MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead softball combined for 21 runs and 27 hits in a two-game NSIC series with Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday. The Dragons claimed the first game before the Golden Eagles stole game two.
Game One
Minnesota Crookston would be the first to score in game one, plating a run on two hits in the top of the second inning. The Dragons would respond in earnest in the home half as
Lexie Wilson worked out a leadoff walk. Moorhead would load the bases with no outs as
Kayla Roidt and
Lacey Camden secured base hits. In the ensuing at-bat,
Morgan Kingsbury would single home Wilson to even the score at one run.
Loie Moore would follow suit in the next at-bat, scoring two runs on a single. Later in the inning, fellow freshman
Riley McKeever cracked a two RBI double to push the Dragon lead to four runs (5-1). By the end of the inning. MSUM led 6-1 after a sacrifice fly from
Courtney Locke.
While Minnesota Crookston would plate a run in the third inning, Dragon starter
Bella Hess would only allow that run to cross. MSUM continued to light up the box score in the home half of the fourth inning, beginning with a hit from
Teagan Pranchke.
Sami Macchiaroli would double in the ensuing at-bat to score Pranchke with Macchiaroli later scoring on a single from McKeever. Locke would drive in MSUM's ninth run of the contest before the end of the frame with Moorhead leading 9-2.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, MSUM would threaten to end the game early, loading the bases with two outs. Locke would walk, plating a run for the Dragons and ending the game with a 10-2 scoreline. Hess surrendered just four hits and one earned run in the win for Moorhead.
Game Two
The Dragons would keep their offensive momentum up into the second game as MSUM put two runners on for Pranchke in the bottom of the second. The senior would single in a run, breaking the scoreless tie. MSUM would plate an additional two runs in the home half of the third inning, led by an RBI single from
Lacey Camden. The Golden Eagles would get back within one run in the top of the fourth to make the score 3-2 in favor of MSUM. The Dragons would answer again, scoring four hits and scoring two more runs to extend their lead back to three runs.
Minnesota Crookston would quickly cut that deficit to one run again in the top of the fifth inning. However, Moorhead continued to keep its foot on the gas, scoring three runs on a pair of hits in the home half. Locke led the charge with an RBI single, which put the Dragons up 8-4. That score would hold firm into the seventh inning before the Golden Eagles mounted a major comeback. Minnesota Crookston would score four runs on four hits to tie the game at eight runs with all but one of those runs coming with two outs.
After the Golden Eagles held the Dragons without a run in the bottom half, the game was pushed into extra frames. Minnesota Crookston scored seven runs on five hits in the top of the eighth to take a commanding 15-8 lead. MSUM would not go away quietly, scoring three runs on four hits to pull back within four runs, 15-11. While the Dragons had two runners on with two outs, Minnesota Crookston would stamp out a Dragon rally, securing a 15-11 win. The teams combined for 26 runs, 32 hits and seven errors in game two alone.
Up Next
MSUM (8-37, 6-16 NSIC) is set to host its Senior Day on Saturday as they play host to Concordia-St. Paul. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at noon.
