SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday as the Dragons were swept by Sioux Falls, 15-3 and 10-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action in Sioux Falls, S.D.

MSUM, which was making its NSIC season debut, fell to 10-6 overall and 0-2 in the league with the losses while Sioux Falls improved to 16-6 overall and 2-0 in the league.

The Dragons struggled defensively at times on Saturday, committing six errors.

"We have to clean up the errors defensively and find a way to limit the runs we allow," MSUM head coach Kelsey Fehl said.

In the first game, sophomore second baseman Jill Fox was 2-for-2 with an RBI for MSUM while junior pitcher Morgan Nybo was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Williamson was 1-for-2 with an RBI while sophomores Lauren Meeker and Hannah Klug both had hits.

Nybo took the loss for MSUM. She went the distance, striking out two while walking four. She surrendered 15 runs, 13 of which were earned. Four errors proved costly for the Dragons in the game.

MSUM trailed 4-0 after one inning. The Dragons got on the board in the second when Nybo and Meeker hit back-to-back singles. Fox's RBI single scored Nybo, bringing the Dragons within 4-1.

A six-run second pushed the USF lead to 10-1. The Dragons got as close as 11-3 with two runs in the fourth. Nybo singled and moved to second on a groundout. Fox singled to move Nybo to third, and Williamson followed with an RBI single to score MSUM's second run. Later in the inning, senior catcher Brittany York walked to force in a run to make it 11-3.

USF won the game in five inning after a four-run fourth inning.

In the second game, Nybo was 2-for-3 with two RBI, while junior outfielder Kristy Bruni was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Junior pitcher Kristen Nordby was 1-for-2 with an RBI while freshman third baseman Sydney Beck, York, senior shortstop Taylor Huss and Williamson also had hits.

Nordby took the loss, allowing nine runs (eight earned) in three innings. She struck out two and walked three. Williamson, making her collegiate pitching debut, was solid in relief, allowing one earned run in three innings.

MSUM got off to a good start, taking a 3-0 lead after the first inning. With one out, Beck singled, and one out later, Huss singled. Nordby's single scored Beck and moved Huss to third. After Nybo walked, Bruni delivered a big two-out hit, a two-run double, to push the lead to 3-0.
The Cougars came back with four runs in the second and five in the third to make it 9-3.

The Dragons scored in the fifth when York, who had walked earlier in the inning, scored on an RBI single by Nybo.

Facing a 10-4 deficit, MSUM sought to rally in the seventh. York led off with a single, and senior Rachel Sannicandro pinch-ran for her. Sannicandro stole second and would later score on Nybo's second RBI single of the game.  Klug reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-6, but MSUM's comeback hopes ended with a fly out to right.

The Dragons will look to rebound on Sunday at Southwest Minnesota State. The doubleheader begins at noon in Marshall, Minn.