MARSHALL, Minn.—The Southwest Minnesota State softball team strung together a handful of clutch hits to secure the 6-4 win in game one, but Sioux Falls edged out SMSU in game two 1-0 to salvage the split on Wednesday at Mustang Field.
With the win, SMSU eclipses its win total from the 2023 season and sits at 18-27 overall, 9-13 NSIC. USF now stands at 17-26 overall and 8-14 in conference play.
SMSU got the action going in the bottom of the second inning.
Molly Bull got the Mustangs started by reaching second on an outfielder error before advancing to third on a wild pitch.
Abby Boxrud and
Brynn Webber built on the momentum by drawing back-to-back walks. In the following at-bat,
Paris Van Dyke chopped a ball back to the pitcher and Bull beat the throw home to give SMSU the 1-0 lead.
USF countered with a hefty top half of the third inning. With two outs and a runner on third, Megan Lawson knocked an infield single to plate the runner and tie the game. Taryn Wagner singled in the following at-bat before back-to-back doubles to left-center field to add three more runs and jump out to a 4-1 lead.
The Mustangs refused to go away, countering in the bottom of the third.
Jillian Noel doubled to left-center to kick off the inning before getting called out on her way to third the play after.
Emma Humpal stole second and scored on a
Molly Bull single to cut the deficit to two runs.
Bull stole second and moved to third on a fielder's choice before
Abby Boxrud stole second to put two runners in scoring position for
Brynn Webber. Webber lined a speedy grounder up the middle to score both runners and tie the game once again.
The game fell quiet until the bottom of the sixth when the Mustangs clutched up.
Makenna Waldow reached first on a throwing error before being pinch ran for by
Mikayla Berge, who advanced to third thanks to an
Abby Russell single down the left field line. Russell stole second to place both runners in scoring position for
Jillian Noel. Noel delivered with the biggest hit of the game, a two-RBI single through the right side, to give SMSU the 6-4 lead going into the seventh inning.
The Cougars were limited to just one hit in the final four innings by the SMSU pitching staff.
Morgyn Otte threw the first five innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with a strikeout.
Karlie Miller (10-14) entered in the sixth inning at a score of 4-4, holding USF two just one hit and a walk en route to earning the win.
The Mustangs totaled seven hits in game one with
Molly Bull going 2-for-3 to lead the way.
Game two had total opposite energy from game one.
Neither team was able to get its bats going until deeper into the ball game.
USF scored the only run of the game in the top of the fifth inning on a single to left field.
The Mustangs eventually out a runner on third base in the fifth inning with two outs.
Riley Kramolisch nearly extended to beat out a grounder to second to put SMSU in the lead but came up just short.
Karlie Miller (10-15) was tabbed with the loss in game two, allowing a run on five hits and four walks while striking out five in a complete game.
SMSU is back on the road for a pair of weekend doubleheaders against Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday at 12 p.m., and Winona State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
