St. Cloud State
15-9, 3-0
University of Mary
2-23, 0-5
Nelson powers Huskies to UMary sweep
4/2/2022 5:27:00 PM | Softball
Gabby Nelson goes 2-2 in pinch hit appearances, helping softball sweep Marauders
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – St. Cloud State University softball's Gabrielle Nelson (Fargo, N.D. / West) picked quite the day to hit her first collegiate double and home run. The junior lefty almost single-handedly led the Huskies to another Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) sweep, as her game-tying double in game one and walkoff home run in game two secured 8-5 and 3-2 wins for St. Cloud State. With the sweep, the Huskies improve to 16-9 overall and 4-0 in NSIC play.
GAME ONE: St. Cloud State (8) vs. UMary (5)
Game one did not get off to the greatest start, as the Marauders scored on an infield throwing error by the Huskies to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Things did not get better for St. Cloud State, as UMary scored three more runs in the second, holding a 4-0 lead over the Huskies after three innings of play. St. Cloud State, though, had a chance to make things interesting in the bottom of the third, as the team loaded the bases with no outs in with their three, four and five hitters at the plate. The Huskies, though, had nothing to show for it, as they hit three consecutive ground balls to end the inning with zero runs.
After waiting, and waiting, and waiting, St. Cloud State's offense finally broke through in the bottom fourth, scoring three runs on four hits to cut the Marauder lead to 4-3. However, the Huskies didn't actually start scoring until they had two outs in the inning. After Alexandra Pinkowski's (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) one out double, it looked like St. Cloud State would once again be held scoreless until the senior scored on a two-out single by Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family). The speedster then scored on the ensuing at bat, as Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) blasted the ball over the left field fence, making it a one run ball game at 4-3.
Both teams scored in the fifth inning, but it was St. Cloud State that provided the fireworks. After UMary extended its lead to 5-3 in the top of the inning, the Huskies went ahead and tied it in the bottom, as Gabrielle Nelson (Fargo, N.D. / West) delivered the game-tying RBI double to make it 5-5 after five. St. Cloud State then tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, allowing Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) to secure her seventh win of the season in 8-5 fashion.
GAME TWO: St. Cloud State (3) vs. UMary (2)
The Huskies once again found themselves down early in game two, as the Marauders took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Despite its best attempts, St. Cloud State could not respond with a run of its own, as UMary held the Huskies to just two hits over the course of six innings. The Marauders, in turn, scored an insurance run in the top of the sixth, holding a 2-0 lead with one inning remaining.
The Huskies best chance to score came in the bottom of the seventh, as Pinkowski and Sophie Culhane (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) hit back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third with just one out. Again, head coach Mitch Roberts turned to Nelson for the clutch hit, a decision which proved wise for the young coach. Down 1-2 in the count, Nelson fouled off two pitches from UMary starter Nicole Eckhardt, fighting off difficult pitches to preserve her at bat and eventually forcing Eckhardt to make a mistake. The Marauder ace sent a meatball down the center of the plate, which Nelson launched, tallying her first career home run in walk off fashion and securing the 3-2 lead for St. Cloud State.
TOP HUSKIES
- Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) and Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) were both 3-3 at the plate in game one against UMary, scoring a combined two runs and tallying a combined two RBIs in the game.
- Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) improved to 7-4 this season, as she held the Marauders to just one earned run and tallied six strikeouts in nearly six innings of work.
- Raven Vanden Langeberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) and Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) tallied the Huskies only hits in game two, with Vanden Langenberg going 2-3 at the plate.
- Gabrielle Nelson (Fargo, N.D. / West) went 2-2 with two RBI in her pinch hit appearances. The junior hit the game-tying double in game one before her walk off three-run home run secured a 3-2 win in game two.
- Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn. / Becker) earned the win in the circle, surrendering two runs on 10 hits in seven complete innings of work.
UP NEXT
St. Cloud State's homestand will continue Sunday, as the Huskies host Minot State at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. CT in the Husky Dome.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Junker, Trinity (7-4)
L: Chambers, Hannah (1-6)
Batting:
RBI: Dome, Avery 1 ; McClure, Brooke 1 ; Laetsch, Rachael 1 ; De Jonge, Eryn 1
SH: Kannegiesser, Kaylee 1 ; Berube, Haley 1
SF: Laetsch, Rachael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dome, Avery 1 ; Perez, Sariah 1 ; Ritz, Devyn 1 ; McClure, Brooke 1 ; Reinhardt, Mckenzie 1
SB: Dome, Avery 1 ; De Jonge, Eryn 1
HBP: McClure, Brooke 1
Batting:
2B: Weinberger, Holly 1 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Nelson, Gabrielle 1
3B: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1
HR: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1
RBI: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 2 ; McFarlane, Haley 1 ; Weinberger, Holly 1 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Nelson, Gabrielle 1 ; Bowlin, Brooke 1
SH: Pinkowski, Alexandra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 2 ; McFarlane, Haley 1 ; Estrada, Jasmin 1 ; Quesnell, Tenley 1 ; Weinberger, Holly 1 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Bowlin, Brooke 1
SB: Vanden Langenberg, Raven 1 ; Quesnell, Tenley 1 ; Pinkowski, Alexandra 1 ; Bowlin, Brooke 1
HBP: McFarlane, Haley 1
