BARTOW, Fla. - The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (12-6) continued action in THE Spring Games on Friday afternoon, against Northwood for the second day in a row, and Glenville State (W. Va.).
GAME ONE (Northwood)
Down 7-5 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, SMSU battled back with a three-run swing, to win the game 8-7.
Jordyn Marsh (9-0) pitched all seven innings allowing seven runs (four earned), on 12 hits and three walks, striking out three Wolves batters.
The Mustangs offense was well rounded in game one, with eight batters earning hits. Rylee Kramolisch, Aliza Acker, and Kaylee Hafermann each had two hits, with Kramolisch and Acker being two of the five Mustangs to record an RBI.
Acker opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, sending Kramolisch home to score on an RBI double.
The Wolves would then put three runs of their own on the board by the fourth inning, making the score 3-1 in favor of NU.
Marsh gave SMSU their second run of the contest in the fifth, before a pair of Northwood errors scored two more in the inning, giving the Mustangs a 4-3 lead.
Payton Schafsnitz and Ashley Ziel gave the Wolves the lead again in the top of the sixth, after an RBI single from Schafsnitz, and an RBI double from Ziel.
Lexi Ingalls scored on a Grace Anderson single in the bottom of the sixth, before Northwood added their seventh run of the game in the top half of the seventh.
The comeback began with Carley Stych's base hit, which allowed Paris Van Dyke to score from second and Hafermann to advance to third.
Kramolisch sent Hafermann home with a groundout to second base tying the game at 7. The following at-bat, Grace Anderson hit a groundball to the shortstop, who threw the ball over the first baseman, allowing Stych to score from second base, ending the game at 8-7.
Kamden Binney (1-1) was credited with the loss for NU, pitching the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (two earned). Dalaney Gage started the game for the Wolves, pitching the first five innings. NU had four players with 2 hits, 12 total in the game.
GAME TWO (Glenville State) (Box score not available at this time)
SMSU dominated from start to finish, defeating the Glenville State Pioneers 9-1 in five innings.
Ramsey Hopp (3-5) allowed just one run and two hits in her five innings on the mound, striking out three batters.
Hopp was one of four Mustangs with two hits in the game, along with Riley Kramolisch, Emma Humpal, and Kaylee Hafermann. Hopp also led SMSU with four RBIs.
The freshman pitcher began the contest by driving in two runs on a base hit in the top of the first and recording nine straight outs on the mound.
Hopp again delivered an RBI base hit in the third inning, followed by a double by Paris Van Dyke, and an RBI single up the middle by Hafermann, leaving the score at 5-0.
In the fourth inning, Grace Anderson kicked off a four-run inning with an RBI single, which was followed by Kramolisch scoring from third after a steal attempt by Anderson, before Humpal drilled an RBI double for the eighth run of the game for the Mustangs. Hopp hit a sacrifice fly allowing Humpal to score the ninth and final SMSU run of the contest.
The Pioneers got on the board in the fourth inning, after a double by Shelby McDan, which proved to be the final run of the game. GSU's Kylie Burdick (4-1) was credited with the loss after pitching the first three innings.
SMSU travels to Tampa tomorrow, facing the University of Tampa Spartans, beginning at 1 p.m. CST / 2 EST. Live stats and video are available at smsumustangs.com/sports/softball.
