Huskies ruffle Peacocks in Sunday sweep

Sunday, April 25

St. Cloud, Minn.

11 a.m.

St. Cloud State

19-12, 8-9

Upper Iowa University

10-22, 6-13

Upper Iowa

St. Cloud State

Liftoff! Holly Weinberger connects for her second home run of the season in game one against Upper Iowa.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/25/2021 3:31:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University softball team was well aware of the old adage Sunday's are made for sweeping. The Huskies did some good clean up work in Sunday's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) doubleheader against Upper Iowa University, as they beat both the Peacocks and the weather to return to .500 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State took game one by a final score of 8-4 before completely dominating in game two, winning 15-0 in five innings.

The Huskies were not the team that got the ball rolling in game one, as Upper Iowa took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, as they hit not one, but two solo home runs off ace Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port). St. Cloud State put together the perfect response in the bottom of the inning, as the team scored three runs of its own on four hits for a 3-2 lead. In fact, the Huskies wasted no time scoring their first run of the game, as Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) scored easily on a Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) double to cut the Peacocks lead to 2-1. Vanden Langenberg merely had to trot home for St. Cloud State's second run, as Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) hit a towering home run over the left-center fence to give the Huskies a 3-2 lead.

The Huskies 3-2 advantage held until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the team tallied a few extra insurance runs, just in case. Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) hit a one-out double to reignite St. Cloud State's offense and later scored on a RBI single by Estrada. Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) provided the fireworks of the inning, though, as she hit her first collegiate home run at Selke Field to boost St. Cloud State's lead to to 6-2.

Those extra runs proved to be necessary, as Upper Iowa pulled within two of the Huskies in the top of the sixth inning. After surrendering a leadoff walk, it looked like Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) pitched her way out of a jam, as she got the Peacocks six and seven hitters to fly out. However, Upper Iowa put together a two out rally of its own, scoring its two runs on a RBI single by pitcher Abby McKay to cut St. Cloud State's lead to 6-4.

In the end, it was no harm, no foul, as the Huskies hit yet another home run in the bottom of the sixth to regain a 8-4 advantage. This time, the home run was courtesy of Conrads, who blasted a ball over the center field fence with Bowlin on base, clinching the four-run win for St. Cloud State.

LaPoint was the pitcher of record in game one, as her overall record improved to 4-2 this season thanks to her three innings of work. The junior ace tallied four strikeouts without walking a single batter and allowed only two runs to score on five Peacock hits.

Game two looked like it was destined to be a pitcher's duel, as Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) and Sydney Wilcox were dealing in the circle in the opening. Kirchberg gave up a single in the top of the first but otherwise handled the Upper Iowa hitters with ease, while Wilcox sent the Huskies top three hitters down in order for a scoreless first inning.

The duel did not last long after that. Though Kirchberg continued to dominate in the circle for St. Cloud State, the Huskies hitters quickly figured out Wilcox, scoring 13 runs in the second to take a 13-0 lead. St. Cloud State nearly hit for the cycle during the explosive inning, tallying four singles, four doubles and one triple while 15 total Huskies reached base. Additionally, St. Cloud State nearly broke a record it set earlier this year for runs scored in a single inning but came five shy of the program record 18.

Either way, the Huskies held an impressive 13-0 lead after two innings, and with Kirchberg dealing on the mound, it looked like the game was over. St. Cloud State, though, wasn't satisfied with its lead, as the team went and scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. First year Madie Pich (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) hit a leadoff single to open the inning, and Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis. / Appleton North) brought her home by hitting the first home run of her Huskies career.

The Peacocks made things interesting in the top of the fifth, as they managed to load the bases with two outs. Rather than get rattled, Kirchberg stayed the course, making an impressive defensive play of her own to secure the shutout and a 15-0 win for St. Cloud State. The sophomore improved to 7-4 on the season, as she went the distance to earn the complete game shutout victory.

Twelve different Huskies recorded at least one hit in Sunday's doubleheader and several recorded multi-base hits for the first time in their respective careers. In game one, Estrada and Weinberger led the way for St. Cloud State, as they both went 2-3 at the plate with one run scored. Estrada led with three RBI while Weinberger tallied two to close her impressive week at the plate.

Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) was the top hitter in game two for the Huskies, as she went 2-2 at the plate and scored two runs in the victory. Bowlin was 2-3 with a team-leading three RBI, while Krueger tallied two RBI with her impressive home run in the fourth inning.

With the sweep, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 20-12 and the team is now 9-9 in NSIC play. The Huskies will continue their quest for the playoffs on Saturday, May 1 when they face Southwest Minnesota State University at 1 and 3 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota.