Softball earns Saturday sweep over Minot State

Saturday, February 27

St. Cloud, Minn.

3 p.m.

St. Cloud State

7-0

Minot State University

7-4

Minot State

St. Cloud State

Brooke Bowlin went 5-6 at the plate against the Beavers with 2 RBI and a triple.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

2/27/2021 8:36:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The results are in. Despite the a week hiatus, the St. Cloud State University softball team is still hot!

After a week off from play, the Huskies hosted Minot State University in a nonconference Saturday afternoon doubleheader. In the end, it may have been the perfect preview for the upcoming Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season, as St. Cloud State earned the sweep with 4-3 and 7-4 wins in the Husky Dome Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies went the distance in game one, as it took 10 innings to take down the Beavers 4-3 in game one. From the get go, it looked like it might be a high scoring affair, as Minot State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. St. Cloud State responded promptly, as Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) scored courtesy of an RBI single from Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield), making it 1-1 after the first.

The Huskies proceeded to score again in the second, as the speedy Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) scored an unearned run to give her team a 2-1 run. However, that was the last either team would score for nearly two innings. The next time either team struck, it was the Beavers, as they evened the score 2-2 in the top of the fourth before taking a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth on a RBI single from Isis Cabral.

Again, St. Cloud State answered, as Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 3-3. That was the last time either team would score for the next five innings. That's right. Though both the Huskies and Beavers threatened in the sixth through tenth inning, neither team was able to cross the plate, resulting in a 3-3 tie after nine innings of play.

St. Cloud State finally broke through in the bottom of the tenth, and the team didn't even need the international run rule to score the game-winner. Estrada's leadoff single gave the Huskies a runner on first with no outs and the heart of the order at the plate, prompting head coach Paula U'Ren to put pinch runner Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis. / Appleton North) at first base. Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) bunted Krueger to second, and a throwing error by Minot State allowed the speedy first year to advance to third standing up.

Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) provided the walk off heroics, as her blast of a sacrifice fly to center field allowed Krueger to score from third, clinching the 4-3 win for St. Cloud State. Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) earned the win in the circle, as she surrendered just one run on seven hits in 6.1 innings of work.

Like game one, both teams got off to a hot start in game two, as Minot State took a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run by Zoya Robbins. The Huskies answered with a big offensive inning of their own, as they scored three runs on five hits in the first to take a 3-2 lead over the Beavers.

From there, St. Cloud State never looked back, as the team tacked on two more runs in the second and an additional two in the fourth to hold a 7-2 lead after five innings. However, Minot State was not about to go away quietly, as the Beavers made things interesting by cutting the Huskies lead to 7-4 in the top of the sixth.

In the end, it was no harm, no foul, as Kirchberg came in to earn the save in the seventh and clinch the 7-4 win and Saturday sweep for St. Cloud State.

Several Huskies found offensive success during the day, including Estrada, who went 4-7 at the plate with two runs, two RBI and two walks during the doubleheader. Vanden Langenberg went 5-7 at the plate with two runs, while Bowlin was 5-6 on the day with two RBI.

Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) earned the win in game two, surrendering four runs on five hits in five innings of work.

With the sweep, St. Cloud State maintains its perfect record and improves to 8-0 on the season. The Huskies will return to action on Friday, March 12 when they host Southwest Minnesota State University in a nonconfernece doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. with game two to follow.