MINOT, N.D.- Taylor Koloc's two-out grand slam lifted Southwest Minnesota State to a 9-7 win in game two to split the doubleheader at Minot State after the Beavers won the first game, 14-5 on Saturday afternoon.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 1 Recap
Southwest Minnesota State gave up 11 runs in the first two innings in a 14-5 loss in game one at Minot State on Saturday afternoon.
Taylor Koloc went 2 for 2 on the afternoon with one extra base hit and two RBI but the Mustangs couldn't keep up with a Minot State offense that had 13 hits in its four innings from the plate.
Alex O'Connor tossed her 500th career strikeout in the bottom of the first inning after entering the day just one shy of the milestone. O'Connor would suffer the loss however as Minot State jumped out early, batting through the lineup in the first inning to a 5-0 lead.
Coach
Jamie Dunn was forced into two pitching changes in the bottom of the second as Minot State added six more runs to its lead off of five hits and two errors.
SMSU came back with its first run of the game in the third and a four-run top of the fourth, but the Beavers' answered with two more in the bottom of the fourth. The Mustangs then managed just one hit in the next inning giving Minot State the win via run rule.
Game 2 Box Score
Game 2 Recap
The Mustangs scored four runs in the third and four in the fifth to come from behind and defeat Minot State, 9-7 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.
Sam Flack went 2 for 3 with three RBI while
Emma Grote went 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the game two win.
Shelby Crank was credited with the win to move to 4-4 on the season while
Alex O'Connor came in on relief duty to pitch three innings. O'Connor gave up just two hits and two runs in the final three innings to earn her fifth save of the year.
SMSU scored one in the game's first inning but Minot State came right back with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the first.
After Minot State added a fifth run in the bottom of the second SMSU came back to tie the game at 5-5 with four runs in the third.
Madison Krog started the scoring in the inning with an RBI single which was followed by a two RBI base hit from
Sam Flack. Flack then came around to even the game off of a
Karmann Carroll single.
The Beavers took the lead back briefly with an RBI fielder's choice in the fourth inning but SMSU followed up with another big inning in the top of the fifth. Following back-to-back walks to lead off the inning,
Alex Reak loaded the bases with no outs on a single to left field.
A pop-up and strikeout left the bases loaded for
Taylor Koloc who lifted the first pitch down the left field line for the two-out grand slam to give SMSU a 9-6 lead.
Alex O'Connor gave up just two hits in her final three innings from the circle to earn the save.
SMSU will now host a doubleheader with Minnesota State on Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m.
