Softball splits in two double-headers
The Minnesota State softball team battled hard on the road this weekend. Friday the Mavericks went 1-1 against St. Cloud State University and Saturday split their games 1-1 against the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The games were supposed to be the first games the Mavs hosted but due to weather.
The first game of the weekend in St. Cloud ended with the Huskies defeating the Purple and Gold 3-1.
Junior Maverick pitcher Coley Ries took the loss, only her fourth of the season. Although Ries struck out 16 SCSU batters, the Huskies were able to sneak in five base hits for three earned runs.
SCSU scored two of their three runs in the second inning. Huskies pitcher Megan Hedstrom picked up her fifth win of the season while only allowing five hits and one earned run.
MSU left a runner on base during every single inning except for the seventh. The Mavericks had a runner on third base with only one out during the first and third innings but they were not able to get any runs. During the third junior Dana Mogren hit a fly to center field to score senior Emily Bransky.
During the second game against the Huskies was very low scoring with the Mavericks taking the win 1-0.
Sophomore pitcher Libby Bemis held SCSU to just three hits. Bemis impressed throughout the game as several bases were occupied by Huskies, but she was able to get the Mavericks to safety with no earned runs.
The score was 0-0 until the seventh inning when sophomore Kara Lattery hit a solo-game winning home run, her fourth of the season.
Saturday brought a different opponent for the Mavericks. The Purple and Gold faced the UMD Bulldogs in St. Cloud. MSU defeated UMD 2-1 in the first game but fell 0-10 in just five innings in the second game.
Ries pitched the first game for the Mavs and bounced back from her Friday loss. With 16 strikeouts in the game, Ries became MSU’s all-time leader in strikeouts. She beat Kendra Huettl’s 772 with 774 strikeouts and counting.
In the second inning freshman McKenzie Paap hit a single to center field and scored junior Ashley Thell.
The only run in the first game for the Huskies came from a bases-loaded walk by Ries but she was able to strike out the next batter to get out of the jam. In the bottom of the sixth, several Mavericks got on base but finally Paap got her second RBI of the day when she hit a single that scored sophomore Jess Meidl.
The second game of the day against UMD did not go as well. The game was called after five innings as the Bulldogs were beating the Purple and Gold 10-0. Bemis pitched the game for the Mavericks and received her fifth loss of the season before senior pitcher Katie Koponen stepped in and let five runs in of her own. UMD’s 10 runs were all scored in the third and fourth innings.
After this weekend the Mavericks hold an overall record of 21-9 and 4-2 and NSIC play.
Up next for the Mavs is their home opener against the University of Sioux Falls Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.