MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Minnesota State softball team (19-11, 3-1 NSIC) added two conference wins against MSU Moorhead (8-23, 0-4 NSIC) Saturday afternoon. The first went to four extra innings and the second was wrapped up after five.
The Dragons took an early five-run lead in game one, but the Mavericks slowly chipped away at the home lead before junior first baseman Gianna Lara hit a two-run homer over the fence to tie the game. Then, the two teams played three scoreless innings before MSU put a trio of runs on the board to secure an 8-5 victory in 11 innings.
The hot bats kept hitting in game two, as the Mavericks put up 11 runs in the first three innings as the team won 11-2 in five innings. Lara went 3-3 in game two with two more RBI. She ended the day going 4-8 at the plate, five runs scored and four runs batted in. Maddie Helin also had back-to-back three-RBI games in the double header. She led the way in RBI in both games.
Senior pitcher Brianne Stone was excellent for the team Saturday. She earned two wins against MSUM, as she pitched 6.2 innings, allowed just two runs and struck out 11 Dragon batters. She was the relief pitcher who fended off MSU Moorhead in extras in game one and she started game two.
Game 1 vs Dragons: W, MSU 8, MSUM 5 (11 Innings)
W: Brianne Stone (4-3) L: Brynna Farman
Freshman phenom Finley Anderson kicked off game one with a two-out single which extended her hitting streak to 13 games, then she stole second to get into scoring position. A four-pitch walk kept the inning going, but not for long, as a ground out to the Dragon second baseman ended the top half of the first.
MSU Moorhead's leadoff batter, Jessie Henry, hit a double to immediately put pressure on the Maverick defense, then Annika Norman knocked her in with a double to left center which gave the home team a 1-0 lead after one inning of action.
Cheyenne Behrends led off with a single in the top of the second, but she was put out on a fielder's choice and her replacement on the base pads only got as far as second before the Dragons got the third out. In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff single was quickly turned into a run following another RBI double, this time from Teagan Pranchke. She scored on a single from Avery Steffen, then Natalie Gonzalez stung a two-RBI double to right center to give MSU Moorhead a 5-0 lead through two innings.
The Mavericks put one on the board after the Dragons' scoring barrage. Anderson hit her second single of the afternoon and move Carly Kimmes up to second base after she had walked to lead off the inning. Izzy Hycnar hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field which allowed Kimmes to score, which made it 5-1. Minnesota State held MSU Moorhead scoreless in the bottom of the third, as relief pitcher Maddie Oetzmann struck out a batter then a lineup double play to the third baseman ended the inning.
MSU scored again in the top of the fourth, as Behrends reached on an error after brining the count full. Maddie Helin tripled down the right field line to score the senior third baseman which made it a three-run ballgame, 5-2.
The Dragons put two runners on with a pair of singles in the bottom of the inning, but Oetzmann struck out the final batter of the inning on three pitches to send it to the fifth.
Anderson drew a leadoff walk and stole her second base of the game to reach second in the fifth. She moved over to third on an error that allowed Lara to safely get to first base, then Anderson scored on a wild pitch for the third Maverick run of the day.
The Mavericks threatened with a couple of baserunners with two outs in the sixth but couldn't get the hit to bring anyone home. MSU kept the Dragons scoreless in the bottom frame, as Oetzmann struck out two more batters.
After a three-up-three-down inning on defense, Hycnar singled down the left field line to reach base, then Lara crushed the ball down the line for a two-run homer which tied the ballgame at 5-5 in the top of the seventh.
MSU got two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Norman singled up the middle and moved to second after a wild pitch. Oetzmann struck out her seventh batter of the game to send it to extra innings and avoid the runner from scoring.
The Dragons held the Mavericks scoreless in the top of the eighth. A single and a walk put two on with two out for the home team. A single to the outfield loaded the bases but a solid throw from Marina Carter in center field prevented the run from scoring, then Stone entered the pitcher's circle for Oetzmann and she struck out the next batter to send the game to the ninth inning.
Anderson got to first after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the ninth, but she got caught attempting to take second and Minnesota State couldn't get anyone else on base. MSUM also had a baserunner in the ninth inning, but couldn't move her past first base before the Maverick defense accumulated three outs.
Behrends led off with a single in the top frame of the 10th. She stole second and moved to third on a single to centerfield from Ella Schulz. The Minnesota State offense was neutralized once again, as the Dragons retired three straight batters on a foul out, a strikeout and a ground out.
