Softball earns Sunday sweep in Missouri

Sunday, March 20

Warrensburg, Mo.

10:00 a.m. CT

St. Cloud State

11-9

Northeastern State University

12-14

Northeastern State

St. Cloud State

Haley McFarlane was the Huskies top hitter Sunday morning and afternoon.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/20/2022 2:23:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

St. Cloud State closes nonconference play with a 12-9 record

WARRENSBURG, MO. – The St. Cloud State University softball team is officially done with nonconference play, for now. The Huskies closed their trip to Warrensburg, Missouri on Sunday, earning two hard fought wins against Northeastern State and Central Missouri and improving to 12-9 on the season. St. Cloud State opened the day with a 4-3 victory over the RiverHawks before downing the Jennies 4-2 in extra innings in the weekend finale.

GAME ONE: St. Cloud State (4) vs. Northeastern State (3)

The Huskies led from start to finish in their second meeting with the RiverHawks, earning a 4-3 win to improve to 11-9 on the season. St. Cloud State had to wait until the bottom of the fourth inning, though, to score its first run. Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) earned a lead off walk and advanced to second on a single to left by Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield), putting Huskies on first and second with just one out. Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) made Northeastern State pay for the leadoff walk, as her double scored McFarlane from second and gave St. Cloud State a 1-0 lead.

The Huskies extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth, as Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) blasted a two-run home run, once again scoring McFarlane. A handful of batters later, Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill. / Richards) made it 4-0 St. Cloud State, as she laced a single to left field to score pinch runner Kaitlyn Istvanovich (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes).

The fourth run proved to be necessary, as the RiverHawks made things interesting in the top of the seventh. After securing the first out, Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn. / Becker) surrendered a solo home run to the RiverHawks four hitter, cutting the Huskies lead to 4-1. Northeastern State then made it 4-3 three batters later after managing a double and home run by the five and seven hitters. Rather than panic, Eickhoff stayed cool in the circle and struck out the final RiverHawks batter to secure St. Cloud State's 4-3 victory.

GAME TWO: St. Cloud State (4) vs. Central Missouri (2) - 8 innings

Things got off to a strong start for the Huskies against the Jennies, as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run home run from McFarlane. Throughout the course of seven innings, though, Central Missouri chipped away at St. Cloud State's lead, cutting it to 2-1 in the bottom of the third before tying the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

Seven innings was not enough time to determine a winner, as the two teams remained deadlocked in a 2-2 tie. The Huskies, though, had a chance to strike first in the top of the eighth, as Trees was placed on second due to the international run rule. Again it was Weinberger who delivered the clutch hit, sending the ball to deep right center for a double to score Trees. Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis. / Appleton North) extended St. Cloud State's lead even further, making it 4-2 with a RBI single to left center. That was all she wrote for the Jennies, as Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) sent the Central Missouri batters down in order to secure the 4-2 extra innings victory.

TOP HUSKIES

Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) and Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) both went 1-2 at the plate in the Huskies win over Northeastern State, while Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) went 1-3 with two RBI in the win.
Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn. / Becker) improved to 4-3 this season in the win over the RiverHawks, giving up three earned runs on three hits in seven innings of work. She also tallied nine strikeouts and walked just one in the victory.
Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) took home the "W" in the Huskies extra innings victory over Central MIssouri, striking out five and surrendering just two runs on four hits in eight innings of work.

UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will open conference play on Tuesday, March 29, as the team hits the road for a doubleheader against Minnesota-Duluth. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT in Duluth, Minnesota with game two to follow.