Underclassmen guide Huskies to Mary sweep

Sunday, April 7

St. Cloud, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

24-11, 6-5

University of Mary

13-16, 4-5

MARY

St. Cloud State

St. Cloud State celebrates Megan Conrads game-winning home run in game two of its doubleheader against Mary Sunday afternoon.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/7/2019 4:29:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University softball team did not have the easiest start to the 2019 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season. The Huskies had to face two of the projected top-4 teams in the conference in their first two NSIC doubleheaders and started with an 0-4 record in conference play. Finally, St. Cloud State broke the .500 mark, as the team improved to 7-5 in NSIC play thanks to two come-from-behind wins over the University of Mary Sunday afternoon thanks to an 8-5 game one victory and a 4-3 comeback in game two.

The Marauders struck first, as they managed to get one run across the board against first year starter Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bayport) to take an early 1-0 lead. As per usual, the Huskies had the perfect answer in the bottom of the inning, as they scored three runs of their own to gain the 3-1 advantage. Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) drew a lead off walk to start the inning before she and Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) scored on a monster three-run homer from Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) to give St. Cloud State a 3-1 lead.

Mary struck again in the top of the second, as the visitors tallied two runs on three hits to even the score at 3-3. It didn't take long, though, for the Huskies to strike again. To no one's surprise, it was Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) who regained a lead for St. Cloud State, as her solo home run in the bottom of the third gave the Huskies a 4-3 advantage with four innings to play.

After a scoreless fourth for both teams, it looked like St. Cloud State's 4-3 lead would hold until the end. The Marauders, though, evened the score at 4-4 in the top of the fifth, forcing head coach Paula U'Ren to put Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) on the mound for LaPoint. The first year did her job, as she surrendered just one earned run in two innings of work to earn the first save of her career and clinch the 8-5 lead for the Huskies.

The score was tied 4-4 after five, meaning St. Cloud State went ahead and scored four runs over the course of two innings to secure the win. It all started in the bottom of the fifth, as the Huskies managed to load the bases with zero outs on the board. St. Cloud State got one across thanks to an RBI single from Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) and took a 6-4 lead on an RBI lineout from Jacobs.

Kirchberg surrendered her first earned run of the season in the top of the sixth, as Mariah Sanchez hit an inside the park home run to cut the Huskies lead to 6-5. In the end, the single home run didn't matter, as St. Cloud State added two insurance runs in the sixth to extend its lead to 8-5. Estrada and Vanden Langenberg provided the RBIs, while Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) and Emmans scored for the Huskies.

Kirchberg clinched her second win of the season in dominant fashion, as she got the Mary two, four and five hitters to ground out to her infielders to secure the 8-5 win. Estrada, Vanden Langenberg and Jacobs all went 2-3 at the plate and combined for seven of St. Cloud state's eight RBI in the game.

The Huskies did not get off to the best start in game two, as the Marauders jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and forced starting pitcher Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) out of the game before the inning even ended. The way St. Cloud State's batters were hitting, though, it seemed fairly certain that the team would trim the lead early and potentially tie in the bottom of the inning. Mary pitcher Brieann Backles did a good job holding the Husky bats at bay, as she pitched four scoreless innings and surrendered just three hits to St. Cloud State in the first half of the game.

The Huskies eventually managed to strike through in the bottom of the fifth, as Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) delivered a one-out sacrifice fly, allowing Jacobs to score easily from third and cut the Marauder lead to 3-1. St. Cloud state wasn't done scoring in the inning, though. Emmans and Keating both kept the rally alive by hitting a two out singles before Conrads cleared the bases with an inside the park home run to right field, giving the Huskies their first lead of the game at 4-3.

After coming in with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, Emma Murphy (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) sent the Mary batters packing. The sophomore put down all eight Marauders she faced and secured the 4-3 lead for St. Cloud State with flawless pitching in the top of the seventh.

Murphy earned her first win of the season thanks to her perfect 2.2 innings of work on the mound. The sophomore did not allow a single batter to reach base and tallied two strikeouts en route to her first victory of the season. Kirchberg also pitched another fantastic game, as she also blanked Mary while giving up just three hits in 3.2 innings of relief.

Conrads extended her hit-streak to 12 straight games, a she went 2-3 at the plate with three RBI and a run for the Huskies. Five hitters tallied at least one hit in the game, while Emmans, Keating, Conrads and Jacobs all scored runs in the doubleheader nightcap.

With the sweep, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 25-11 and the team is now 7-5 in NSIC play. The Huskies look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday when they travel to Moorhead, Minnesota to take on Minnesota-State Moorhead. As of now, first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Moorhead, Minnesota.