After the Mavericks shut down MSUM in the bottom frame, and in the top of the 11th, Kurstyn Patnode singled to right center, Hycnar singled to left and Lara walked to load the bases with one out. Behrends hit a fly deep enough to score Patnode from third to give Minnesota State a 6-5 lead. Schulz drew a walk, then Helin fouled off several pitches before doubling to right field to put Minnesota State up 8-5 headed into the bottom of the 11th inning.
The Dragons put a baserunner on third after a double and a groundout, but Stone picked up her fifth K of the game for the long-awaited win, 8-5. She earned her fourth win of the season with four innings of scoreless relief in extras. Oetzmann ended with 104 pitches, five hits and seven strikeouts in six innings of relief.
In the cross-country race of a game, Anderson, Hycnar, Behrends and Helin each had two hits. Hycnar and Behrends each drove in one RBI and Helin had three. Lara's two-run homer sent the game to extra-innings and was her third of the season.
Game 2 vs Dragons: W, MSU 11, MSUM 2 (5 Innings)
W: Brianne Stone (5-3) L: Isabel Rodriguez (0-2)
The Mavericks kept the bats rolling in the start of game two. Behrends and Hycnar drew back-to-back walks, then Lara doubled down the left field line and drove both of them in to give Minnesota State an early two-run lead. Freshman Ryanne Mellum singled back up the middle to score Lara, Helin walked, then Patnode singled to score Mellum which gave the Mavericks a 4-0 lead.
Following a pitching change for MSUM, Carter hit a triple to left field which wiped the bases clean to stamp a six-point lead in favor of the Mavericks before the Dragons switched to batting gloves.
In the bottom of the first, Steffen tripled to left field and scored out of a base running jam after a dropped strike three. Another Dragon batter reached via a single but Stone struck out the next batter to send game two to the second.
Behrends led off the second inning with a double and she advanced to third on a passed ball. Hycnar hit her in with a sacrifice fly to center field to put MSU up 7-1. The inning continued as Hannah Tong reached on an error, then Lara hit another double to left which put both of them in scoring position with one out. Mellum walked to load up the base pads and Helin and Patnode each drew walks which brought another two runs across, making the score 9-1.
Hycnar singled down the right field line, then Lara and Mellum both walked at the plate to load the bases in the top of the third. Helin singled to the pitcher which scored two to make it a ten-run ballgame, 11-1 headed to the bottom of three.
The Dragons bounced back in the bottom frame, as Gonzalez doubled just over Behrend's glove at third with two outs, and Norman slapped a singled which scored her teammate to leave the score at 11-2 after three innings.
Carter got to second after beating out a throw to first and stealing second in the top of the fourth. Rhyan Fritz walked and Carter advanced to third on the fourth ball in the dirt. MSU came short of bringing Carter home, though, as Fritz was thrown out attempting to take second and a groundout ended the inning.
Back-to-back singles put two on, then another hit to the outfield was played well by Helin, who threw it to Hycnar at short to get the runner out on her way to second. This, however, resulted in runners on the corners with just one out. A bunt single kept the runner at third and loaded the bases. Stone's day in the circle was done, as Sophia Del Vecchio entered for relief. She was able to secure a pair of outs to the outfield to end the inning with the score unchanged.
Lara picked up her third hit of game two, a single down the left field line, to lead off the fifth inning, but a double-play wrapped up the frame. Del Vecchio and the Maverick defense retired the only three MSUM batters of the fifth inning to wrap up game two, 11-2.
Lara went 3-3 at the plate in game two, scoring three runs ad driving in two RBI. Helin drove in three RBI with one hit and two walks. Patnode and Carter each had two-RBI hits. Mellum and Hycnar each had one hit and one RBI.
Stone pitched 3.1 innings in game two and allowed two runs on nine hits while striking out four. Del Vecchio had one strike out and finished the final 1.2 innings of the game on just 16 pitches.
"I'm proud of the team grinding out two wins in these weather conditions," said Minnesota State head coach Lori Meyer. The two games took six and a half hours and it felt like 32 degrees in Moorhead Saturday afternoon and evening.
"We battled back in game one after being down 5-0. Lara's monster home run stayed fair with the win, and Oetzmann and Stone came in and pitched shutout ball for us. In game two, we jumped out to a six-run lead right away and never looked back."
Minnesota State plays three double-headers next week. First, the Mavericks travel to Sioux Falls to take on the Cougars of USF (12-11, 0-1 NSIC). Those games will be at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, Minnesota State hosts Minot State (13-12, 1-1 NSIC) and UMary (8-18, 1-0 NSIC) at noon and 2:00 p.m. at the MSU Softball Complex in Mankato.
