Huskies drop two on final day in Florida

Thursday, March 10

Clermont, Fla.

1:30 p.m. CT

St. Cloud State

8-8

Saginaw Valley State University

7-4

Saginaw Valley

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/10/2022 6:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

St. Cloud State falls to Saginaw Valley and Trevecca Nazarene

CLERMONT, FLA. – The St. Cloud State University softball team fell in its final games of its Florida trip. Despite two bear comebacks, the Huskies fell to Saginaw Valley 4-2 and Trevecca Nazarene 8-4 on their final day at the Spring Games in Clermont, Florida. With the losses, St. Cloud State's overall record is now 8-9.

GAME ONE: St. Cloud State (2) vs. Saginaw Valley (4)

The Huskies rally against the top team in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) came up short Thursday afternoon, as they fell to Saginaw Valley State 4-2. It was St. Cloud State, though, that took the early lead, going ahead 1-0 bottom of the first on an RBI double by Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia). The Cardinals, unfortunately, tied it up in the very next inning, as Jackie Popko took Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn. / Becker) yard to make it 1-1 after two innings.

Saginaw Valley would score three unanswered runs through the next four innings, holding a 4-1 advantage over the Huskies after the top of the sixth. Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) seemingly ignited a St. Cloud State rally, as her solo home run in the bottom of the inning cut the Cardinals lead to 4-2. Unfortunately, the next four Huskies batters would go down in order, resulting in the 4-2 loss.

GAME TWO: St. Cloud State (4) vs. Trevecca Nazarene (8)

St. Cloud State spent most of game two playing catch up, as Trevecca Nazarene wasted no time jumping out to a 6-0 lead after two innings of play. Two scoreless frames allowed the Huskies to stay within striking distance of the Trojans, and they did just that in the top of the fifth. Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour), Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) and Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) loaded the bases for third baseman Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill. / Richards). The first year whittled Trevecca Nazarene's lead to two runs with a single swing, hitting a grand slam over the center field fence to make it 6-4 Trojans in the fifth.

Trevecca Nazarene answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth, extending its lead back to four runs at 8-4. St. Cloud State was unable to recover despite putting runners on base in the top of the seventh. Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) was robbed of a home run to right center and Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) was stranded at first, resulting in the 8-4 loss.

TOP HUSKIES

Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia), Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) and Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) were the lone Huskies to tally a hit in their loss to Saginaw Valley. The two lefties, Weinberger and Estrada, went 1-3 at the plate, while Pinkowski was 1-2.
Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) and Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill. / Richards) both went 2-4 at the plate in the loss to the Trojans, with Fitzgerald tallying four RBi.

UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will return to action on Friday, March 18 when it travels to St. Joseph, Missouri for the Hy-Vee Classic. The Huskies will face Northwest Missouri at 10:00 a.m. CT and Central Missouri at 4:00 p.m. CT to open the tournament.