Softball drops two in Florida

Friday, March 6

Auburndale, Florida

10 a.m.

St. Cloud State

7-4

University of Charleston

14-1

Univ. of Charleston

St. Cloud State

Jasmin Estrada tallied four hits Friday for the Huskies.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

3/6/2020 10:39:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

AUBURNDALE, FLA. – The St. Cloud State University softball team has always enjoyed playing in spring weather, even if it never seemed to appear in Minnesota in a timely fashion. After a weekend away in Florida, the Huskies continued their travels Friday afternoon, as they flew to Auburndale, Florida to partake in the annual Spring Games and hopefully capture a few wins, and rays, along the way. St. Cloud State didn't exactly get off to the start it wanted in Florida, as the team dropped its first two games of the trip, falling to the University of Charleston 7-4 before dropping a close game two to Seton Hill University 5-4.

In the opener against Charleston, the Huskies and Golden Eagles both got off to a hot start, as the two teams were already knotted 1-1 after the second inning. Charleston struck first, as the team drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored the runner on an RBI double two batters later. St. Cloud State, though, had a pretty good answer to that opening run, as Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) launched a ball for her third home run of the season to even things up at one run apiece.

The Huskies held the Golden Eagles for the next three innings, but Charleston did the same to them, as the visitors managed to hold St. Cloud State to just one hit after Estrada's homer in the second. That allowed the Golden Eagles to take a lead in the top of the sixth, as two batters would score to give Charleston the late 3-1 lead.

Again the Huskies answered as they scored three runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 advantage headed to the seventh and final inning of the ball game. Senior second baseman Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake), putting a runner in scoring position for St. Cloud State with just one out. The sacrifice paid off, as Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) and Estrada tallied back-to-back singles, allowing the Huskies to pull even at 3-3.

St. Cloud State eventually recorded the go ahead run one batter later, as first year outfielder Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) came up with a clutch RBI double, scoring Emma Murphy (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) to put the Huskies 4-3. That lead seemed good enough for Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes), who pitched the Huskies out of the jam in the top of the sixth. Unfortunately, Charleston scored three runs on the first year pitcher to take a 7-4 lead in the top of the seventh.

St. Cloud State put together a rally in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn't enough to overcome the three-run seventh, as the team fell by a final score of 7-4. Estrada was the team's top hitter, going 3-4 with two RBI, while Keating and Conrads both tallied two hits in the loss.

The Huskies looked to rebound with a win in game two, but sadly it was not in the cards, as they fell by a final score of 5-4. St. Cloud State found itself in an early 1-0 deficit, as Seton Hill took a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning, forcing the Huskies to come from behind as they have done often this year. St. Cloud State did just that, as the team answered by taking a 2-1 in the second on a Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) double.

Sadly, the Griffons scored four unanswered runs in fourth inning, taking a 5-2 lead with three innings left in the ball game. The Huskies, though, were not deterred by the deficit, as they were ready and hungry for a comeback with over Seton Hill. The comeback looked like a serious possibility, as Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) scored an unearned run to cut the lead to 5-3.

It all came down to the top of the seventh inning, when St. Cloud State put together a furious rally and gave itself a serious chance to win the ball game. First year catcher Kaitlyn Istvanovich (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) drew a lead off walk before Keating and Bowlin helped load the bases with back to back singles.

With no outs and bases loaded, Conrads came up with a big sacrifice fly, allowing Istvanovich to score easy from third and cut the Griffons lead to 5-4. Unfortunately, Istvanovich was the only player to score that inning, as Seton Hill managed to get both Estrada and Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) out to end the game with a 5-4 win.

Bowlin was the top hitter for the Huskies in game two, going 2-2 at the plate with one run and two walks, while Keating, Estrada and Francesconi accounted for St. Cloud State's other hits.

Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) suffered her third loss of the season in the circle, surrendering four runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings of work. The junior additionally tallied two strikeouts in the loss.

With the double losses, the Huskies overall record falls to 7-5. The team will return to action on Saturday when it takes on Rockhurst University and Ferris State University in Auburndale, Florida. First pitch against Rockhurst is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with the Ferris State game to follow.