Softball sweeps weekend series in North Dakota

The team defeated the University of Mary and Minot State in all 4 games played on the weekend

Aaron Young
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Maverick softball continued conference play this past weekend with two series against the University of Mary Marauders and Minot State Beavers in North Dakota. 

In their first game against the Marauders, the Mavs were on a roll. They scored right off the bat in the first inning as junior outfielder Carly Esselman drove in senior McKenzie Paap home before Esselman reached home after senior catcher Cori Kennedy got a hit. 

In the following inning, it was sophomore infielder Julia Bastian who singled to right and drove sophomore Torey Richards home for the 3-0 lead. 

When the third inning approached, the Mavs would extend their lead even more. 

Kennedy drove sophomore outfielder Courtney Potter home and sophomore Emma Schifferle connected on a double to for an RBI. 

Then, Richards smashed two-run homer in the next at-bat. 

Minnesota State added more salt to the wound with three more runs in the sixth inning. University of Saint Mary would get one on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a solo shot but that wasn’t enough. 

Sophomore starting pitcher Mackenzie Ward earned the win and improves to 8-7 on the year, pitching five innings and striking out six. 

Esselman was the player of the game as she went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs. 

In the second game, it was the Marauders who were victorious in a back and forth affair. They were the first on the board with a solo homer in the second. 

The Mavs responded in the third inning as Potter drove in a pair of runs to take the lead. 

University of Mary had a pair of runs in the fourth and would keep the lead the rest of the game. 

Potter went 2 for 4 in the game with 2 RBIs.

In the second series, the Mavericks would win both games against Minot State, the first 10-7 and the second 12-7.

In the first, the Mavericks got on the board right away in the first, as Kennedy connected on a single driving in Potter. 

In the next inning, Paap hit a single that scored freshman Hannah Hastings and a few pitches later Richards scored on a wild pitch. 

Minot State would respond with 3 runs of their own tying the game at 3. 

The Mavs got the upper hand for a little bit before Minot State would respond with four runs in the fourth to jump to a 7-4 lead. 

Despite being down by three, the Mavericks would rally back with two homers by junior Amber Kral and Schifferle to win the game.

The next game saw the Beavers putting seven runs on the board early, forcing the Mavericks to rally late in the game. After scoring a run in the fourth, the Mavericks blew up with five in the fifth to take the lead. 

Schifferle began the sixth with a solo shot and in the seventh the Mavericks scored two more to secure the victory. She went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and sophomore pitcher Lexi Schoper earned the win.

The Mavericks begin their nine-game homestand against Winona State this at 2 p.m. Wednesday. 

Header photo courtesy of Keith Paap.