Sunday, March 17
Joplin, Mo.
10:00 A.M. CT
St. Cloud State
17-8
6
vs
5
Nebraska Kearney
12-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
St. Cloud St.
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
3
6
6
1
Neb.-Kearney
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
2
5
11
2
Photo by: Justyce Porter
St. Cloud State Softball Splits Final Day of MIAA/NSIC Crossover Challenge
3/17/2024 3:53:00 PM | Softball
Huskies go 1-1 against Nebraska Kearney in final nonconference series of 2024
JOPLIN, Mo. – St. Cloud State Softball (17-9, 0-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) split its doubleheader against Nebraska Kearney Sunday (13-14, 1-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in Joplin during its final day playing in the MIAA/NSIC Crossover Challenge.
GAME ONE (8 INNINGS): ST. CLOUD STATE 6, NEBRASKA KEARNEY 5
Junior right handed pitcher Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn.) carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning before it was broken up by a single. Through the first four innings, SCSU only managed one hit itself and the game was knotted at zero going into the fifth.
Freshman catcher Bethany Weiss (Forest Lake, Minn.) put the Huskies on the board in the top of the fifth with an RBI bunt single. SCSU added two more runs in the inning after junior catcher/outfielder Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) scored when Weiss stole second and freshman third baseman Grace Frechette (Forest Lake, Minn.) hit an RBI-single down the left field line, to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
Nebraska Kearney answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs of their own and tied the game at three in the sixth.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Justyce Porter (Kent, Wash.) came in to relieve Eickhoff and recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Both teams loaded the bases in the seventh, but neither was able to bring a run home, sending the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, freshman shortstop Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance senior second baseman Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis.), who started the inning at second base, to third base. Junior outfielder Madison Spah (Ramsey, Minn.) recorded an RBI bunt single during the next at bat to give the Huskies a one run advantage. She also advanced to third on the throw. Spah scored after freshman outfielder Kori Needham (Milan, Ill.) reached on an error and advanced to third base on the throw. Holzhueter knocked in the third and final SCSU run of the inning to give the Huskies a three-run cushion heading into the bottom of the eighth.
UNK managed to get two runs back and had the bases loaded with only one out, but the Huskies got a force out at home and Porter struck out the final batter of the game to give the Huskies a 6-5 win.
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Nebraska Kearney scored one run in the third inning on an RBI-double and one run in the fourth on a bases loaded walk for the only two runs of the game between both teams. UNK's Daniella Morillas pitched six innings and didn't allow a hit through the first five and two thirds, before allowing the only two SCSU hits of the game in the bottom of the sixth. The Huskies only struck out twice and were walked six times but were unable to bring any of them around.
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The Huskies open Northern Sun play on Saturday at Winona State (16-10, 0-0 NSIC). The games are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. at Maynard R. Johnson Field in Winona. Links to each coverage option will be available on the SCSU Softball schedule page.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Softball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
GAME ONE (8 INNINGS): ST. CLOUD STATE 6, NEBRASKA KEARNEY 5
Junior right handed pitcher Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn.) carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning before it was broken up by a single. Through the first four innings, SCSU only managed one hit itself and the game was knotted at zero going into the fifth.
Freshman catcher Bethany Weiss (Forest Lake, Minn.) put the Huskies on the board in the top of the fifth with an RBI bunt single. SCSU added two more runs in the inning after junior catcher/outfielder Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) scored when Weiss stole second and freshman third baseman Grace Frechette (Forest Lake, Minn.) hit an RBI-single down the left field line, to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
Nebraska Kearney answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs of their own and tied the game at three in the sixth.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Justyce Porter (Kent, Wash.) came in to relieve Eickhoff and recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Both teams loaded the bases in the seventh, but neither was able to bring a run home, sending the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, freshman shortstop Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance senior second baseman Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis.), who started the inning at second base, to third base. Junior outfielder Madison Spah (Ramsey, Minn.) recorded an RBI bunt single during the next at bat to give the Huskies a one run advantage. She also advanced to third on the throw. Spah scored after freshman outfielder Kori Needham (Milan, Ill.) reached on an error and advanced to third base on the throw. Holzhueter knocked in the third and final SCSU run of the inning to give the Huskies a three-run cushion heading into the bottom of the eighth.
