Long ball leads softball to SMSU sweep

Sunday, April 28

St. Cloud, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

39-14, 21-8

Southwest Minnesota State University

18-23, 13-16

Southwest Minn. St.

St. Cloud State

Morgan Emmans admires her walk off home run in the Huskies sweep of SMSU.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

4/28/2019 4:22:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University softball team could not have asked for a better ending to the 2019 regular season. In fact, there was plenty of drama in the Huskies final regular season Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) doubleheader of the year, with defensive web gems and offensive blasts to keep even the casual softball fan entertained for a full five hours. What mattered most, though, was that St. Cloud State ended the day with two wins. Yes, the team closed out the regular season by taking down Southwest Minnesota State University, first by a score of 7-2 then in 4-2 walkoff style in game two.

It was the Mustangs that struck first rather than the Huskies, as they took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Southwest Minnesota State managed to get three dinky hits off senior ace Kate Kopeck (Lumsden, Sask. / Lumsden) resulting in the early lead for the visitors.

St. Cloud State wasn't about to be shutout in its final games regular season, as the team eventually scored seven runs on Mustang starter Athena Golling. It took the Huskies a while, though, to get the 'Skies going. The team put runners on base in the first but was held scoreless until the bottom of the second. Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) delivered the RBI, as her sacrifice fly to right field allowed Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) to score easily from third and tie the game at 1-1.

Kopeck and her defense held Southwest Minnesota State in check in both the third and fourth innings, as Kopeck pitched her way out of jams in both innings to preserve the 1-1 draw. The strong defensive play allowed the Huskies to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) hit a screaming line drive off the left center wall, allowing Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ont. / Emily Carr Secondary) to score and give St. Cloud State its first lead of the day at 2-1.

Naturally, the Mustangs made thing interesting in the top of the fifth, as they took advantage of an uncharacteristic Husky fielding error to even the score at 2-2. That's when Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) decided to take matters into her own hands. The first year designated player hit an opposite field, two-run home run to deep left field, helped St. Cloud State take a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth.

The first year wasn't done hitting bombs, though. In the bottom of the very next inning, the first year hit yet another home run, this time a three-run homer over the right field fence, for her first multi-home run game of her career with the Huskies. The home run also gave St. Cloud State a few insurance runs, as the team headed to the seventh inning with a 7-2 lead over Southwest Minnesota State.

Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port) would close out the game in dominating fashion, as she sent six Mustangs down in order to preserve the 7-2 "W" for St. Cloud State. The team in general would tally 14 hits over the seven inning stretch, while Estrada went 2-4 at the plate with five RBI.

It was a similar story in game two, as the Mustangs took an early 2-0 home run over the Huskies thanks to a two-out home run by clean up hitter Kailee Tomlinson. Like in game one, St. Cloud State was able to answer, though it wasn't until the third inning of the ball game. Pinkowski led off the inning with a single, stole second, reached third on a base hit bunt from Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) and scored on an error by Southwest Minnesota State's catcher to cut the lead to 2-1. Keating would then score the game-tying run on an RBI groundout from Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) to even things up at 2-2.

LaPoint would hold the Mustangs at bay in the sixth and seventh innings, pitching her way out of a sticky situation in the sixth to give her team a chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh. It looked like extra innings were on the horizon, though, as Francesconi flew out to center for out number one and Alexis Jacobs (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) grounded out to the third baseman to leave the bases empty with two outs.

It was Pinkowski who started the two-out rally and Emmans who would very definitively end it. The first year right fielder came up with a clutch two-out double to put a runner in scoring position for the senior catcher, who did what she does best. After watching the first pitch go by, Emmans swung at the second and launched it over the left-center fence, winning the game for St. Cloud State in the final at bat of her collegiate career at Selke Field.

Thanks to Emmans walk off home run, the Huskies won the second game by a final score of 4-2 and earned one last NSIC sweep in their final doubleheader of the regular season. LaPoint earned her 11^th win of the season, while Keating and Pinkowski both went 2-3 at the plate and accounted for three of the team's four runs in the game.

With the sweep, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 40-14, marking the first time in over five years the team has eclipsed the 40 wins plateau, and the Huskies close the regular season with a 22-8 record in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to action on May 2 when it competes at the NSIC tournament in Rochester, Minnesota. More information regarding the Huskies first round opponent, as well as ticket prices and field locations, will be available later this week.