U’Ren earns 750th win with sweep of SMSU

Friday, March 12

St. Cloud, Minn.

1 p.m.

St. Cloud State

9-0

Southwest Minnesota State University

7-4

Southwest Minnesota

St. Cloud State

The St. Cloud State softball team celebrates head coach Paula U'Ren's 750th win Friday afternoon.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/12/2021 6:07:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - St. Cloud State University head softball coach Paula U'Ren has seen a lot of softball. In 24 years, the verteran head coach has won far more than she's lost, as she became the program's winningest coach back in 2019.

On Friday, U'Ren reached another key milestone: her 750th win. Thanks to her team's sweep of Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) Friday afternoon, U'Ren clinched career wins 749 and 750 and helped her team improve to 10-0 on the 2021 season.

The St. Cloud State offense picked up right where it left off, scoring six runs in the first three innings in game one to take on early 6-0 win over SMSU. In fact, the Huskies fourth run inning was propelled by a lead off double by Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville), who eventually scored on an RBI single by Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour). From there, St. Cloud State tacked on four more runs, as Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) and Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) scored on an RBI triple by Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) before the speedy left fielder came home on a RBI single by Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia).

With a 4-0 lead after one, the Huskies expanded it to 6-0 after three, as Weinberger again delivered a two-out double to give her team the six run lead. The Mustangs did manage to cut the lead to 6-1 in the fourth, as Kalie Tomlinson broke up Sydney LaPoint's (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port) no-hitter with a two-out homer to cut the St. Cloud State lead to five.

The Huskies regained a six-run lead an inning later. It was again Weinberger who delivered the RBI hit, as her single allowed Bowlin to score easily from second base, extending the lead to 7-1. While St. Cloud State didn't necessarily need seven runs for victory, the cushion was certainly nice, as SMSU decided to make things interesting in the top of the seventh. The Mustangs managed back-to-back hits off LaPoint before an uncharacteristic error allowed SMSU to cut the Huskies lead to 7-3.

It was no harm, no foul, as LaPoint finished the game with a strikeout to clinch the 7-3 victory for St. Cloud State.

The second game started much like the first for the Huskies, though the Mustangs managed to keep them off the scoreboard in the first inning of play. St. Cloud State, though, could not be tamed in the second, as the Huskies scored three runs on five hits to take the early 3-0 lead. The team then tacked on two more in the fifth, extending the lead to 5-0 thanks to an RBI from Vanden Langenberg, and one in the sixth, securing the 6-0 win with yet another run by Bowlin.

Bowlin once again had an outstanding day at the plate, going 2-3 in both games to finish the double headheader 4-6 with four runs and two RBI. Estrada also had a strong day at the plate, going 2-2 in game one and 1-2 in game two with two runs and two walks.

Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) earned the win in game two, improving to 4-0 on the season with a complete game performance. The junior pitched seven complete innings in the circle, surrendering no runs and just two hits with found strikeouts and no walks.

With the sweep, St. Cloud State improves to 10-0 in the season with four games remaining in its nonconference schedule. The Huskies will return to action on Friday, March 19 when they face Missouri Western at the Hy-Vee Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri.