MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team got a strong pitching performance from sophomore Evey Evans on its way to a 4-2 win over Minot State in Game 2 of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader on Tuesday in Moorhead, Minn. The win gave the Dragons a split on the day as Minot State won a close 2-1 contest in Game 1.
 
Minot State was the home team in both games as the doubleheader was a site reversal to Moorhead because of weather and field conditions in Minot.
 
Evans was solid on the mound for the Dragons, giving up two runs, none earned, in six innings. She struck out two and walked one and allowed only three hits to pick up her second win of 2022. Freshman Avery Steffen pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up her first save of her collegiate career.
 
Senior center fielder Jordey Smith was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI to pace the offense. Freshman second baseman Hannah Losee was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Junior left fielder Kiley Washnieski had a double while sophomore catcher Jessie Undem and freshman first baseman Piper McKibbin had hits.  Steffen had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
 
Minot State scored first in the game, but MSUM answered with a run in the third as freshman McKibbin walked and was moved to second on Undem's sacrifice bunt. Washnieski's double moved McKibbin to third, and she'd score on Losee's sacrifice fly.
 
Minot added another run in the third to take a 2-1 lead, but the Dragons answered in the fifth. McKibbin singled and was pinch-ran for by freshman Ella Holiman. Undem reached on a bunt single, and both runners advanced on Washnieski's sacrifice bunt. Losee hit a double to center to tie the game at 2-2, and Steffen hit a sacrifice fly to score Undem, and the fourth run scored on Smith's RBI single.
 
Evans pitched a scoreless sixth and Steffen a scoreless seventh to preserve the win.
 
In the opener, freshman Emma Abbott didn't allow a hit in 3.1 innings but surrendered eight walks and took the loss. She gave up two earned runs while striking out three.  Sophomore Reece Dahl pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing three hits.
 
Undem had a hit off the bench for MSUM while McKibbin, Losee and Steffen had hits. Losee's hit was a double. Washnieski scored a run on a wild pitch after walking in the third.
 
MSUM was down 2-1 and had runners on in the fifth and sixth innings but couldn't get the tying run across. Both teams left eight runners on base.
 
The Dragons will host Upper Iowa on Saturday at 1 p.m. The three Dragon seniors, Shay Weber, Smith and Anna Lang, will be honored that day.