ABERDEEN, S.D. – In the opening weekend of the 2023 season, MSU Moorhead softball brought their bats to the first weekend of the PC Dome Tournament. The Dragons won four games over a two-day stretch, outscoring their opponents 36-8 over those four contests. 
 
MSUM opened the weekend with a 9-1 win in five innings over Valley City State. The Dragons would follow that up with a 9-1 win in five innings against Morningside University later on Friday. On Saturday, MSUM would pick up a 6-0 morning win over Doane University before going on to defeat Jamestown 12-6 to polish off a clean sweep in the tournament.  
 
Game One (Friday): Dragons 9, Viking 1 – 5 Innings
 
Evey Evans enlivened the Dragons early in their season-opening contest, hitting her first home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning. Evans would finish the game going two for two from the dish with two RBIs. MSUM would continue their offensive firepower in the second inning, plating five runs. Evans walked in a run while Lizzy Davis, Mack Gallagher, Eliya Johnson and Azalya Lopez all picked up RBIs in the inning. 
 
It was Gallagher who would eventually push the Dragons forward offensively in the bottom of the fourth, hitting a two-run bomb to drive in Davis and herself. Gallagher began her collegiate career in style, going three for three from the plate with three RBIs. Eliya Johnson also went a perfect three for three in her MSUM debut.
 
Annika Norman would put the eight-run rule into effect later in the inning with a single to drive in Parris Hovden. In game one of the weekend the Dragons took it to the Vikings 9-1. 
 
In the circle, Reece Dahl pitched four strong innings, striking out six and giving up just one hit, a home run. Azalya Lopez would polish off the game for the Dragons, giving up one hit to the four batters she faced. 
 
Game Two (Friday): Dragons 9, Mustangs 1 – 5 Innings
 
Once again, the Dragons began their second game on Friday with a bang, scoring four runs in the first inning. This came thanks to RBIs from Lopez, Norman and Kaelyn Leverson. Norman scored both Lopez and Gallagher on a two-run double while Leverson tallied her first RBI as a Dragon on a single, scoring Jordey Brown-Smith.
 
While Morningside would get on the board in the top of the second, MSUM answered as Eliya Johnson singled, driving in Grace Oeltjen for MSUM's fifth run of the game through two innings. The game would go quiet until the bottom of the fifth when the Dragons would put the game away. Avery Steffen singled, once again driving in the senior Brown-Smith. By game's end, Brown-Smith scored two runs despite not getting a hit in the game. 
 
Evey Evans would put the game away in five innings thanks to her second dinger of the day. The junior blasted a three-run homer to score herself, Steffen and Annika Norman. Evans finished her Friday with three hits, two homers and five runs batted in. Evans also closed the second game in the circle for MSUM, pitching three innings and only surrendering one hit and fanning three batters.
 
While Kaelyn Leverson drove in a run in the game, she also began the game in the circle and pitched two solid innings, surrendering one earned run. Leverson picked up her first pitching win as a Dragon in the game.
 
Game Three (Saturday) Dragons 6, Tigers 0
 
The Dragon bats would chill slightly in Saturday's opening contest against Doane, before the power returned to the MSUM sticks. Eliya Johnson opened the scoring with a two-run homer to score herself and Grace Oeltjen in the top of the fourth inning. Jordey Brown-Smith would later hit a triple in the same inning, driving in Azalya Lopez. The following inning, Mack Gallgher would hit her second home run of the weekend, an absolute smash to right-center. The home run added three more runs to MSUM's total with Lizzy Davis and Ella Holiman scoring on the hit.

Gallagher would finish the game with three hits in four plate appearances, the only Dragon to have a multi-hit game against the Tigers. Johnson started in the circle for the Dragons, on top of hitting her fourth-inning homer. The JuCo transfer was stingy against Doane, slinging five scoreless innings and surrendering only two hits and striking out five. Evey Evans would finish the game off for MSUM, pitching two more scoreless innings while giving up just one hit to the Tigers.
 
Game Four (Saturday) Dragons 12, Jimmies 6

In the final game of the weekend, it was Jamestown who would jump all over the Dragons early on. The Jimmies plated four runs in the top of the first inning with Azalya Lopez in the circle for MSUM. Lopez would pitch 2 and 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs but striking out four batters. Jordey Brown-Smith would hit a solo home run to get the Dragons on the board in the top of the second. MSUM would then explode in the top of the fourth, getting six runs across. Annika Norman, Eliyah McCarthy and Avery Steffen drove in a run each. Mack Gallagher would then step to the plate and smash another home run, her third of the weekend, driving in three more runs for MSUM. Gallagher finished the game with three hits on five plate appearances with four RBIs.

MSUM would continue their onslaught in the sixth inning, scoring five more runs. Gallagher, Steffen, Johnson, Lopez and Norman all picked up RBIs in the frame. Reece Dahl and Evey Evans would polish the game off in the circle for MSUM, combining for four and 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits, two earned runs and striking out two between them.

Up Next

The Dragons (4-0) are back in Aberdeen next weekend for the second Presentation Dome Tournament. The weekend begins with games against College of Saint Mary and Kansas Wesleyan at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on February 17.