Softball comes up short against No. 20 Winona State

Saturday, April 24

St. Cloud, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

18-11, 7-8

Winona State University

26-6, 15-4

Winona State

St. Cloud State

Jasmin Estrada was the lone Husky with two hits in the second game against Winona State.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/24/2021 5:06:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - So close, they could almost taste it. That's what St. Cloud State University softball team's Saturday doubleheader felt like against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) foe Winona State. The Huskies handed the nationally ranked Warriors all they could handle, as they held multiple leads throughout games one and two Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, St. Cloud State came up just short, as late inning rallies by Winona State resulted in 5-4 and 3-1 wins at Selke Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

It was clear at least one of the games would be a pitchers; duel, as the Huskies and Warriors own two of the top staffs in the NSIC. In game one, St. Cloud State sent junior ace Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port) to the mound to battle Jordyn Kleman, the reigning NSIC Pitcher of the Year, and contain Winona State's red hot offense. LaPoint did just that, as surrendered just one earned through her first three innings of work.

The one run came in the top of the third inning, as center fielder Katie Kolb lifted LaPoint's rise ball over the right-center fence to give the Warriors an early 1-0 lead. The Huskies responded in perfect fashion, as they scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead over No. 2 Winona State. The rally started with Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary), as the left fielder reached on an error by the Warriors second baseman before Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) walked to put runners on first and second with no outs.

That's when the excitement started. With Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) at the plate, head coach Paula U'Ren called for a double steal of second and third, which Francesconi and Keating executed to absolute perfection. Bowlin then hit an infield single to load the bases with no outs and the heart of St. Cloud State's batting order coming to the plate.

Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) delivered the first big hit, as her sacrifice fly to center fielder allowed Francesconi to tag up and score, tying the game at 1-1. Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) then delivered the hit of the game, as she hit an RBI up the middle off Kleman to score Keating for a 2-1 Huskies lead.

St. Cloud State added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, as Vanden Langenberg hit a monster home run off Kleman with Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) to extend the Huskies lead to 4-1. With LaPoint dealing on the mound, the three-run lead seemed like enough, but the Warriors quickly proved why they are one of the top teams in the nation in the top of the sixth inning. After two fluke plays resulted in runners on first and second with one out, Teaghan Amwoza hit a three-run home run to tie the game at 4-4. Three batters later, Winona State regained its one run advantage, as an RBI groundout by Kolb made it 5-4 with an inning and a half remaining in the game.

It looked like St. Cloud State was going to put together scoring rallies in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, but the Huskies were held scoreless in both innings. Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) laced a double down the left field line to open the bottom of the sixth, but was stranded at second base. In the bottom of the seventh, St. Cloud State saw two runners reach base with one out, but it was to no avail, as Kleman recorded two quick outs, resulting in the 5-4 loss for the Huskies.

Game two was once again another pitcher's duel, as Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) and Liz Pautz surrendered a combined two runs through the first six innings of play. This time, St. Cloud State struck first, as Estrada blasted a pitch into orbit and over the left field fence in the bottom of the second for an early 1-0 Huskies lead. Like in game one, Winona State responded with a big inning of its own, as the Warriors scored one run on two hits in the top of the third to even the score at 1-1.

From that moment on, both teams threatened to take a definitive lead, but neither offense was able to record a serviceable hit off Thomsen or Pautz. In fact, in the fourth and fifth innings, both Winona State and St. Cloud State's batters went down in order, heightening the tension in the dust filled air. In the sixth, it looked like the Warriors were set to put together a decent scoring chance, as Allie Nowak and Sam Keller reached base on dinky singles before a fielder's choice gone wrong loaded the bases for the Warriors.

Thomsen wasn't rattled, as she got game one hero Amwoza to fly out to the shortstop to end the visiting team's two out rally. After the Huskies went down in order in the bottom of the inning, though, Winona State had another chance to take a lead, this time in the final seventh inning. After Thomsen gave up a lead off single and a one-out walk, U'Ren brought in relief pitcher Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) to close the deal for St. Cloud State. The redshirt sophomore did what she was supposed to, as she managed to get Nowak to hit a ground ball toward the second baseman. Unfortunately, it was in the one place Keating couldn't reach, as the ball rolled into right field, allowing the Warriors to score two for a 3-1 lead.

The Huskies again put together a rally in the bottom of the inning looking to tie or win on a walkoff. Conrads opened the inning with a walk and Estrada looped a single into center field to put runners on first and second with one out. The runners then advanced to second and third on a ground out by Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie), bringing Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) to the plate. Pinkowski, sadly, could not come up with the late inning heroics, as St. Cloud State fell by a final score of 3-1.

Estrada was the top hitter on the field for the Huskies Saturday afternoon, as she went 2-3 in both games with one run and one RBI. Vanden Langenberg and Bowlin were the only other student-athletes to record multiple hits on the day, as Bowlin went 2-4 in game one, and Vanden Langeberg went 1-3 with three RBI in game one and 1-2 with a walk in game two.

LaPoint took the loss in game one, as she gave up five runs, four earned, on eight hits with six strikeouts. Thomsen was the pitcher of record in game two, as she surrendered three runs, all earned, on six hits with five strikeouts.

With the losses, St. Cloud State's overall record falls to 18-10 and the team is now 7-9 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on Sunday, April 25 when they host Upper Iowa University at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Author's note: the official scorer is unsure if Estrada's home run ball in gae two has returned from space.