St. Cloud, Minn. --- The Minnesota State softball team split with St. Cloud State in NSIC doubleheader action on Friday afternoon in St. Cloud. The Huskies defeated the Mavericks in game one, 3-1, before MSU got some revenge and took down SCSU in game two, 1-0.

With the split, the Mavericks overall record stands at 20-8 and 3-1 in NSIC play.

Junior pitcher Coley Ries [12-4] started game one for the Mavericks and suffered her fourth loss of the season. She allowed five base hits and three earned runs, while striking out 16 batters. Starting for the Huskies was Megan Hedstrom [5-7] and she earned her fifth win of the season after throwing five innings and allowing five hits and one earned run. Freshman Kate Kopeck picked up the six-out save for SCSU as she closed out the game for the Huskies in the sixth and seventh innings.

SCSU scored two of its three runs in the top of the second and both came with two outs on the board. Senior Taige Puetz helped the Huskies score their first run when she laced a RBI single to right field that scored Jaiden Lund. SCSU still had runners on third and first with two outs before they pushed across its second run of the inning when Libby Bingham scored on a passed ball. 

The Huskies final run came in the top of the third. Junior Jesscia Goerger recorded a triple down the right field line with one out. SCSU's next batter brought Goerger home as senior Tricia DeBoar hit a RBI single to left field.

The Mavericks left runners on base in every inning but the seventh. In the bottom of the first the Mavericks had a runner on third with one out but was unable to capitalize. Similar in the third inning, MSU had a runner in scoring position on second with two outs but was unable to push across a run.

In the fifth, the Mavericks scored their only run of the game after junior Dana Mogren hit a sac fly with one out with the bases loaded that scored senior Emily Bransky.

In the second game of the day it was a good old fashion pitchers dual between the Mavericks Libby Bemis [7-4] and the Huskies Senna Francesconi. Bemis earned the win after throwing a complete game gem for the Mavericks and held SCSU's offense to just three hits and zero walks. Her counter part, Francesconi, recorded similar numbers as she threw 6.1 innings of work and allowed just four hits and one earned run.

Bemis found herself in a bit of a jam in the top of the fourth as the Huskies first two batters of the inning reached based safely. However, Bemis buckled down and was able to get SCSU's next three batters out without any damage done.

Francesconi was doing much of the same to the Maverick batters as well. The most runners she allowed on base in any inning was one runner. Things changed for the better for the Mavericks in the bottom of the seventh though, when sophomore Kara Lattery belted a game-winning, walk-off solo home run to left field to help give MSU a 1-0 win. That is now Lattery's fourth long ball of the season, which currently ranks as a team best.

Next up for the Mavericks will be doubleheader action against Minnesota Duluth. The games will be played in St. Cloud at the Husky Dome and game times are set for 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.