MOORHEAD, Minn. – A huge day offensively from its four seniors helped the Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team roll to a sweep of Minnesota Crookston on Sunday. The Dragons, who hit seven home runs in the doubleheader, won the first game 5-1 and took the second game, 13-4 in six innings.

MSUM, which finished the season on a four-game winning streak, ended the season at 16-27. Minnesota Crookston ended the year at 4-46.
The seven home runs helped set a new single-season record for MSUM. The Dragons finished with 33 home runs, topping the previous mark of 26 set in 2011.

The four Dragon seniors --- center fielder Mollie Annen, shortstop Taylor Huss, right fielder Rachel Sannicandro and catcher Brittany York – all homered during the doubleheader sweep. That group combined to go 12-of-26 (.461) on the day with five homers and eight RBI.

In the opening win, Huss sparked the offense, going 2-for-3 with a pair of homers and three RBI. York was 3-for-4 while sophomore first baseman Lauren Meeker was 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. Junior pitcher Morgan Nybo was 2-for-4 with an RBI while junior outfielder Kristy Bruni was 1-for-3 for MSUM, which finished with 10 hits on the day.

Nybo earned her third consecutive win on the mound, giving up one earned run in seven innings. She struck out four, walked one and allowed five hits.

MSUM trailed 1-0 after UMC's Kaylin Beatty hit a solo homer in the third. The Dragons tied the game in the fourth when Huss hit a solo homer to left to lead off the inning. They took the lead in the fifth, thanks to a two-out rally. York singled, and Huss stepped up with her second homer of the game, a two-run shot, to put the Dragons in front 3-1.

The Dragons added to the lead in the sixth when Meeker led off the inning with a homer, her first of the season. That solo shot made it 4-1. MSUM added another insurance run in the seventh when York singled, moved to second on a single by Bruni and scored on an RBI single by Nybo to make it 5-1.

"Taylor Huss had a great game at the plate and came up with a huge two-run, two-out homer to give us momentum," MSUM head coach Kelsey Fehl said. "Morgan threw a good game for us and did a nice job of keeping them off-balance."

The second game saw MSUM smack out 15 hits, including four home runs. Sophomore third baseman Kristina Villalobos had a huge game, going 3-for-4 with a homer and a game-high five RBI. Sannicandro was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI while York was 1-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. Annen was 2-for-5 with a homer and an RBI. Junior pitcher Kristen Nordby was 2-for-3 with an RBI while Meeker was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Sophomore designated hitter Hannah Klug and sophomore left fielder Carly Williamson had hits for MSUM.

Nybo started on the mound and did not get an out in the first inning, allowing two runs. Williamson finished the first inning and gave up three hits and two earned runs. Nordby picked up the win with a stellar outing in relief, pitching five perfect innings. She struck out three.

The Golden Eagles scored four runs off of five hits, a Dragon error and three walks in the opening inning. MSUM got one of the runs back in the second. Huss walked, and was forced at second on a fielder's choice by Bruni. Meeker walked to move Bruni to second, and an RBI single by Villalobos scored Bruni to get the Dragons on the board at 4-1.

The Dragons came back with three runs in the third to tie the game. Klug reached on an error, and one out later, moved to second on a base hit by Huss. Nordby singled to center to score Klug and advanced to second on the play. Villalobos singled up the middle to score both runners, tying the game at 4-4.

MSUM took control with a six-run fourth inning. Sannicandro led off the inning with a home run, the first of her collegiate career, to give the Dragons a 5-4 lead, one they would not relinquish. One out later, Annen doubled and moved to third on a bloop single by Klug. Annen scored on a passed ball to make it 6-4. York then clobbered a two-run homer to left to push the lead to 8-4.

The inning was far from over. Huss and Nordby hit back-to-back singles, and Meeker singled to left to score Huss to make it 9-4. One out later, Sannicandro – batting for the second time in the inning – singled to make it 10-4.

Annen led off the fifth with a homer to make it 11-4. The Dragons put the game away in the sixth when Meeker walked and scored on a homer by Villalobos, pushing the lead to 13-4.

That was easily enough for Nordby, did not allow a baserunner.

"It was great to come back after being down 4-0," Fehl said. "We showed a lot of poise and power at the plate. Kristen Nordby came in and gave us five great innings on the mound."

The doubleheader was the final for the four Dragon seniors who combined to play in 592 games in their Dragon careers.

"The seniors have been a great group to have the past four years," Fehl said. "They have contributed a lot to this program. It was fun to see them each hit a home run today. We'll miss them."