Softball advances to second round of NSIC Tournament

Thursday, May 2

Rochester, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

40-15

Minnesota State University - Mankato

36-17

Minnesota State

St. Cloud State

Megan Conrads connects with a pitch in the Huskies 14-5 win over Minot State Thursday afternoon.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

5/2/2019 8:57:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ROCHESTER, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University softball team experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows on the opening day of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament in Rochester, Minnesota Thursday afternoon. The Huskies opened the day with a heartbreaking loss to Minnesota State, falling 6-5 on a two-out single in the top of the seventh. However, St. Cloud State later rebounded with a huge 14-5 win over Minot State University, allowing the team to advance to the second round of the conference tournament.

The Huskies dropped a heartbreaker in game one, despite holding an early lead through the first half of the ball game. In fact, it was St. Cloud State that scored the first run of the ball game, as Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) scored from first on a throwing error by Minnesota State to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Huskies then went ahead and scored four insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth on some outstanding hitting from the heart of the line up.

It was Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) who broke through and recorded St. Cloud State's first hit of the game, as her single up the middle would be the first of five hits for the Huskies in the high-scoring third inning. Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) followed it up with a single of her own before Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) brought home Keating with a liner down the left field line to put St. Cloud State up 2-0.

The Huskies weren't done scoring, though, as Conrads and Estrada advanced a base on an error by the Mavericks left fielder, allowing Conrads to score on a squeeze bunt from Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour). This was all before Bowlin came up clutch again, this time with her bat, as her single up the middle scored both freshmen to boost St. Cloud State's lead to 5-0.

Minnesota State cut the lead to 5-3 in the top of the fourth, as the Mavericks put together a three-hit inning of their own to cut the Huskies lead virtually in half. It looked like St. Cloud State was going to answer with another high scoring inning of its own, as Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) and Keating tallied infield hits to put runners on first and second with one out. The scoring wasn't meant to be for the Huskies, as it was Minnesota State who would score next to cut the lead to 5-4 after five.

That score would hold until the seventh inning when the Mavericks would take a 6-5 lead on two hits and an uncharacteristic St. Cloud State error. Though the Huskies tried to put together a rally in the bottom of the inning but it was to no avail, as they fell by a final score of 6-5.

St. Cloud State wasn't about to go home after the opening day of the NSIC tournament, though, as the team unleashed for 14 runs on 14 hits to take down Minot State 14-5 in the elimination game. Unlike the game against Minnesota State, the Huskies had a hole to dig themselves out of, as the Beavers took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

It ended up being no harm, no foul for St. Cloud State, the team answered with a five-run inning of its own in the bottom of the second. Estrada kicked things off with a leadoff walk before singles from Vanden Langenberg and Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ont. / Emily Carr Secondary) allowed the Huskies to cut Minot State's lead to 5-2.

Things only got better from there for St. Cloud State. Alexis Jacobs (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) drew a one-out walk and Pinkowski singled to load the bases for the ever capable Morgan Emmans (Blaine, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy). The senior then did some senior things, as she turned a 15-pitch at bat into an RBI walk and whittled the Beaver lead to 5-3 in the process. Conrads then delivered the clutch two-put single that tied the game at five runs apiece.

The Huskies were held quiet in the bottom of the third before scoring a boatload of runs on a boatload of hits in the bottom of the third to take the definitive 14-9 lead over Minot State. Emmans scored what would be the game winning run, again on an RBI single by Conrads, kickstarting the huge inning for St. Cloud State.

Still, the Huskies to record three outs in the top of the fifth to secure their victory. Standing in their way were the Beavers six, seven and eight hitters who each had at least one hit or RBI to their name. Those three hitters were no problem for LaPoint, as she sent them down in order to clinch the 14-5 win for St. Cloud State.

Several Huskies impressed at the plate in the win over Minot State, but none more so than junior Francesconi. The center fielder was 3-3 with two runs and two RBIs for St. Cloud State, while Emmans, Vanden Langenberg and Conrads both went 2-3 and combined for seven RBI in the impressive victory.

LaPoint rebounded from the Minnesota State loss by earning her 13^th victory of the season for the Huskies. The first year pitched a flawless 3.1 innings of work, as she did not give up a single run while striking out three.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 41-15, allowing the team to advance to the second round of the NSIC Tournament for the third consecutive year. The Huskies will face Sioux Falls in another elimination game on Field A. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. on Field A at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota.