Mankato, Minn. --- The #18 Minnesota State softball team split a pair of games against the St. Cloud State Huskies Saturday, an 8-0 win in six innings and a 6-1 loss for the Mavericks. With the results, Minnesota State moves to 20-7 (9-5 NSIC) on the season while Huskies are now 17-7 (6-4 NSIC)
Game 1
Mackenzie Ward (12-3) started the game for the Mavericks and earned the win pitching a six-inning shutout striking out seven batters and allowing only two hits. Sydney LaPoint (3-1) started for the Huskies and took the loss allowing four runs, three of them earned, in two and two-thirds innings of work.
Minnesota State started the game with a pair of runs in the first inning, the first coming on a single from Hannah McCarville to bring
Carly Esselman home. Later in the inning,
Hailey Forshee hit a sac-fly to bring
Sydney Nielsen home.
In the second inning the Mavericks added another run when
Esselman hit a full count single to left field brining
Kylie Sullivan home and a fourth run was added in the third on a
Madi Newman single.
After continuing to shut down the Huskies, Minnesota State put together a four-run sixth inning capped off by a walk-off double to right center field by
Nielsen that scored
Esselman from first.
Esselman finished the game a perfect 3-3 from the plate with two runs scored and a pair of runs batted in to go along with a walk.
McCarville and
Sullivan both finished the game 2-3 from the plate while
Nielsen finished 2-4.
Game 2
McKayla Armbruster (8-3) started for Minnesota State and took the loss after allowing five runs, only two of them earned, in one and a third innings of work.
Katie Bracken pitched five and two-thirds innings of relief allowing only a single run on three hits. Kylie Thomsen (7-3) started for the Huskies and earned the win after pitching the complete game allowing a run on five hits.
St. Cloud State jumped on Minnesota State in the top of the first inning when they took advantage of a couple of errors to put together four runs. The Huskies added another run in the second inning taking an early 5-0 lead.
The Mavericks were able to get on the board in the third inning when
Nielsen hit an RBI single up the middle of the defense to score Sullivan.
Minnesota State was able to threaten in the fifth and sixth inning but were unable to bring any runs home and the Huskies capped off scoring with a run in the top of the seventh to take a 6-1 lead.
McCarville finished the game 2-3 from the plate while
Nielsen finished 1-3 with the lone RBI for the Mavericks.
Up Next:
The Mavericks return to action Sunday with a home doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth which is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.
