CLERMONT, Fla. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team split a pair of games to open its Florida trip. The Dragons opened with a 2-1 win over Stonehill College before losing to Ferris State 5-3 to conclude the day.
MSUM is now 3-3 on the season.
The Dragons opened the day with a one-run win over Stonehill. Junior pitcher
Kristen Nordby had a strong outing on the mound, going the distance and allowing just one run (unearned). She struck out four and walked one.
Nordby was 2-for-3 at the plate for MSUM. Senior shortstop
Taylor Huss was 2-for-3 with an RBI while freshman third baseman
Sydney Beck and sophomore
Carly Williamson each were 1-for-2. Senior center fielder
Mollie Annen was 1-for-3, while senior catcher
Brittany York had the other MSUM RBI.
The Dragons struck first in the opening inning. Annen singled to lead off the first, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Beck. One out later, Huss doubled to score Annen, giving MSUM a 1-0 lead.
Stonehill tied the game with a single run in the fourth. The Dragons broke the tie in the fifth. Williamson singled and moved to second on a groundout. Beck singled to move Williamson to third, and an RBI groundout by York scored Williamson to give MSUM a 2-1 lead.
Nordby made that stand in picking up her first win of the 2015 season.
In the loss to Ferris State, sophomore
Hannah Klug was 2-for-4, while junior
Kristy Bruni was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. Annen, Huss, Nordby, junior pitcher
Morgan Nybo, sophomore first baseman
Lauren Meeker and Williamson each had hits. Annen and Meeker had doubles.
Nybo pitched well in defeat for MSUM, allowing just two earned runs in six innings. She struck out five and walked one. The Dragons were hampered by four errors in the field in the game.
The Dragons led 3-0 after 2 1/2 innings. In the second, Bruni tripled with one out, and scored on an RBI double by Meeker to put MSUM up 1-0.
In the top of the third, Klug singled, and one out later, Huss singled. Nordby's RBI single scored Klug to make the Dragon lead 2-0. Bruni's sacrifice fly scored Huss to push MSUM's advantage to 3-0.
Ferris State broke through in the third, using two hits and three Dragon errors to score four runs, three of which were unearned. The Bulldogs added another run in the fifth to make it 5-3 and the Dragons were unable to mount a rally late.
MSUM will play two more games on Sunday. The Dragons will face Philadelphia University at noon Central time and Ferris State at 4 p.m.
