ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (2-0) would shine through adversity, scoring four runs in the eighth inning after giving up three unearned runs with two outs in the seventh inning to defeat Sioux Falls (0-2) 8-4 on Friday night to open the Kelly Laas Invitational in St. Cloud. 
 
Karlie Miller (1-0) opened her SMSU career with a bang, going eight innings in the circle, giving up nine hits while giving up one earned run and striking out four. She also got it done at the dish, going 3-3, finishing a home run short of the cycle while scoring and driving in a run. 

The Mustangs would finish the game with seven doubles, tying the school record for most doubles in a game. 
 
Jillian Noel would strike first for the Mustangs, driving in Bailey Johnson with a two-out single to give SMSU a 1-0 lead. Each team would put up zeroes until the top of the fifth, when Noel would reach on a two-out error, scoring Abby Russell and doubling the Mustang lead. 
 
SMSU would strike again in the top of the sixth, as Russell would score a pair with a two-out double would score Paige Shwaluk and Maddie Shwaluk to double the SMSU lead again. USF would keep the two out trend going, driving in their first run of the game with two outs in the sixth to start chipping away at the Mustang lead. 
 
Miller would get a chance to close things out in the seventh, but USF would score three runs following a two-out error to tie the game at 4-4 and send the game into extra innings. 
 
SMSU wasted little time making an extra inning impact, as Miller would drive in Emily Tatur on an RBI double to take a 5-4 lead. Russell would extend the lead with an RBI single, and after a Johnson fielder's choice, Lileya Kebos would deliver a double to put two in scoring position up 6-4. 
 
Noel would wear a pitch to fill the bases, and Faith Lawson would crack the game open with a two-run single to give the Mustangs an 8-4 lead. Miller would close the game strong, sending USF down in order to finish victorious. 
 
Freshmen would account for nine of the 15 SMSU hits on the night, with Russell (3) Lawson (2) Tatur (1) and Miller (3) leading the youth movement within the program. Russell would finish with three RBIs, while Lawson would pick up a pair. 
 
Johnson and Patia Wolfe would each collect two hits, with Johnson scoring a pair of runs, and Noel and Kebos would also add a hit apiece.
 
The Mustangs return to action Friday, Feb. 12, continuing play at the Kelly Laas Invitational with Northwestern (Iowa) starting at 2 p.m., before finishing their day taking on the host, St. Cloud State, at 7 p.m.