St. Cloud State
15-6, 4-3
Bemidji State University
7-14, 3-4
Huskies blank Beavers in midweek sweep
4/6/2021 4:39:00 PM | Softball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It may have taken a few games, but there's no denying the St. Cloud State University softball team is hot. Very hot. Both defensively and offensively. The Huskies beat both the weather and their opponent Tuesday afternoon, as they defeated Bemidji State University 13-0 and 4-0 for their second straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) sweep since the start of conference season.
St. Cloud State excelled in all facets of the game. The bats were on fire, as the Huskies hit 24 hits over the course of two games and scored a combined 17 runs. The defense additionally played one of its best games of the season, as St. Cloud State did not commit a single error in the field. There weren't many balls to field, though, as the Huskies pitchers were the star of the show Tuesday afternoon. St. Cloud State's pitching staff extended its shutout streak to 18 consecutive innings, as Lauren Kichberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus), Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) and Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port) threw back-to-back one hitters against Bemidji State. In game one, Kirchberg surrendered just one hit in five complete innings of work in the first inning, while a late hit by the Beavers broke up Thomsen's chance at a no-no in the sixth inning.
With the pitchers doing work on the mound, the Huskies only needed to score one or two runs for the win. Instead, the offense made a statement, as St. Cloud State used a seventh run fourth inning to take game one by a final score of 13-0. The Huskies started scoring in the bottom of the first, though, as a Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) triple and a Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) sacrifice fly resulted in an early 2-0 lead for St. Cloud State.
The Huskies added three more runs in the bottom of the second, extending their lead to 5-0 thanks to RBI hits from Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) and Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield). Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) made it 6-0 in the bottom of the third, as her RBI single scored Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) for St. Cloud State's sixth run of the ball game.
It was the fourth inning where the Huskies bats really came to life, as they scored seven runs on seven hits and one Bemidji State error. Bowlin got things started in the bottom of the inning, as she singled, stole third base and then later scored on a throwing error by the Beaver catcher. That seemingly opened the floodgates for St. Cloud State, as Conrads, Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville), Francesocni and Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) all recorded RBI hits, with Trees being of the home run variety.
After the 13-0 game one win, the Huskies continued to score in game two, as they once again scored two quick runs in the bottom of the first for the early 2-0 lead. It was Estrada and Conrads that delivered the RBI hits, as Estrada's single in the bottom of the inning scored the speedy Bowlin from second before she scored on a single from Estrada to make it 2-0 St. Cloud State after one.
The Huskies added two more runs in the bottom of the second, and it looked like they were well on their way to another high scoring game. Bemidji State, though, silenced St. Cloud State's bats in the remaining five innings, though the Beavers never could figure out Thomsen in the circle. The junior surrendered just one hit in six innings of work, tallying a season-high 12 strikeouts in the victory, and LaPoint came in to close the game in the second, securing the 4-0 win with back-to-back strikeouts.
Bowlin, Vanden Langenberg and Estrada all had good days at the plate, as they each tallied multiple hits and runs against the Bemidji State pitching staff. Estrada and Vanden Langenberg both went 3-4 in game two, while Bowlin went 2-2 in game one.
Kirchberg earned the win in the opener, as she surrendered just one hit in five complete innings of work, while Thomsen earned the win in game two.
With the sweep, the Huskies overall record improves to 16-6 and they are now 5-3 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to action on Saturday when the team travels to Bismarck, North Dakota to face the University of Mary. Game one will begin at 12 p.m. with game two to follow.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kirchberg, Lauren (5-3)
L: Damerow, K. (1-7)
Base Running:
HBP: Kossan, L. 1
Batting:
2B: Weinberger, Holly 1
3B: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1 ; Francesconi, Cassie 1
HR: Trees, Sydney 1
RBI: Bowlin, Brooke 1 ; Estrada, Jasmin 2 ; Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1 ; Conrads, Megan 2 ; Keating, Maya 1 ; Francesconi, Cassie 3 ; Trees, Sydney 2
SH: Keating, Maya 1
SF: Conrads, Megan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bowlin, Brooke 3 ; Vanden Langenberg, Raven 2 ; Conrads, Megan 1 ; Weinberger, Holly 2 ; Keating, Maya 1 ; Francesconi, Cassie 2 ; Trees, Sydney 2
SB: Bowlin, Brooke 3 ; Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1 ; Trees, Sydney 1
CS: Estrada, Jasmin 1
