Friday, February 1
St. Cloud, Minn.
3:30 p.m.
St. Cloud State
1-0
9
vs
1
University of Nebraska at Kearney
0-1
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Neb.-Kearney
1
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
St. Cloud State
0
3
1
0
6
10
11
0
Brooke Bowlin went 3-3 in the Huskies 10-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney Friday night.
Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane
Softball opens season with 9-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney
2/1/2019 10:03:00 PM | Softball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University softball team could not have asked for a better start to the 2019 season. The Huskies also proved the start of the season was definitely worth the wait. After an hour and a half delay inside the Husky Dome, St. Cloud State earned its first victory of the season in dominating fashion, defeating the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in five innings by a final score of 10-1.
The Huskies found themselves in a 1-0 deficit after the first inning, as back-to-back hits by the Lopers resulted in the early lead for the visitors. St. Cloud State wasted no time making a statement in the bottom of the first, as Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) and Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) opened the game with a walk and a single to show their team wasn't about to go away quietly.
In fact, the Huskies finally did break through in the second, as they took advantage of Loper mistakes to take a 3-1 lead after two. Cassie Francesconi (Schimberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) led off the inning with a single before advancing to third on a double from sophomore Morgan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South). It was first year right fielder Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) who came up clutch for St. Cloud State, as her safety squeeze scored Francesconi from third, as the speedy junior beat the catcher's tag to tie the game at 1-1.
With Conrads and Pinkowski in scoring position, Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) hit an infield single to the third basemen and seemingly loaded the bases with no outs. However, the third baseman's throw sailed over the head of Nebraska-Kearney's first baseman, allowing both Conrads and Pinkowski to score from second and third to give the Huskies a 3-1 advantage.
St. Cloud State tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth, once again courtesy of Bowlin. First year designated hitter Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) singled to open the inning and was replaced at first by pinch runner Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) for a bit more speed. The speedy first year then stole second and advanced to third when Alexis Jacobs (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) and Pinkowski drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Bowlin then delivered her second clutch hit of the game, as another infield single, this time to the pitcher, scored Vanden Lagenberg from third and extended the Huskeis lead to 4-1.
The Lopers pitchers managed to hold the St. Cloud State bats at bay in the fourth inning, but it was open season in the fifth, as the Huskies scored six runs to take a 10-1 lead over Nebraska-Kearney. Bowlin once again tallied an RBI, her second of the game, to put St. Cloud State ahead 5-1 before Emmans' bases-clearing triple extended the lead to 8-1.
With Emmans on third, Keating hit an infield single and Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) drew a two-out walk to once again load the bases for the Huskies. Jacobs then recorded the first RBI's of the season, as her two out single scored Emmans and Keating, definitively ending the game in a 10-1 victory for St. Cloud State.
Bowlin was the top hitter for the Huskies Friday afternoon, as she went 3-3 at the plate with a run and two RBI.
After the first inning, Kate Kopeck (Lumsden, Sask. / Lumsden) was gold on the mound for St. Cloud State, as she surrendered just one run and four hits while striking out eight Loper batters in five innings of work.
With the victory, the Huskies open the season with a perfect 1-0 record. St. Cloud State will look to remain perfect with two wins Saturday, as the team hosts Missouri Western State University at 1:30 p.m. in the Husky Dome before taking on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside at 3:30 p.m.
The Huskies found themselves in a 1-0 deficit after the first inning, as back-to-back hits by the Lopers resulted in the early lead for the visitors. St. Cloud State wasted no time making a statement in the bottom of the first, as Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) and Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) opened the game with a walk and a single to show their team wasn't about to go away quietly.
In fact, the Huskies finally did break through in the second, as they took advantage of Loper mistakes to take a 3-1 lead after two. Cassie Francesconi (Schimberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) led off the inning with a single before advancing to third on a double from sophomore Morgan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South). It was first year right fielder Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) who came up clutch for St. Cloud State, as her safety squeeze scored Francesconi from third, as the speedy junior beat the catcher's tag to tie the game at 1-1.
With Conrads and Pinkowski in scoring position, Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) hit an infield single to the third basemen and seemingly loaded the bases with no outs. However, the third baseman's throw sailed over the head of Nebraska-Kearney's first baseman, allowing both Conrads and Pinkowski to score from second and third to give the Huskies a 3-1 advantage.
St. Cloud State tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth, once again courtesy of Bowlin. First year designated hitter Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) singled to open the inning and was replaced at first by pinch runner Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) for a bit more speed. The speedy first year then stole second and advanced to third when Alexis Jacobs (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) and Pinkowski drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Bowlin then delivered her second clutch hit of the game, as another infield single, this time to the pitcher, scored Vanden Lagenberg from third and extended the Huskeis lead to 4-1.
The Lopers pitchers managed to hold the St. Cloud State bats at bay in the fourth inning, but it was open season in the fifth, as the Huskies scored six runs to take a 10-1 lead over Nebraska-Kearney. Bowlin once again tallied an RBI, her second of the game, to put St. Cloud State ahead 5-1 before Emmans' bases-clearing triple extended the lead to 8-1.
With Emmans on third, Keating hit an infield single and Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) drew a two-out walk to once again load the bases for the Huskies. Jacobs then recorded the first RBI's of the season, as her two out single scored Emmans and Keating, definitively ending the game in a 10-1 victory for St. Cloud State.
Bowlin was the top hitter for the Huskies Friday afternoon, as she went 3-3 at the plate with a run and two RBI.
After the first inning, Kate Kopeck (Lumsden, Sask. / Lumsden) was gold on the mound for St. Cloud State, as she surrendered just one run and four hits while striking out eight Loper batters in five innings of work.
With the victory, the Huskies open the season with a perfect 1-0 record. St. Cloud State will look to remain perfect with two wins Saturday, as the team hosts Missouri Western State University at 1:30 p.m. in the Husky Dome before taking on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside at 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kopeck, Kate (1-0)
L: Hallman,Erin (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Osowski,Emma 1
RBI: Sempek,Sara 1
SH: Schutte,Kaylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Howe,Alexis 1
SB: Johnson,Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Hamilton,Cheyenne 1
Batting:
2B: Conrads, Megan 1
3B: Emmans, Morgan 1
RBI: Emmans, Morgan 3 ; Jacobs, Alexis 2 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Bowlin, Brooke 2
SH: Francesconi, Cassie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kirchberg, Lauren 1 ; Keating, Maya 1 ; Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1 ; Jacobs, Alexis 1 ; Francesconi, Cassie 1 ; Conrads, Megan 2 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Thomsen, Kylie 1 ; Bowlin, Brooke 1
SB: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1
HBP: Thomsen, Kylie 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballC/1B
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
MI
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
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