St. Cloud State
21-12, 10-9
Southwest Minnesota State University
23-14, 14-9
Softball stays hot with SMSU sweep
5/1/2021 7:38:00 PM | Softball
MARSHALL, MINN. - Saturdays have always been a good day to get chores done around the house. The same was true for the St. Cloud State University softball team Saturday afternoon. The Huskies did some quality work in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) doubleheader against Southwest Minnesota State to earn their second consecutive sweep in conference play. A seventh inning rally allowed St. Cloud State to take game one 6-5 before the team earned a resounding 11-2 victory in game two.Â
The Huskies needed a late inning rally to win the first game, as the Mustangs held a 5-4 advantage over St. Cloud State after five innings of play. In fact, SMSU took the early lead in Marshall, Minnesota, as Bailey Johnson hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first to give her team the 1-0 advantage. The Huskies, though, were not to be deterred, as they went ahead at tied the game and one run a piece in the top of the third. It was Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) who delivered the clutch, two-out single to score the speedy Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) and tie the game 1-1.Â
St. Cloud State then took a seemingly definitive 4-1 lead in the top of fifth, as the team scored three runs on three hits, including a single, double and triple. Bowlin drew the leadoff walk to kick start the Huskies rally and advanced to third on a double down the left field line by Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South). The two didn't need to work nearly as hard to score on the next play, as Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) brought both home with a triple, giving St. Cloud State its first lead of the afternoon at 3-1.Â
The Huskies would score the fourth run of the game on an RBI groundout by Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia), which was seemingly enough with Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) on the mound. However, SMSU answered by scoring four runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth, taking a 5-4 advantage over St. Cloud State with two innings to play.Â
The Huskies took advantage of those final two innings, as they tied the game in the top of the sixth thanks to the speed of Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) and Conrads. While Conrads legged out a grounder to the shortstop, Keating dashed over to third, screening the fielder and buying herself just enough time to score on the throw, tying the game at 5-5. The real dramatics came in the top of the seventh. After back-to-back groundouts by Estrada and Weinberger, Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) kept St. Cloud State's rally hopes alive with a double down the left field line. The junior first baseman was brought home by Cassie Francsconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary School) to give the Huskies the 6-5 advantage.Â
Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) made quick work of the Mustangs line up in the bottom of the inning, securing the St. Cloud State win with a ground out, pop out and line out. The win also counted as Kircberg's eighth of the season, and she earned her second save of 2021, as she surrendered just two hits in two near perfect innings of work.
Game two was far closer than the final score indicated, at least for the first few innings. The Huskies were deadlocked in a 2-2 tie with SMSU after the first three innings of play, as both St. Cloud State and the Mustangs scored two runs in the first inning of play. The Huskies scored their runs on a RBI groundout by Estrada and RBI single by Weinberger, while SMSU scored two runs on a single off Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) to make it 2-2 after one.Â
Both Junker and Mustang starter Shelby Bloemendaal settled nicely after the first inning of play. That is until St. Cloud State scored six runs in the top of the fourth for an 8-2 lead. The rally all started with a leadoff single by Weinberger, who was subbed out at first for Tenley Quesnell (Boise, Idaho / Timberline), giving the Huskies some speed on the basepaths. Quesnell then advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on McFarlane's single, giving St. Cloud State runners on first and third with no outs.Â
That's when things seemingly took a turn not in the Huskies favor. Francesconi put the ball in play, but Quesnell was called out on the close play at the plate for out number one. Then Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) struck out swinging for out number two, putting St. Cloud State one out away from ending the inning with nothing to show for it. Sophie Culhane (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) simply did not allow that to happen. The pinch hitter lined a single into the outfield, allowing McFarlane to score for a 3-2 Huskies lead.Â
From that point on, St. Cloud State pounded on the runs. Francesconi scored on a RBI hit-by-pitch for Conrads, and Culhane was brought home on an infield single by Vanden Langenberg for a 5-4 Huskies lead. Estrada then hit a bases clearing double, boosting St. Cloud State's lead to 8-2 before the inning ended on a ground out.Â
The Huskies added two extra insurance runs in the top of the sixth, as another single from Vanden Langenberg and sacrifice fly by Weinberger resulted in a 11-2 lead for St. Cloud State. The Mustangs put together a few minor rallies but never scored on Junker, as the first year secured her third victory of the season with a fly out to left field in the bottom of the seventh.Â
Several St. Cloud State student-athletes found success at the plate Saturday afternoon. In game one, McFarlane tallied a season-high four hits thanks to her 4-4 performance, while Conrads, Vanden Langenberg and Francesconi all went 2-4 at the plate and scored at least one run or tallied an RBI. Weinberger was 2-2 at the plate in game two, while Vanden Langenberg concluded her day with a 2-3 performance, scoring two runs and tallying two RBI along the way.Â
With the sweep, the Huskies overall record improves to 22-12 and they are now 11-9 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will look to extend its win streak to six games on Sunday, as the team takes on the University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Due to potential inclement weather, the Huskies games against the Cougars have been moved up to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Junker, Trinity (3-2)
L: Cull, Megan (10-4)
Batting:
2B: Estrada, Jasmin 1
RBI: Conrads, Megan 1 ; Vanden Langenberg, Raven 2 ; Estrada, Jasmin 4 ; Weinberger, Holly 2 ; Culhane, Sophie 1
SF: Weinberger, Holly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bowlin, Brooke 3 ; Conrads, Megan 2 ; Vanden Langenberg, Raven 2 ; McFarlane, Haley 1 ; Francesconi, Cassie 1 ; Keating, Maya 1 ; Culhane, Sophie 1
SB: Bowlin, Brooke 1 ; Keating, Maya 2 ; Culhane, Sophie 1
HBP: Bowlin, Brooke 1 ; Conrads, Megan 2
Batting:
2B: Schliinz, Madysson 1
RBI: Krog, Madison 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Bailey 1 ; Tomlinson, Kali 1
HBP: Krog, Madison 1
