MANKATO, Minn. - With its sweep of Bemidji State this afternoon, Minnesota State softball (30-12, 14-2 NSIC) takes over the top spot in the NSIC.

The Beavers (15-23, 2-12 NSIC) held momentum throughout game one until Minnesota State rallied in the seventh as sophomore Kurstyn Patnode hit an RBI double and a fly ball off the bat of Carly Kimmes was dropped by the BSU centerfielder which scored the winning run from third as the Mavericks took game one, 2-1.

Patnode finished the day batting 3-6 at the plate with three runs scored and one batted in. The second game was more offensively focused, as right fielder Maddie Helin and first baseman Gianna Lara hit a pair of home runs to help their team reach 30 wins on the season. The last time the Mavericks did not win 30 games in a season, excluding the shortened 2020 season, was 2005.

Senior centerfielder Marina Carter also had a great day, as she went 4-6 at the plate with two runs scored and another batted in. She now leads the team in batting average with a .361 average at the plate.

Game 1 vs Bemidji State: W, MSU 2, BSU 1

W: Sailor Hall (10-4) L: Kennedy Joachim (9-8)

Cheyenne Behrends drew a walk in the top of the first, but a pair of strikeouts from Bemidji State starter Kennedy Joachim ended the inning. 

The first base hit of the game came from Calleigh Richards of BSU to lead off the bottom of the second. A walk put a second runner on to threaten the Maverick defense before a fielder's choice put runners on second and third with two down. A pop fly caught by Kimmes at second got Minnesota State out of the jam with the scoreboard unchanged. 

Carter slapped a single through the left side on a 1-2 count for the Mavericks' first hit of the ball game, then Kimmes beamed a ball past the Beaver third baseman to put two on with one out. A pair of fly outs prevented the MSU runners from scoring. The score remained 0-0.

Aimee Christenson hit the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the third to left field for the team's second hit of the day. A fielder's choice replaced the runner on first, then she stole second and a walk put two on base. Richards singled through the left side to score the runner from second to put Bemidji State up 1-0. The runner from first was thrown out trying to advance to third on the throw home which sent game one to its fourth inning.

Neither team had a base runner in the fourth, then Patnode hit a one-out single to right. She moved to second on a wild pitch, but a pair of pop ups ended retired the side. 

In the bottom of the fifth with two outs, Maverick starter Sailor Hall got her second strikeout of the game, but it was dropped, which allowed the batter to reach base. A hit through the left side put two on, but a grounder to Izzy Hycnar at short sent the game to the sixth. 

The MSU shortstop hit a single to right with one out in the top of the sixth, but was stranded as Joachim struck out her sixth batter to eliminate any chance the Mavericks had in the inning. The Beavers got another two-out hit back up the middle in the bottom of the six, but Minnesota State got the third out to send the game to the final inning.

Freshman Hannah Tong reached on an error to lead off the top of the seventh; Chloe Brandt pinch ran for her. Patnode snuck a double just fair down the left field line, which scored Brandt from first to tie the game, 1-1. A bunt single from Carter moved Patnode to third, then the center fielder stole second to put two in scoring position. Kimmes hit a sky ball to dead center, but the Beaver outfielder dropped the ball, allowing a second run to score to give Minnesota State a 2-1 lead late. 

Hall struck out the first batter she saw in the seventh, then a pair of infield grounders ended the game, securing the win for the Mavericks, 2-1. 

The Maverick starter earned her 10th win of the season in the game. She wrung up three opposing batters, allowed five hits and one run against BSU. 

Both Patnode and Carter went 2-3 at the plate. Patnode's RBI double was the only run batted in for the Mavericks in game one. Both Kimmes and Hycnar ended with a base hit.

Game 2 vs Bemidji State: W, MSU 11, BSU 3

W: Brianne Stone (8-4) L: Danica Sarff (1-6)

After the Mavericks went 1-2-3 in the top of the first in game two, Alexa Christenson led off with a single up the middle in the bottom frame, then a walk put two on with two down, but a foul out to right retired the Beaver order in the first. 

Helin drew a lead off walk in the second but was thrown out trying to steal second. The Beavers got out of the inning with a strikeout and a foul out, but did not put a baserunner on in the bottom of the second to keep it scoreless through two.

