MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team bounced back into the win column with a resilient 2-1 win in game one and strong 8-0 win in six innings in game two over the St. Cloud State Huskies on Saturday.

The Mustangs jump to 15-22 overall and 6-8 in the NSIC. SCSU drops to 22-16 and 5-7 in conference play.

The Huskies kicked off the game with a lead-off single up the middle then stole second to put a runner in scoring position. Grace Frechette advanced the runner to third on a groundout before Bethany Weiss singled to right field, scoring the lonely Husky run of the day and giving SCSU the early 1-0 lead.

SMSU struggled to get the offense going before completely flipping the script in the bottom of the third. Riley Kramolisch got the Mustangs going by drawing a walk before Mikayla Berge laid down a sac bunt to move her to second. With two outs and in a 2-2 count, Abby Russell came up clutch with a triple to center field to score Kramolisch and tie the game. 

Shortly after, Jillian Noel reached on an infield blooper that scored Russell and pushed the Mustangs ahead. On the single, Noel became just the sixth Mustang softball player ever to reach 200 career hits.

The Mustang pitching staff got to work, as Otte held the Huskies to just two hits in her next two innings before being relieved in the sixth inning by Karlie Miller. In turn, Miller held the Huskies hitless in the sixth and seventh innings en route to a 2-1 victory.

Morgyn Otte (7-9) pitched with confidence to earn the win. Otte allowed one run on five hits while striking out two in five innings. Karlie Miller (2) shut down the Huskies in the final two innings to earn her second career save.

The Mustangs knocked seven hits in game one with Emma Humpal going 2 for 3 at the plate to lead the offense while Noel and Russell each tallied an RBI.

Game two was pure dominance from Karlie Miller and the Mustangs.

After the Mustangs survived a threat in the first inning and turned a double play to gain momentum, they started rolling, knocking eight hits in the first inning. Riley Kramolisch executed a slow rolling bunt that landed her on first base to get SMSU going. Mikayla Berge also reached first on a bunt before Jillian Noel singled to left field to load the bases. Molly Bull scorched a grounder up the middle to score Kramolisch and Berge, giving SMSU the 2-0 lead.

A pitching change went into effect for the Huskies but that failed at killing the SMSU momentum, as Karlie Miller helped herself in the circle by smashing a ball up the middle to advance Bull to third, then stole second the play after. Brynn Webber stepped up to the plate and delivered a single to score Bull and advance Miller before Paris Van Dyke chopped a ball to the third baseman to score Miller and give SMSU the 6-0 lead. 

The last SMSU run of the inning came from Kramolisch, who hit an infield single to plate Webber and push the lead to seven runs.

Miller held the Huskies to just one hit in the final six innings of the game en route to earning the win. Miller (8-11) threw a complete game shutout, allowing a season-low three hits with seven strikeouts. 

SMSU returns to the field on Wednesday, April 10, playing a pair of games against Wayne State on Mustang Field, with first pitch set for 2 p.m.