Softball back on track; sweep series against Upper Iowa

After lackluster performances the past couple of weeks, MSU bounced back on Tuesday

Jenna Peterson
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Maverick softball team took two games in Fayette, Iowa in a two-game doubleheader against the Upper Iowa Peacocks at the Eischeid Complex stadium Tuesday.

The first game didn’t really start until the second inning, where the teams first began to bring in some runs. The Mavericks brought in a total of two runs in the second inning after sophomore infielder Julia Bastian hit a single down the right field line that advanced sophomore catcher Emma Schifferle to third base and brought sophomore infielder Torey Richards home.

Later in the inning, junior infielder Kennedy Rieck grounded the ball out to the shortstop, allowing Schifferle to score.

For the Peacocks, senior pitcher Erin Drahozal singled the ball down the right field line and sophomore infielder Katie Crogan scored to cut the lead in half to 2-1. 

The game was quiet again until the fifth inning, where the Mavericks were on fire. Freshman Kayla Moky reached on a fielder’s choice, leading to senior outfielder McKenzie Paap advancing to second and junior Caitlin Stone scoring the first run of the inning. 

Senior catcher Cori Kennedy brought excitement to the game when she hit a three-run home run that also brought in Moky and Paap.

The Peacocks scored once when Crogan hit a single down the right field line, bringing in freshman Kaylee Frenette. 

The last runs of the game came from the Mavericks in the sixth inning when sophomore outfielder Courtney Potter flied the ball out to left field, bringing in Schifferle and when Paap hit a single down the left field line, bringing in Bastian.

The Mavericks ended up winning the first game by the final score of 8-2.

Game number two started off with many runs for the Mavericks, and the only runs of the game were in the first two innings. 

Paap was the first to hit, and with Kennedy hitting a double, Paap was able to bring in the first run of the game. 

To keep the good luck going, junior infielder Amber Kral also hit a double, which brought Kennedy home.

Schifferle then hit a single up the middle of the field and Kral brought in the last run that inning for the Mavericks, with the Peacocks scoring nothing. 

The only run in the second inning was scored by Paap, who scored because Kennedy hit a single through the right side. 

No runs were scored by the Peacocks. The final score of this game was 4-0 with a Maverick win.

The next Maverick softball game is set for Friday against Minnesota Crookston at home in Mankato. The games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

Header photo courtesy of Keith Paap.