Huskies down regional opponents in Saturday sweep

Saturday, March 19

Warrensburg, MO

12:00 p.m. CT

St. Cloud State

9-9

University of Central Missouri

7-15

St. Cloud State

Central Missouri

Raven Vanden Langenberg went 2-3 at the plate against Central Missouri and 2-2 in the Huskies win over Northeastern State

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/19/2022 4:06:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

St. Cloud State beats Central Missouri 5-4, Northeastern State 10-0

WARRENSBURG, MO. – It's been nothing short of a crazy week for the St. Cloud State University softball team. After the Huskies travel plans were changed due to rain in the forecast, they hit the road for Warrensburg, Missouri to take on Central Missouri and Northeastern State in a podded version of the Missouri Western Fairfield Inn and Suites Classic. To say it was a rousing success may be an understatement. St. Cloud State went 2-0 on its first day in Missouri, improving to 10-9 on the season with a 5-4 win over Central Missouri and a 10-0 five inning win over Northeastern State.

GAME ONE: St. Cloud State (5) vs. Central Missouri (4)

The Huskies looked to use a seventh inning rally to snap their losing streak, as they trailed the Jennies 4-0 after six innings of play. However, after St. Cloud State opened the seventh with two hard outs by Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill. / Richards) and Sophie Culhane (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove), the team was down to its final out and no one on base. Center fielder Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) kicked off the Huskies late inning rally, as she singled to left field and moved to second on Brooke Bowlin's (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) single up the middle.

St. Cloud State made it three straight singles, loading the bases on Raven Vanden Langenberg's (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) second hit of the ball game. That was all the Huskies needed to score their first runs of the game. While Vanden Langenberg's hit prompted a pitching change for Central Missouri, it wasn't enough to stop Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie). The fifth year senior laced a double to deep left center, clearing the bases to cut the Jennies lead to 4-3. One batter later, St. Cloud State took its first lead of the afternoon, as Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) blasted a two-run homer, making it 5-4 Huskies through six and a half.

Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn. / Becker) secured the comeback a half inning later. The first year pitcher earned her fourth win of the season in dominant fashion, getting two strikeouts and a flyout to complete St. Cloud State's dramatic comeback.

GAME TWO: St. Cloud State (10) vs. Northeastern State (0)

The Huskies got off to a rip roaring start in game two, as they took a 2-0 lead on two swings by Raven Vanden Langenberg and Trees. The senior shortstop opened the game with a monster home run over the fence, giving St. Cloud State the early 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Trees had similar ideas, extending the Huskies lead to 2-0 on a solo home run of her own.

That two run first inning set the tone for the remainder of the game, as St. Cloud State extended its lead to 3-0 in the second and 4-0 in the second before a six run fourth gave the Huskies an impressive 10-0 lead. Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) needed just one run to secure the win. The junior ace threw a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out seven RiverHawks in five innings of play.

TOP HUSKIES

Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) went 2-3 at the plate against the Jennies with one run and a walk, while Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) went 1-4 at the plate and accounted for three RBI.
Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn. / Becker) earned the victory for the Huskies in game one against the Jennies, pitching three flawless innings of relief. Over the course of three innings, Eickhoff struck out six and surrendered just one hit and no walks.
Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) went 2-3 in game two against Northeastern State, with two runs and two RBI in the five inning win.
Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) earned the "W" in the circle, pitching five complete innings with seven strikeouts.

UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will close its trip to Missouri on Sunday when the team faces the same Central Missouri and Northeastern State teams on the final day of the pod tournament. First pitch against the Riverhawks is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. CT.