Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Rochester, Minn. --- The 18th-ranked Minnesota State softball team opened a two-day nonconference triangular with Upper Iowa and #8 Winona State Saturday afternoon with a pair of wins.

The Mavericks opened the day with a 12-0, five-inning win against the Peacocks before using a pair of home runs in the top of the seventh inning to propel them to a 4-1 victory over the Warriors.

In the opener, MSU scored four runs in the first inning, three in the second and third and two in the fourth to claim the victory.

Senior first baseman Natalie Spicer led MSU at the plate with a 2-for3 effort with a home run and five runs batted in. Junior rightfielder Melanie Upchurch and junior centerfielder Chelsea Erickson also went 2-for-3 with Upchurch scoring a run and Erickson driving in and scoring a run.

Junior pitcher Kendra Huettl worked three innings of shutout ball to earn the win, her ninth of the season. Huettl allowed just two hits and struck out two. Freshman Kristin Fah worked the final two innings and did not issue a hit while striking out one.

In the nightcap, the Mavericks found themselves behind 1-0 after three innings when the Warriors coaxed a bases loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the frame.

Minnesota State picked up the equalizer in the top of the sixth when freshman designated player Lindsay Erickson hit a two-out single.

Erickson was replaced for sophomore pinch runner Chelsie Krull, who would move to third when freshman catcher Kelly Wood singled. Sophomore shortstop Abby Sonner then delivered a single up the middle to plate Krull and knot the game at one.

The Maverick scoring continued in the top of the seventh as junior second baseman Amanda Umhoefer led off the inning with a solo home run to right field.

Upchurch followed with a single and later scored when Spicer tattooed a two-run home run over the leftfield wall, propelling the Mavericks to a 4-1 victory.

Wood led the Mavericks offensive attack with a 3-for-3 effort while sophomore leftfielder Lauryn Morris, Spicer and O’Neal all pounded out two hits. In all, MSU finished the game with 13 hits in 32 at bats.

Sophomore pitcher Courtney McKelvogue earned the win as she went the distance scattering six hits while striking out three. The win marked McKelvogue’s tenth of the season against two losses.

The Mavericks, Peacocks and Warriors conclude the triangular tomorrow as MSU opens the day with a 10 a.m., contest against Upper Iowa. MSU then faces Winona State at 2 p.m.

To view the stats from the Upper Iowa game, click HERE

To view the stats from the Winona State game, click HERE