CLERMONT, Fla. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team dropped a pair of games to close its Spring Break trip in Florida on Thursday, falling to Wilmington (Del.) 10-2 and Walsh University 5-2.
MSUM is now 5-12 on the season.
"We were able to see a lot of potential in this team from the trip," MSUM head coach
Kelsey Fehl said. "Our young team has learned a lot and we have a good foundation to start our conference season."
Against Wilmington, freshman outfielder
Madison Paige was 3-for-4 with a double, while senior first baseman Meeker was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Senior second baseman
Jill Fox was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Freshman outfielder
Taylor Kelenic, who pinch-ran for Meeker, scored a run.
Freshman
Jordan Hall took the loss, giving up seven earned runs in 4.2 innings. She struck out two and walked three. Freshman
Becky Volkert allowed three earned runs in 2.1 innings of relief.
A pair of home runs – a two-run homer by Colby Wyatt and a grand slam by Kaitlyn Slater – were the difference for Wilmington.
MSUM scored an unearned run in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Meeker was hit by a pitch and Kelenec pinch-ran for her. Kelenec moved to second on a groundout, and sophomore
Aunica Novacek followed with a walk. Fox hit a grounder to third which was misplayed, and the error allowed Kelenic to score the game's first run.
Wyatt's two-run homer put Wilmington up 2-1, and the grand slam was part of a five-run fifth inning to make it 7-1. Wilmington added three more runs in the seventh.
MSUM put together a threat in the seventh. Fox led off with a single and senior outfielder
Hannah Klug walked. After a double play forced out Klug, Roddie walked, and Paige singled to load the bases. Meeker was walked to score Fox with MSUM's second run. A foul out ended the game for MSUM with the bases loaded.
In the Walsh game, Paige was 2-for-4 with a double while senior outfielder
Carly Williamson was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Meeker was 1-for-3 with two RBI. Roddie, Novacek, Fox and Klug had hits for the Dragons, who left 10 runners on base.
Freshman
Tori White took the loss for MSUM, giving up five runs (three earned) in seven innings. She struck out two and walked none.
Walsh scored three times in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead. MSUM got one of the runs back in the first as Williamson, who singled to lead off the inning, scored on a groundout by Meeker.
Walsh added runs in the fifth and sixth to push the lead to 5-1. MSUM mounted a rally in the seventh. Roddie singled, and moved to third on a single by Paige. Meeker's RBI groundout scored Roddie. A pair of groundouts ended the rally for MSUM.
The Dragons are off until March 28 when they travel to Aberdeen, S.D., to face Northern State in a doubleheader in the team's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener.
