of Science. During the 2023-2024 collegiate season, Dannenfelzer had a .424 batting average in 60 games, scored 66 runs, had 60 hits, 41 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, 20 walks and 8 home-runs.

Former Central Cass Outfielder, Josie Buhr, will make her Honeybees debut after playing the 2023-2024 collegiate season at Kansas Wesleyan University. Buhr’s batting average was .371, with 33 hits, 20 runs, 14 RBI, 14 walks and ten stolen bases. Buhr also won senior athlete of the year at Central Cass and was a member of multiple regional and state championships.

Minot State Beavers graduate student and pitcher Jasmine Blizzard is also another player that is on the team . Blizzard pitched for the Beavers in 22 games during the 2022-2023 season, finishing the season with a 7-3 record. She pitched four complete games and had one shutout in 2022.

Her stat lines were 76 and one-third inning pitched, 31 earned runs allowed, and struckout 61 batters. Prior to attending Minot State, Blizzard pitched one season at Howard College (Texas) where she compiled a 17-1 record, pitching 102 and two-third innings, with a 3.48 ERA and 53 strikeouts.

Minot State redshirt senior Kierra Fournier is also a part of the team. Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, Fournier pitched in 21 games during the 2023 season, going 5-9. She had five complete games and one shutout. Fournier pitched 84 two-third innings, allowing 52 runs and striking out 55 batters.

Minot High graduate Ariana Diaz returns home to the Magic City as a member of the team. Diaz just finished her freshman season (2023-2024) of college with the Southern Virginia Knights softball team.

The other roster members are: pitcher, Jackie Albrecht, University of North Dakota; outfielder, Kaitlynne Allen, Indiana University South Bend; catcher, Dominique Baker, Bismarck State College; second-baseman, Cairah Curran, Santa Clara University; first-baseman, Skyler Dietz, Colorado Christian University; catcher, Sydney Farmer, Tyler Junior College; outfielder, Victoria Flores, Northern Kentucky University; outfielder, Trinity Gregg, University of Jamestown; first-baseman, Shayna Myshrall, Niagara University; second-baseman, Shannon Nelson, Miles Community College; pitcher, Peyton Whitehead, University of Mary.

Zoya Robbins will once again contribute to Minot softball, having been announced as one of the assistant coaches for the Honeybees. Robbins played for the Beavers during the 2019-2022 seasons and served as an assistant coach as well.

The Honeybees head coach is Craig Montvidas, who has over 40 years of coaching experience. Montvidas has coached softball on four continents: North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. He has coached the British, Greece and Dutch national softball teams.

Game tickets are $15 when purchased in advance but are $20 on game day. The Honeybees debut season will cover the period of June 16- August 5, 2024. Corbett Field is located at 1124 E Burdick Expressway in Minot.

The Honeybees will host youth softball camps for girls ages 6-13 this summer. The intermediate camp (ages 10-13) will start on Thursday, June 27; beginner camp (ages 6-13) will start on Monday, July 22. Those who have signed up for either camp will receive free tickets to the Honeybees Game on July 18th.

The Minot Honeybees are a part of the four original teams of the Northwood’s Softball League, created to give female softball players the same opportunity that college baseball players have received for years. Northwood league has been around for 31 seasons with the 2024 season being the inaugural year of softball.