Minnesota State scored first in the third inning of game two. Patnode drew a walk and was called safe at second in a stolen base attempt. An infield pop fly off Kimmes' bat was dropped, which allowed Patnode to cross home plate safely. The Mavericks led 1-0.

Bemidji State put a runner on with a lead off single in the bottom of three. An error in the infield put a second Beaver on the bags, but Behrends snagged a grounder to third, stepped on the bag and fired to first for the 5-3 double play to exit the third.

The Mavericks put an insurance run on the board in the top of the fourth. Lara crushed a two-out double to the fence in right center, then Tong followed that up with a double of her own to score the first baseman, which put Minnesota State up 2-0.

Patnode led off the top of the fifth with a double to left. Carter laid down a bunt, but nobody was covering first, so she rounded the bag which got her in a pickle. Patnode rounded third to head home, the ball was thrown over to the left side of the infield, which allowed the runner to score to put the team up three. Carter made it back to first on the throw and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, then she scored on an error by the Beaver shortstop. Behrends reached on the error, moved to second on the errant throw, and a wild pitch granted her third base. Helin demolished a two-run homer over the left field fence which put Minnesota State up 6-0. 

A walk and a single up the middle with one out would be the way Bemidji State started the bottom of the fifth. Then, Mariah Stevenson crushed a pitcher the fence in left center for the second home run of the inning. The three-run shot cut the Maverick lead in half, 6-3.

After an MSU pitching change, Molly Houts hit a two-out triple to right centerfield but was stranded on a grounder to second. Tong smacked the first pitch she saw in the sixth inning to left field, but Alexa Christenson made a diving grab for the first out of the inning. A couple of ground outs hit to third sent game two to the bottom of the sixth.

The Beavers got a pinch hit single with one out in the sixth, but a pair of ground balls moved it to the seventh. Carter led off the inning with a single past the BSU second baseman's glove for her fourth base hit of the afternoon. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, then slid into third with her 15th stolen base on the season. Behrends drew a walk after she worked the count full, then stole second to put a second Maverick in scoring position. Hycnar cracked a single into left which scored Carter from third, but she was thrown out trying to stretch it to second. Helin also worked the pitcher to a 3-2 count before she hit an RBI single to put Minnesota State up 8-3. 

A throw down to first allowed Helin to move to second, but it did not matter. Lara crushed a ball that carried over the fence in dead center to increase the lead to seven. Tong followed that up with a double to slight left center to continue the inning. Catcher Emma Dennison drew a walk, then back-to-back wild pitches allowed Tong to score. When the Beavers got the final out of the top of the seventh, Minnesota State led 11-3, leaving Bemidji State with just three outs to work with.

A lead off single in the bottom frame did not result in much for the Beavers, as a fly out and a double play ended the game. The Mavericks won their 30th game of the season, 11-3.

The bats were rolling better in game two. Helin, Lara, Tong and Carter all had two-hit games against the Beavers in game two. Helin's home run and RBI single gave her three runs batted in in game two and Lara's homer gave her two. Hycnar and Tong each drove in one run.

Starting pitcher Brianne Stone went four innings, allowing three hits, no runs and one strikeout. Maddie Oetzmann gave up the three-run shot from BSU but Sophia Del Vecchio came in and provided 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. She, like Stone, allowed three hits and finished the game with one K.

"In game one we were just putting the ball in the air with catchable pop ups until we found a way to score in the seventh," said Minnesota State head coach Lori Meyer. "Tong and Patnode coming up with timely hits and Kimmes' fly ball getting dropped was huge for us. I though Hall did a nice job working through a couple jams but she stayed calm."

"We got the bats going earlier in game two. I thought Del Vecchio came in and got the job done, using our defense, and we came back with offense. We are growing; We are growing in our leadership and we are doing the things you need to do to get to 30 wins."

The Minnesota State softball team continues the NSIC season with another trio of double headers next week. Starting on Wednesday, April 9, the Mavericks travel to Winona State (31-8, 12-2 NSIC) to take on the Warriors at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. at the Maynard R. Johnson Field. Over the weekend, the team hosts Minnesota Duluth (28-12, 8-4 NSIC) and St. Cloud State (29-11, 8-4 NSIC). The Mavericks play the Bulldogs on Saturday, April 12 and the Huskies on Sunday, April 13. Both double headers have start times of noon and 2:00 p.m.