Softball earns Saturday sweep over Wayne State

Saturday, April 3

St. Cloud, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

13-6, 2-3

Wayne State College

3-14, 0-5

Wayne State

St. Cloud State

Haley McFarlane tallied two hits in both games against Wayne State Saturday afternoon.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/3/2021 6:05:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University softball offense is alive and well. After earning a split with No. 2 Augustana University on Friday, the Huskies ended the weekend by earning their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) sweep of the 2021 spring season, and they did so in dominant fashion. St. Cloud State scored 21 runs over the course of 13 innings, defeating Wayne State College by scores of 13-6 and 8-0.

The Huskies scored early and often in their opener against the Wildcats, as they scored two in the first inning and dive in the second to take an early 7-0 lead. Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) delivered the RBI hits in both innings, as her RBI single in the bottom of the first easily scored Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) from second. It was her second inning performance, though, that was nothing short of masterful, as the sophomore designated player hit a towering grand slam over the left field fence to give St. Cloud State a 7-0 lead after two.

Wayne State scored its first run of the game in the top of the third, as Michaela Smith scored on a double by Kortney Buresh to cut the Huskies lead to 7-1. St. Cloud State responded by scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning, extending its lead to 11-1 after three innings.

It seemed as though the Huskies were destined to end the game early, but the Wildcats had other plans. The tenacious visitors scored four runs on Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port) in the top of the fourth inning, pulling within six of St. Cloud State at 11-5. The Huskies scored one in the bottom of the fourth, as Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) took advantage of a Wayne State error to extend the lead back to seven at 12-5.

The Wildcats would score another run in the top of the fifth, foiling St. Cloud State's plans of ending the game early due to the eight run rule. In the end, though, it was no harm, no foul, as the Huskies scored another in the bottom of the sixth to secure the 13-6 victory. Estrada broke the record for single game RBI in the victory, as her seven RBI performance broke Ally Koski's long standing record. The sophomore additionally went 4-5 at the plate with four runs scored, while teammate Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) went 2-3 with two RBI and two walks.

The Huskies scoring ways continued in game two, as they again took an early lead over Wayne State. This time, after being held scoreless in the first inning, St. Cloud State scored five runs in the second thanks to outstanding discipline at the plate. McFarlane hit a lead off single to open the inning before Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) reached on an error to put runners on first and second with no outs. Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) proceeded to draw a five pitch walk to load the bases for junior outfielder Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake).

Pinkowski didn't even need to swing the bat to tally an RBI, as she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring McFarlane home for the Huskies first run of the game. From there, St. Cloud State scored four more runs in the inning, as Bowlin and Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) delivered the RBI hits to five the Huskies a 5-0 advantage.

With Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) dominating in the circle, that lead would have sufficed. However, St. Cloud State went ahead and scored two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to clinch the 8-0 victory. McFarlane delivered the walk off hit in the bottom of the sixth, as her single allowed Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) to score from second base to secure the 8-0 win in six innings.

Thomsen was gold in the circle for the Huskies in game two, as she surrendered just four hits in six complete innings of work and did not walk a single Wayne State batter. At the plate, Bowlin, McFarlane and Pinkowski all had multi-hit days, while Bowlin and Vanden Langenberg tallied three RBI a piece.

With the sweep, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 14-6 and the team is now 3-3 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on Wednesday, April 7 when they host Bemidji State at 1 and 3 p.m. at Selke Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota.