MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (15-26 overall, 10-12 NSIC) fought back after dropping game one by a score of 9-1 in six innings, earning a 3-2 walk-off victory to split with Minnesota Duluth (32-9, 18-4) on Monday afternoon at Mustang Field.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning,
Katie Palmer singled into right field to drive in
Abby Russell from second base to give the Mustangs their fourth win in the last five games.
Game two was highlighted by
Karlie Miller (6-9), who tied a career high with 10 strikeouts while allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks.
The Mustangs struck first in game two, capitalizing off of three Bulldog errors to take a 2-0 lead.
That lead held into the fifth inning, where UMD took advantage of a one-out walk, driving her in with a two-out double and cutting the SMSU lead in half at 2-1.
The Bulldogs evened the scoring in the sixth, coming around on a two-out error to knot the game at 2-2.
After the Mustangs offense was held scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, UMD looked to be in position to take a lead. A leadoff single and one-out walk set a runner in scoring position, but Miller halted the rally, recording a pair of huge strikeouts to give SMSU a chance to win the game.
Russell got the offense cooking, drawing an eight pitch walk with one out, and then stole second base during a
Jillian Noel at bat to get in scoring position.
Noel drew a walk of her own, and with two outs, Palmer came through for the victory.
Molly Bull collected two of the five Mustang hits in the victory, while Russell scored a pair of runs.
In game one, UMD scored a run in the third, three runs in the fifth, and five in the sixth to take a 9-0 lead. The Mustangs would score a run on a Bull RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but it wouldn't be enough to continue a shortened game.
Russell collected two if the three Mustang hits, while
Shelby Bloemendaal (2-7) allowed nine runs (three earned) on 10 hits while striking one out.
The Mustangs are back in action on Wednesday, taking on Augustana at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D., starting at 3 p.m.