Softball wrangles Mustangs in Sunday sweep

Sunday, April 24

St. Cloud, Minn.

1:00 p.m. CT

St. Cloud State

29-15, 17-6

Southwest Minnesota State University

16-24, 8-9

Soutwest Minn. State

St. Cloud State

Sydney Trees celebrates her walk-off home run in Sunday's game two win over SMSU.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/24/2022 5:12:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Huskies tie program record for single-season home runs in the sweep

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University softball team is officially a 30 win team. The Huskies eclipsed the 30 win mark for the first time since 2019 thanks to an impressive sweep over Southwest Minnesota State Sunday afternoon. St. Cloud State took game one 6-1 before defeating the Mustangs in five innings by a final score of 10-1 in game two. With the wins, the Huskies are now 30-15 overall and 18-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play.

GAME ONE: St. Cloud State (6) vs. SMSU (1)
The Huskies wasted no time taking the lead in game one, going up 2-0 in the bottom of the first on a two-run shot by Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake). It looked like St. Cloud State was destined to score even more runs in the second, as the team loaded the bases with just one out. However, heads up defensive plays by the Mustangs prevented the Huskies from crossing the plate, as the score remained 2-0 after the first two innings of play.

SMSU cut the lead in half in the top of the third, using three hits off Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) to make it 2-1. St. Cloud State's response was a three-run fifth, as the Huskies extended their lead to 5-1 in impressive fashion. Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) opened the inning with a monster home run to right center, making it 3-1 St. Cloud State with just one out in the inning. Then, Holly Wienberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia), Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield), Trees and Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) recorded back-to-back-to-back hits to give the Huskies a 5-1 lead entering the sixth inning.

St. Cloud State added a run in the sixth, as Kaitlyn Istvanovich (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) scored from third on a Vanden Langenberg single to broaden the Huskies lead to 6-1. Kirchberg then went to work in the seventh, pitching a clean 1-2-3 inning to secure the victory for St. Cloud State.

GAME TWO: St. Cloud State (10) vs. SMSU (1) - 5 innings
The Huskies once again wasted no time taking an early lead in game two. Once again, it was Trees who delivered the RBI hit, this time a single up the middle to score Weinberger from second. That hit set the tone for the remainder of the game, as St. Cloud State scored four runs in the second and five in the fifth en route to an impressive 10-1, five inning victory.

After only scoring a single run in the first inning, the Huskies were sure to put a crooked number on the scoreboard in inning two, though they needed to do it with two outs. It was Vanden Langenberg's hit by pitch that kicked off the inning, as the heart of St. Cloud State's line up proceeded to single, single, double, single and single to extend the Huskies lead to 5-0.

The Mustangs answered by scoring a run in the fourth, cutting St. Cloud State's lead to 5-1. That was the lone run the Huskies would allow in game two, as they themselves proceeded to score five runs in the fifth to end the game early. Vanden Langenberg, Estrada and Trees provided the RBI hits in the final inning, with Trees three-run home run serving as the walk off hit in the victory.

TOP HUSKIES

Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) went 6-7 at the plate against the Mustangs with four runs and eight RBI over the course of two games. Her six RBI performance in game two ties Jasmin Estrada's (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) record for single-game RBI.
Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) improved to 5-1 this season with the game one win. The senior pitcher surrendered just one run in seven complete innings of work with one strikeout and zero walks.
Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis. / North) was 2-2 in game two against SMSU, as four Huskies tallied at least two hits in the victory.
Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) recorded the 200th strikeout of her career Sunday afternoon, improving to 2-5 this season in the complete-game win.

UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will spend the last week of the season on the road, as it opens with a midweek series at Bemidji State on Tuesday, April 26. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT in Bemidji, Minnesota.