Softball splits on third day in Florida

Thursday, March 7

Clermont, Fla.

11:15 a.m. EST

St. Cloud State

11-2

Gannon University

3-5

Saint Cloud State

Gannon University

Megan Conrads went 2-3 in the Huskies opener and hit a grand slam in the 20-6 win.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/7/2019 7:48:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CLERMONT, FLA. – The St. Cloud State University softball team continued to roll on its trip down in Florida. Despite suffering their first loss in 10 games, the Huskies continued to show their domination on the offensive side of the ball thanks to a 20-6 win over the University of the Sciences. The win also was the perfect rebound after St. Cloud State suffered a 2-1 to Gannon University in the day's opener.

The Huskies sadly got a taste of their own medicine Thursday morning, as the Golden Knights handed them a 2-1 walk off loss in the bottom of the seventh inning. After a quite first two innings, Gannon managed to score the first run of the ball game, as an uncharacteristic error by St. Cloud State resulted in a 1-0 lead for the Golden Falcon. The Huskies, though, wasted no time tying the game at one. First year designated hitter Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) hit a one-out triple then scored on a two out single by Morgan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) to even the score at 1-1.

St. Cloud State would threaten in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but was never able to bring another run across the plate. A lead off single and stolen base by Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) gave the Huskies a runner in scoring position in the fifth, but Bowlin never advanced past second base. Conrads hit a two-out double in the sixth but wasn't brought around, and St. Cloud State put runners on first and second in the seventh before a strikeout ended the inning.

Senior pitcher Kate Kopeck (Lumsden, Sask. / Lumsden) was dealing in the circle, as she put a stop to nearly every threat from Gannon but two. After giving up the unearned run in the third, the senior ace kept the Golden Knights off the board for three straight innings and sent Gannon's hitters down in order in the fourth and sixth innings. However, the senior ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. It seemed like the Huskies were going to cruise to extra innings as Kopeck struck the first two Golden Knights she faced, but a dropped third strike put a runner on first with only one out.

It appeared to be no harm no foul for St. Cloud State, as Emmans threw the runner out trying to steal second for the second out of the inning. A single and triple by the next two batters, though, resulted in a run for Gannan and a 2-1 loss for the St. Cloud State Huskies.

Kopeck was on fire in the circle in game one, as she didn't allow a single earned run to cross the plate in six and two-thirds innings of win. The senior also tallied 10 strikeouts in the loss while surrendering just five hits to the Golden Knights.

Naturally, St. Cloud State came up with a perfect solution for recovering from a loss: winning. The Huskies completely demolished the University of Sciences, as they routed the Devils 20-6 in five innings of play. In fact, in the first inning alone, St. Cloud State tallied three home runs. Conrads hit a one-out three-run home run to give the Huskies an early 4-0 lead, before Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) recorded the first home run of her collegiate career in dramatic fashion, putting St. Cloud State ahead 8-0 with a two-run homer of her own.

Estrada recorded the third home run of the innings, as her two-run blast gave the Huskies an 11-0 cushion in the top of the first inning. The Devils would score three in the bottom of the inning on errors in right field and at first base, but the damage was already done. St. Cloud State would score nine more runs over the course of the next four innings while only surrendering six total, resulting in the 20-6 victory over the University of the Sciences.

Conrads and Bowlin were both 2-3 at the plate against Gannon, as Conrads recorded the team's lone RBI in the loss. Pinkowski went 3-3 with three RBI to lead the way in game two.

With the split, the Huskies overall record improves to 12-2, though the team's win streak is snapped at 10 games. St. Cloud State will have an opportunity to start a brand new win streak on Friday, as the team's journey in Florida continues with games against Jefferson and Norwood.