Saturday, April 20
Aberdeen, S.D.
1:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
25-22, 8-13
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Northern State
21-20, 7-14
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St. Cloud State
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Northern State
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Photo by: Jacob Sanders
Fitzgerald Homers Twice, St. Cloud State Softball Splits Road Pair with Northern State
4/21/2024 1:11:00 AM | Softball
Huskies compile 24 hits and 16 runs in doubleheader
ABERDEEN, S.D. – St. Cloud State Softball (26-22, 9-13 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) split its road doubleheader with Northern State (21-21, 7-15 NSIC) Saturday afternoon at Koehler Hall of Fame Field in Aberdeen. NSU took game one, 8-5 and the Huskies won the second game, 11-3 in six innings.
GAME ONE: NORTHERN STATE 8, ST. CLOUD STATE 5
After junior left fielder Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) and fifth year right fielder/first baseman Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn.) opened the game with back-to-back singles to right field, junior corner infielder Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill.) crushed a 2-1 pitch to left field to give the Huskies an early 3-0 lead.
NSU's offense wasted no time heating up and scored four runs on four hits in the home half of the first to take a 4-3 lead. The Wolves hit for the cycle, in order, during the inning, using a single, double, triple and home run to plate its runs.
Weinberger hit a sacrifice fly to score senior second baseman Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis.) and tie the game at four in the second inning. Northern State responded immediately again, scoring a run in the bottom of the second to regain the lead yet again. The Wolves tacked on three more runs, taking advantage of four hits and a Huskies error in the third to take an 8-4 lead despite leaving the bases loaded to end the inning.
Freshman catcher Bethany Weiss (Forest Lake, Minn.) hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh to bring the Huskies within three, but they were unable to score any more runs, failing to extend the game.
Top Huskies
The Huskies used their patented second game strong start to take a 5-0 lead out of the bottom of the first inning using four hits. A two-RBI single from Weiss drove in the first two runs of the game. After Stangle drew a bases loaded walk, freshman right fielder Hannah Harms (Bartlett, Ill.) was hit by a pitch to bring another run home. Quesnell batted in the team's final run of the inning with a single. SCSU could've done even more damage, getting back to the top its lineup with only one out, but struck out twice to leave the bases loaded.
Fitzgerald extended the lead to six after a leadoff solo home run to start the second inning. SCSU plated three more runs in the top of the fourth. Fitzgerald hit an RBI-double, Weiss hit an RBI-single and Holmes brought Fitzgerald home. In the top of the fifth, the Huskies lead stretched to 10 after Fitzgerald drew a bases loaded walk.
With its back against the wall, Northern State scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth inning to shrink the Huskies lead below eight, extending the game. SCSU responded, putting the pressure back on the Wolves after Holzhueter hit an RBI-single to right field to bring the Huskies lead back to eight heading into the home half of the sixth inning.
Junior right handed pitcher Justyce Porter (Kent, Wash.), who had recorded the final two outs in the previous inning, forced NSU into a three up, three down sixth inning to seal the run-rule win for the Huskies. Porter struck out the final two batters of the game.
Top Huskies
The Huskies finish up its regular season road schedule on Sunday against MSU Moorhead (27-17, 14-8 NSIC). The pair is scheduled for noon and 2 p.m. first pitches and will be played at the Nemzek Softball Field in Moorhead. 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: NORTHERN STATE 8, ST. CLOUD STATE 5
After junior left fielder Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) and fifth year right fielder/first baseman Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn.) opened the game with back-to-back singles to right field, junior corner infielder Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill.) crushed a 2-1 pitch to left field to give the Huskies an early 3-0 lead.
NSU's offense wasted no time heating up and scored four runs on four hits in the home half of the first to take a 4-3 lead. The Wolves hit for the cycle, in order, during the inning, using a single, double, triple and home run to plate its runs.
Weinberger hit a sacrifice fly to score senior second baseman Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis.) and tie the game at four in the second inning. Northern State responded immediately again, scoring a run in the bottom of the second to regain the lead yet again. The Wolves tacked on three more runs, taking advantage of four hits and a Huskies error in the third to take an 8-4 lead despite leaving the bases loaded to end the inning.
Freshman catcher Bethany Weiss (Forest Lake, Minn.) hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh to bring the Huskies within three, but they were unable to score any more runs, failing to extend the game.
Top Huskies
- Fitzgerald - 1-2, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB
- Holzhueter - 2-4, R
- Junior utility Rainna Stangle (Sartell, Minn.) - 2-4
- Weiss - HR
- Weinberger - R, RBI
- Freshman shortstop Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) - 2B
- Senior center fielder Tenley Quesnell (Boise, Idaho) - 1-3
- St. Cloud State moved to 38-11 in the teams' all-time series after the loss.
