Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
FAYETTE, Iowa – Freshman third baseman

said. "The second game was a heartbreaking loss. But we will learn from it and move on and get ready for our games with Minot State on Tuesday."

In the first game, the Dragons smacked out three homers and had five extra-base hits overall Villalobos was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI to lead the MSUM offense. Junior Taylor Huss was 3-for-4 with a run scored, while junior center fielder Mollie Annen was 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI. Junior catcher Brittany York hit a solo homer, while sophomore second baseman Kristen Nordby was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Junior right fielder Heather Tice and sophomore left fielder Carly Williamson was 1-for-4 for the Dragons, who smacked out a season-high 12 hits.

Sophomore pitcher Morgan Nybo picked up her fifth win of the 2014 season with a complete-game performance. She allowed six hits and two earned runs, striking out five while walking two.

The Dragons got on the board first in the opening frame. Annen walked to lead off the inning, and Tice followed with a single. One out later, Huss singled to load the bases. After a strikeout, Nordby walked to score Annen to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.

MSUM added to its lead in the second inning. Villalobos led off with a single, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Williamson. Annen then stepped up with a two-run homer to score Villalobos and give the Dragons a 3-0 lead.

Upper Iowa scored in the bottom of the second to cut the MSUM lead to 3-1. MSUM broke the game open in the fifth as York led off the inning with a homer to give the Dragons a 4-1 lead. Huss then singled, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nybo. Nordby reached on an error, and moved to second on the play with Huss moving to third. One out later, Villalobos came through with the big hit, a three-run homer, to put the Dragons up 7-1.

That was plenty of support for Nybo, who gave up a run in the seventh but never allowed the Dragons' advantage to be threatened.

The Dragons lost the second game in heartbreaking fashion. They held a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh but Upper Iowa scored two unearned runs in that frame – capitalizing on a pair of Dragon errors to tie the game. In the eighth, sophomore Erica Kirgan hit a two-run walkoff homer to give the Peacocks a 5-3 win.

York hit another homer to lead the Dragon offense, while freshman first baseman Lauren Meeker and sophomore designated hitter Kristy Bruni were each 1-for-3 with an RBI. Huss, Nordby, Williamson and Villalobos each had hits for the Dragons.
Nordby pitched well yet again for the Dragons, allowing three earned runs in 7.1 innings. She struck out six and walked one, scattering eight hits.

MSUM scored first in the top of the second. Nordby singled, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Meeker singled to score Nordby to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.

Upper Iowa tied the game in the bottom of the third on a solo homer. The Dragons regained the lead in the fourth when Huss led off with a double, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nordby. One out later, Bruni singled to score Huss with MSUM's second run.

The lead grew to 3-1 in the sixth when York led off the inning with a solo homer to right center.

Upper Iowa used two hits and capitalized on two Dragon errors to tie the game in the seventh. In the eighth, MSUM had the go-ahead run on third after Williamson singled, was bunted to second and moved to third on a groundout. But the Dragons were unable to get the run in as a foul out ended the inning.

Upper Iowa's walkoff homer came with one out in the eighth.

The Dragons are slated to make their 2014 home debut on Tuesday against Minot State. The doubleheader, which will be the first home games for MSUM in two years, is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Notes: To show their young team's progress, the Dragons have now split with five teams that swept the Dragons in 2013: Northern State, St. Cloud State, Concordia-St. Paul, Mary and Upper Iowa…York now has five homers in the Dragons' last seven games and has a team-best 11-game hitting streak. She is hitting .371 during that span with five homers and 14 RBI…the three hits for Villalobos in Game 1 were a career-high.