UNK managed to get two runs back and had the bases loaded with only one out, but the Huskies got a force out at home and Porter struck out the final batter of the game to give the Huskies a 6-5 win.
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- Weiss - 2-3, RBI, SB
- Porter (W, 7-2) - 2.2 IP
- Eickhoff - 5.1 IP, 6 SO
- Frechette - 1-2, RBI, 2 BB
- Spah - 1-3, RBI, R
- Needham - R, RBI
- Holzhueter - R, RBI
- SCSU took a 10-9 advantage in the all-time series against Nebraska Kearney with the win.
- The Huskies are 2-0 in extra-inning games this season.
- Weiss tallied her eighth multi-hit game in her 20th game of the season. She surpassed 20 hits and knocked in her 10th run.
- Eickhoff tied her career high for starts in a season (13). Her six strikeouts are a new season high and the most since April 30, 2023, against Wayne State when she also recorded six. She surpassed 60 innings pitched and 35 strikeouts for the season and 165 strikeouts for her career.
- Frechette recorded her 15th hit and 10th walk of the season.
- Spah posted her 30th career hit.
- Holzhueter posted her 30th hit of the season and scored her 25th run of the season and is three shy of breaking her single season best for runs scored. She also recorded her 60th career RBI.
Nebraska Kearney scored one run in the third inning on an RBI-double and one run in the fourth on a bases loaded walk for the only two runs of the game between both teams. UNK's Daniella Morillas pitched six innings and didn't allow a hit through the first five and two thirds, before allowing the only two SCSU hits of the game in the bottom of the sixth. The Huskies only struck out twice and were walked six times but were unable to bring any of them around.
Top Huskies
- Frechette - 1-2, SB, BB
- Junior corner infielder Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill.) - 1-2, BB
- Freshman outfielder Bree Beck (Lakeville, Minn.) - SB
- Senior right handed pitcher Mckenna Stallings (Milton Freewater, Ore.) - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 SO
- Junior right handed pitcher Molly Gross (Columbia Heights, Minn.) - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 SO
- Eickhoff - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 S
- Nebraska Kearney evened up the all-time series at 10-10 after its win over SCSU.
- Frechette stole her fifth base of the season.
- Fitzgerald recorded her 80th career hit and earned her 10th walk of the season.
- Stallings surpassed 25.0 innings pitched and recorded her 10th strikeout of the season.
- Gross has recorded 2+ strikeouts in five appearances and now has 15 for the season in 21.0 innings.
The Huskies open Northern Sun play on Saturday at Winona State (16-10, 0-0 NSIC). The games are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. at Maynard R. Johnson Field in Winona. Links to each coverage option will be available on the SCSU Softball schedule page.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Softball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Porter, Justyce (6-4)
L: M. Janssen (5-7)
Batting:
RBI: Holzhueter, Reese 1 ; Weiss, Bethany 1 ; Frechette, Grace 1 ; Spah, Madison 1 ; Needham, Kori 1
SH: Holmes, Brooke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holzhueter, Reese 1 ; Harms, Hannah 1 ; Krueger, Lydia 1 ; Spah, Madison 1 ; Quesnell, Tenley 1 ; Needham, Kori 1
SB: Weiss, Bethany 1 ; Istvanovich, Kaitlyn 1
CS: Weiss, Bethany 1
Batting:
2B: A. Gaube 1 ; J. Molina 1
RBI: G. Galli 1 ; A. Fortik 1 ; J. Molina 1
SH: M. Chvatal 1
Base Running:
RUNS: A. Gaube 2 ; G. Galli 1 ; A. Fortik 1 ; K. Cordes 1
SB: K. Cordes 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP/UTL
/ Softball
1B/3B
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballC/1B
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