- Fitzgerald hit her 12th home run of the season. She posted her fourth game with 2+ walks this season. She surpassed 20 walks on the season and 55 for her career.
- Holzhueter scored her 85th career run and posted her 16th multi-hit game of the season.
- Weiss hit her fifth home run and scored her 15th run of the season.
The Huskies used their patented second game strong start to take a 5-0 lead out of the bottom of the first inning using four hits. A two-RBI single from Weiss drove in the first two runs of the game. After Stangle drew a bases loaded walk, freshman right fielder Hannah Harms (Bartlett, Ill.) was hit by a pitch to bring another run home. Quesnell batted in the team's final run of the inning with a single. SCSU could've done even more damage, getting back to the top its lineup with only one out, but struck out twice to leave the bases loaded.
Fitzgerald extended the lead to six after a leadoff solo home run to start the second inning. SCSU plated three more runs in the top of the fourth. Fitzgerald hit an RBI-double, Weiss hit an RBI-single and Holmes brought Fitzgerald home. In the top of the fifth, the Huskies lead stretched to 10 after Fitzgerald drew a bases loaded walk.
With its back against the wall, Northern State scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth inning to shrink the Huskies lead below eight, extending the game. SCSU responded, putting the pressure back on the Wolves after Holzhueter hit an RBI-single to right field to bring the Huskies lead back to eight heading into the home half of the sixth inning.
Junior right handed pitcher Justyce Porter (Kent, Wash.), who had recorded the final two outs in the previous inning, forced NSU into a three up, three down sixth inning to seal the run-rule win for the Huskies. Porter struck out the final two batters of the game.
Top Huskies
- Holzhueter - 4-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI
- Fitzgerald - 2-2, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
- Junior right handed pitcher Molly Gross (Columbia Heights, Minn.) (W, 3-2) - 4.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 K
- Weinberger - 3-5, 2 R
- Weiss - 2-4, 3 RBI
- Quesnell - 2-4, RBI
- Junior Evy Polsfuss (Apple Valley, Minn.) - 1-1
- Porter - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
- The Huskies improved to to 39-11 all-time against Northern State after the win.
- Holzhueter tied her career high with four hits. She now has 17 multi-hit games this season. She surpassed 60 hits for the season and 140 for her career. She hit her 10th double of the season. She surpassed 45 runs scored on the season.
- Fitzgerald hit her 10th double and 13th home run of the season. She now has 20 home runs and 50 runs scored in her career. She surpassed 45 RBI for the season and 90 for her career. She has 10 multi-hit games this season and five games with multiple walks. She has hit home runs in back-to-back games twice this season.
- Gross made her 15th appearance and picked up her third win of the season. She surpassed 35.0 innings and 20 strikeouts on the season.
- Weinberger surpassed 50 hits on the season and 225 for her career. She also surpassed 95 runs scored in her career. She has tallied multiple hits in 13 games this season.
- Weiss posted her 10th multi-hit game of the season and first since March 29 against Wayne State. She surpassed 25 RBI on the season.
- Quesnell recorded a multi-hit game for the fifth time this season and first since March 8 against Quincy. She surpassed 20 hits for the season and now has 55 in her career.
- Polsfuss tallied her 10th hit of the season, setting a new single season career high as a Husky.
The Huskies finish up its regular season road schedule on Sunday against MSU Moorhead (27-17, 14-8 NSIC). The pair is scheduled for noon and 2 p.m. first pitches and will be played at the Nemzek Softball Field in Moorhead. 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: Chase, Lexi (8-7)
L: Eickhoff, Emma (10-12)
Batting:
2B: Holmes, Brooke 1
HR: Fitzgerald, Maggie 1 ; Weiss, Bethany 1
RBI: Weinberger, Holly 1 ; Fitzgerald, Maggie 3 ; Weiss, Bethany 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holzhueter, Reese 1 ; Weinberger, Holly 1 ; Fitzgerald, Maggie 1 ; Weiss, Bethany 1 ; Krueger, Lydia 1
Batting:
2B: Knudtson, Kyra 2
3B: Eagle, Avarie 1
HR: Eagle, Avarie 1 ; Richardson, Liv 1 ; Arndt, Alexandria 1
RBI: Knudtson, Kyra 1 ; Eagle, Avarie 3 ; Richardson, Liv 2 ; Arndt, Alexandria 1 ; Chase, Lexi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fauske, Ashley 1 ; Knudtson, Kyra 2 ; Eagle, Avarie 2 ; Richardson, Liv 2 ; Arndt, Alexandria 1
Game Leaders
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rf/1b
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1b/3b
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Players Mentioned
1B/3B
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RHP
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OF
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INF
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1B
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