SCSU softball late rally not enough in loss to SMSU

Friday, May 4

Sioux Falls, S.D. (Bowden Field)

10 a.m.

St. Cloud State

35-19

Southwest Minnesota State University

17-25

Southwest Minnesota

St. Cloud State

Haley McFarlane's solo home run in the fourth cut the lead to 2-1 in the Huskies loss to SMSU.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

5/4/2018 11:45:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The St. Cloud State University softball team was hoping to stave off elimination yet again at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After a thrilling 2-1 over Minnesota State-Mankato on Thursday, the Huskies were riding high entering Friday morning's contest against Southwest Minnesota State. Unfortunately, St. Cloud State could not come away with another victory, as the team's late rally fell short in the 8-4 loss to Southwest.

After a scoreless top of the first for the Mustangs, the Huskies were looking to strike first in the bottom of the inning, as Megan Conrads opened the inning with a leadoff single to right field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville). Unfortunately, Conrads was stranded at second, as Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) and Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) were unsuccessful at the plate, resulting in a 0-0 socre after the first.

St. Cloud State starter Emma Murphy (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) held Southwest's offense at bay threw the first two inning, but a costly error in the third resulted in a 2-0 Mustang lead. First baseman Alex Reak led off the inning with a solo home run to left field before leadoff hitter Emma Grote scored an unearned run to give Southwest a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies eventually cut the lead in half, as McFarlane hit a solo home run of her own in the bottom of the fourth to make it 2-1. After Bradi Yost (Parkersburg, Iowa / Aplington-Parkersburg) sent the Mustangs down in order in the fifth, it looked like St. Cloud State had a solid chance to tie and take the lead. With one out in the game, shortstop Libby Bingham (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) reached on an error by Southwest's third baseman, prompting head coach Paula U'Ren to substitute the speedy Allison Okeson (Detroit Lakes, Minn. / Theif River Falls) as a pinch runner. Unfortunately, Conrads hit into a double play in the next at bat, as the right fielder made a nice play on her line drive to end the Huskies scoring threat.

Still, St. Cloud State was hoping for another 1-2-3 inning from Yost to keep the game within reach. The Mustangs, though, had other ideas, as they scored five runs on five hits and one Huskie error to extend their lead to 7-1. St. Cloud State answered in the best way possible in the bottom of the inning, as it cut the lead to 7-4 with three runs of its own. Keating jump started the Huskies rally with a leadoff single and advanced to second on an error by the center fielder. The speedy second baseman then came all the way around to score on Emmans RBI double, cutting the lead to 7-2 with no outs in the inning.

St. Cloud State then tacked on two more in the inning, as third baseman Alexis Jacobs (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) hit a monster two run home run over the left field fence to cut the lead to 7-4. Those were the last two runs the team would score, as Southwest added an extra run to its led in the seventh then shut the Huskie offense down in the bottom of the inning to earn the 8-4 victory.

With the loss, St Cloud States overall record falls to 35-19 and its NSIC Tournament run comes to an end. The Huskies, most recently ranks ninth in the Central Region, will find out their fate on Monday during the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show. If St. Cloud State receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the team will most likely play in Arkansas.