Minnesota State softball continues its win streak

Jenna Peterson
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Maverick softball team took on the University of Sioux Falls Cougars Wednesday at Wherman Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The first game seemed like a loss at first but due to an extra inning the Mavericks were able to pull through with a win. They started out right away in the first inning with one run. Senior left fielder McKenzie Paap scored due to a throwing error by Sioux Falls sophomore catcher Emmie Uitts.

Sioux Falls started scoring in the second inning when junior infielder Sydney Nieveen hit a two-run home-run to left field, bringing in senior infielder Emily Miller.

The Cougars continued brining in runs in the fourth inning when senior pitcher Kerrigan Hoshaw hit a home run to right field. 

The Mavericks had a string of runs in both the seventh and eighth inning. In the seventh, MSU had their fair share of home runs. Sophomore second baseman Julia Bastian hit a home run down the left field line, which also brought in junior Caitlin Stone as an RBI, tying the game 3-3.

The eighth inning was exciting for the Mavericks, where a total of four runs were scored.

Junior first baseman Amber Kral started the inning off with a double, bringing in Freshman right fielder Kayla Moky

To bring Kral home, sophomore Hailey Forshee hit a single to center field. 

Sophomore Julia Bastian walked, allowing junior third baseman Kennedy Rieck to advance to second, sophomore short stop Torey Richards advanced to third, and sophomore center fielder Courtney Potter scored. 

Paap also walked in this inning, leading Bastian to advance to second, Rieck advanced to third, and Richards to score.

The second game was another win for the Mavericks. The team started off strong with two runs in the first and second inning. In the first inning, Kennedy hit a fly ball to right field, where Moky advanced to third and Paap scored.

Kral reached on first by an error made by USF first baseman and Moky scored.

In the second inning Moky hit a single to right field, where Paap advanced to second, Potter advanced to third, and Rieck scored.

The next run was scored in the fifth inning by the Mavericks when Kral hit a single to center field and then advanced to second and Moky scored. 

The Cougars had their only run that game in the sixth inning when Hoshaw hit a single to center field, where Miller advanced to second and freshman right fielder Sarah Keen scored. 

The Mavericks scored two more times in the seventh inning to end the game 6-1. Redshirt freshman catcher Hannah Hastings hit a double and advanced to third because of a throwing error, allowing Richards and Kennedy to score.

The Mavericks will end their conference season with games on Friday at 2 and 4 p.m. against Northern State, and on Saturday against MSU-Moorhead. All of these games will be played in Mankato.

Header photo by Nidia Mariscal | MSU Reporter.