St. Cloud State
1-0
Bemidji State University
0-1
Huskies open season with 4-0 win over Bemidji State
2/11/2022 3:55:00 PM | Softball
Trinity Junker strikes out career-high 17 in the victory
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – According to "experts", the St. Cloud State University softball team was missing an ace in its rotation. If Friday was any indicator, the Huskies are certainly not lacking in that area, thanks to Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes). The junior tallied a career-high 17 strikeouts and accounted for 18 outs in St. Cloud State's season opener, guiding the Huskies to a 4-0 win over Bemidji State.
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Junker's dominance was clear from the beginning, as she struck out the first two Beavers she faced and got the third out on a doinky grounder back to the mound. It bid her offense time to figure out Bemidji State starter Stella Dolan. Though the Huskies threatened in the first inning, putting two runners on with no outs, they came away with nothing to show for it. That all changed in the second inning. St. Cloud State finally broke through Dolan and the Beaver defense, as Sophie Culhane (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) tallied the first hit of the season, a double to deep left field. She scored the first run of the season a few pitches later, as fifth year senior Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) hit a scorching line drive up the middle to make it 1-0 Huskies after two.
St. Cloud State wasn't satisfied with just one run in the game, as it extended its lead to 2-0 on a monster home run by Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake). The Huskies added a third in the fifth, again thanks to the bats of Trees and Culhane, before taking a definitive 4-0 lead in the sixth, courtesy of Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) and Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake).
A 1-0 lead would have been enough for Junker, who did not allow a Bemidji State hit until the fifth inning. She did surrender a two-out hit in the seventh, but it was no harm, no foul, as she tallied her 17th strikeout of the day to secure the 4-0 victory for St. Cloud State.
TOP HUSKIES
- Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) was the Huskies best player on the field Friday afternoon, as she held the Beaver bats to just three hits in seven innings. She additionally closed the game with a career-high 17 strikeouts and accounted for 18 of the team's 21 outs in the victory.
- Sophie Culhane (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) was the team's top hitter Friday evening, as she went 3-3 in the season opener with a run and RBI.
- Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) went 2-3 at the plate, with one of her two hits being St. Cloud State's first home run of the season.
UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will return to action Saturday evening, as the team hosts Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State on the second day of the Kelly Laas Tournament. First pitch against the Cougars is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in the Husky Dome with the game against SMSU to follow.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Women's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Junker, Trinity (1-0)
L: Dolan, S. (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Culhane, Sophie 1
HR: Trees, Sydney 1
RBI: Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Trees, Sydney 1 ; Culhane, Sophie 1 ; McFarlane, Haley 1
SH: Krueger, Lydia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bowlin, Brooke 1 ; Trees, Sydney 2 ; Culhane, Sophie 1
SB: Bowlin, Brooke 1
