MOORHEAD, Minn. – Freshman Avery Steffen's two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team to a 5-3 win over Upper Iowa in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Sunday in Moorhead, Minn. MSUM earned a split on the day as Upper Iowa prevailed 14-3 in Game 1.

 
The Dragons honored their three seniors – Anna Lang, Jordey Smith and Shay Weber – prior to the game.
 
In Game 2, Steffen finished 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI to pace the offense. Sophomore pitcher Evey Evans, freshman shortstop Annika Norman, freshman first baseman Piper McKibbin and junior left fielder Kiley Washnieski had hits.
 
Evans pitched five solid innings in relief to get the win. She allowed just one run and five hits. Senior Anna Lang got the start and gave up two earned runs in two innings.
 
A two-run homer put Upper Iowa up 2-0 in the second. MSUM cut the lead in half with Steffen's RBI single scored freshman second baseman Hannah Losee in the third.
 
The Dragons tied the game when Norman's grounder to short was misplayed, allowing pinch runner Ella Holiman to score the tying run.
 
Upper Iowa scored a run in the top of the seventh to take a 3-2 lead. The Dragons answered as McKibbin singled, and was pinch-ran for by senior Shay Weber. Sophomore catcher Jessie Undem's sac bunt moved Weber to second, and she moved to third on Washnieski's single.
 
Washnieski stole second and on the play, Weber stole home to tie the game at 3-3. One out later, Steffen clubbed a two-run homer to left to win it for the Dragons.
 
MSUM led 3-1 in the first game. Evans hit an RBI single in the first to score Jordey Smith, and in the second, two runs scored on a grounder to second from Losee which was misplayed, putting MSUM up by two runs after two innings.
 
The Dragons couldn't escape the third inning, which saw Upper Iowa score 11 runs. The Peacocks took advantage of seven walks, an error and two hit batsmen to record the big inning.
 
Smith was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored while Evans was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Losee added an RBI while McKibbin and Holiman each had hits.
 
Freshman Emma Abbott took the loss, giving up six runs, one earned, in two-plus inning. She struck out one. Sophomore Reece Dahl pitched the final three innings and gave up eight earned runs, striking out two.
 
MSUM hosts Winona State at 11 a.m. on Monday for a doubleheader to conclude the season.