Huskies split on second day at HyVee Classic

Sunday, March 21

Warrensburg, Mo.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

11-2

Northeastern State University

13-8

Northeastern State

St. Cloud State

Trinty Junker struck out 10 and walked two in the Huskies win over Northeastern State Sunday afternoon.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

3/21/2021 7:28:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

WARRENSBURG, MO. - The St. Cloud State University softball team is going to be a very fun team to watch in the upcoming months. After suffering a small offensive blip Saturday afternoon, the Huskies offense was back with a vengeance on the second and final day of the HyVee Classic in Warrensburg, Missouri. St. Cloud State split its final day at the tournament, as the team dominated in an 8-0 win over Northeastern State University before falling in extra innings to the University of Central Missouri 7-6.

Strong pitching and clutch hitting resulted in the Huskies 8-0 win over the RiverHawks, as their offense exploded for nine hits in five innings while scoring eight runs. St. Cloud State set the tone early in the game, as it scored its first run of the game on an RBI single from Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia), taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The one run in the first inning was an indicator of great things to come, as the Huskies put up five runs in the second to extend their lead to 6-0. Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) stayed hot at the plate, as her RBI single in the bottom of the second scored Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) to give St. Cloud State a 2-0 lead. The senior, along with Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) and Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake), scored later in the inning, boosting the Huskies lead to 6-0 after two.

Though St. Cloud State didn't need two extra runs with Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) on the mound, the team went ahead and scored two more in the third. Bowlin and Vanden Langenberg again scored in the bottom of the third to take an 8-0 lead over Northeastern State.

The eight runs were more than enough for Junker who dazzled en route to her second win of the 2021 season. The redshirt freshman blanked the RiverHawks and surrendered just one hit in five complete innings of work. Perhaps more impressive? Junker struckout a career-high 10 batters in the victory and walked just two batters.

The Huskies got off to an equally hot start in their second game of the day, as they wasted no time taking a 2-0 lead over Central Missouri. The speedy Bowlin hit a one-out triple in the top of the first to put a runner on third for power hitter Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South). The junior's speed wasn't necessary to score the go ahead run, though, as Conrads blasted a home run over the center field fence to give St. Cloud State the early 2-0 lead.

The Jennies got one run back in the bottom of the second, as they hit a lead off home run to cut the Huskies lead to 2-1. St. Cloud State tried to answer in the top of the third, but the heart of the team's order was sent down in order, bringing Central Missouri back to the plate. The Jennies went on to score three runs in the bottom of the first, taking a 5-2 lead on three hits and one uncharacteristic error in the field by the Huskies.

St. Cloud State got one back in the top of the fourth, as Francesconi scored on a Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) double to cut the Central Missouri lead to 5-3 after four innings. The Jennies, though, regained a three-run lead, as they scored an unearned run in the fifth to extend their lead to 6-3.

That's when things got interesting. Seemingly down and out for the count, the Huskies got two runs back in the top of the sixth by taking advantage of Central Missouri's fielding errors. Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) opened the inning with a hard ground ball to the third baseman and reached base on the fielder's error. She then scored on a bunt single by Francesconi, cutting the lead to 6-4. Keating then pulled St. Cloud State within one at 6-5, as her bunt single allowed Vanden Langenberg to score easier from third.

After holding the Jennies scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, the Huskies came to the plate in the seventh down to their final outs. Bowlin opened the inning with a leadoff single and advanced to second on an error by the shortstop. She then scored the equalizer on a RBI single from Weinberger, making it 6-6 with no outs on the scoreboard for St. Cloud State.

The Huskies were unable to score, despite putting runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the inning. Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) kept Central Missouri off the board in the bottom of the seventh, forcing extra innings for the second consecutive day. Sadly, the Huskies came up short, as the Jennies scored a single run in the bottom of the eighth to win the game 7-6.

With the split, St. Cloud State's overall record stands at 11-3 at the conclusion of nonconference play. The Huskies will officially open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season on Tuesday, March 30 when they host the University of Minnesota-Duluth at 1 and 3 p.m. in the Husky Dome.