MINOT, N.D. - The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (29-25, 15-13 NSIC) was swept Saturday afternoon by the Minot State Beavers (31-21, 16-12 NSIC), dropping game one 10-2 (5 inn.) and game two 7-2.
GAME ONE
Jordyn Marsh (20-8) pitched four complete innings, allowing 10 earned runs on 14 hits with two strikeouts.
Carley Stych led SMSU with two hits and two RBIs. Four other Mustang batters had hits in game one, while Marsh had two walks at the plate.
The Beavers kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff home run from Taylor Smith.
Stych had one of her two RBI singles in the top of the second inning to tie the game at 1-1, allowing Kennah Bretschneider to score.
MSU responded with four runs in the next half inning, beginning with a solo home run from Sarah Misner, and a pair of RBI doubles from Smith and Sara Van Wickler.
The Beavers added another pair of runs in the third inning with a two-run home run from Brooke Hyde, which extended the Minot State lead to 7-1.
Stych brought home the last Mustang run of the game in the top of the fourth with a base hit down the left side, which brought Morgan Alar to the plate to score the run.
Smith hit her second home run of the game in the bottom half of the next inning, followed by an RBI single up the middle by Raivyn Millions to make the score 9-2 in favor of the Beavers.
Hyde would end the game with an RBI double into left field, bringing home Anna LaCount from second base.
Kierra Fournier (9-8) pitched five innings for the Beavers, allowing two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Smith, LaCount, and Paige Kellogg each had three hits for MSU, while Smith and Hyde had three RBIs.
GAME TWO
Ramsey Hopp (9-16) pitched six innings for SMSU, allowing seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits striking out five batters.
Five separate Mustang batters had hits in the second game, including Hopp, Riley Kramolisch, Paris Van Dyke, Ava Rud, and Lexi Ingalls. Rud and Emma Humpal drove in the pair of runs for SMSU.
The Beavers got on the board first with a pair of runs in the second inning, scoring off an SMSU error and an RBI single from Taylor Smith.
Sarah Misner extended the MSU lead in the third inning with a solo home run, making the Beavers lead 3-0.
MSU would keep applying the pressure offensively, scoring in the fourth inning on a double steal with runners on first and third, as well as an RBI single from Anna LaCount in the fifth inning.
Humpal would put the Mustangs on the board in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly, allowing Riley Kramolisch to score.
Paige Kellogg would strike for the Beavers in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run home run, extending the MSU lead to 7-1.
Ava Rud would bring home the final run of the game in the top of the seventh with a groundout to the Beaver shortstop.
Calley Olson started the game for Minot State, pitching three shutout innings allowing just one walk and striking out two batters. Sarah Misner was credited with the win pitching the remaining four innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with one strikeout. Misner also had three hits at the plate which led the team, while Kellogg led with two RBIs.
The Mustangs conclude their regular season on Sunday against UMary in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
