College Sotball: St. Cloud State slays the Dragons in doubleheader sweep 7-2, 2-0

The St. Cloud State softball squad (16-14, 3-5 NSIC) earned a NSIC sweep over Minnesota State University Moorhead (2-20, 0-6 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon (April 10) at Selke Field with a 7-2 decision in the first game and a 2-0 shutout in the second stint.

Hogan charted the three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to break open the game and give St. Cloud State the 5-1 lead heading into the fifth frame.

MSUM took the initial 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning following a solo homerun from the Dragons Desi DeMarco.

The Huskies rallied for seven hits and five runs in the bottom of the fourth. SCSU’s Jackie Dooley (St. Paul), Sarah Nohrenberg (Cottage Grove), Mikayla Hogan, Lizzy Dwyer (Kalispel, Mont.) and Emily Edgerton (Wausau, Wis.) each tallied hits in the inning.

St. Cloud State added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a demanding 7-1 lead heading into the sixth inning. The Dragons managed to put one more tally on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, but the stellar St. Cloud State pitching kept MSUM scoreless in the final inning to gain the 7-2 victory.

Heather Trobec (Sartell) earned the win from the circle and improves to 9-5 after throwing 3.0 innings and striking out three Dragon batters. One of many highlights today for the Huskies was the return of senior pitcher Kaity Strever (Laurel, Mont.). Strever made her first appearance of the season between the circle when she came in to relieve Trobec in the top of the fourth frame. Strever tabbed her first strikeout of the season and gave up one hit and one run before rookie pitcher Alyssa Roberts (Kenosha, Wis.) closed out the game in the top of the seventh.

Hogan led the way, going 1-for-2 at the plate with two walks, her first career homer and a game-high four RBI. Olson was also stellar at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Another bright spot for the Husky line-up was Roberts, who started the game at the first base position. Roberts had a personal best game, going 2-for-3 at the plate with her first career RBI in the bottom of the third inning.

Sarah Nohrenberg (Cottage Grove) led off the inning with a single to left center. First year Kelly Olson (Oak Grove) attempted a sacrafice bunt, but reached first on a throwing error by MSUM’s third baseman. The ball rolled to the Selke Field brick wall, allowing Nohrenberg to score from first base and Olson to reach third. Next up, Mikayla Hogan (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) sent a rope to right center to score Olson and tab her team-leading sixth double of the 2010 season.

Those two runs proved to be all that head coach Paula U’Ren’s Husky squad would need to seal the 2-0 victory and SCSU’s first NSIC sweep of the season.

Sophomore pitcher Brit Krieg (Hudson, Wis.) garnered her fifth win of the season from the circle. Krieg went the distance, pitching all seven innings and striking out two Dragon batters in the process. She is now 5-8 overall in 2010.

Nohrenberg led the offensive attack for St. Cloud State, going 2-for-3 at the plate with the game-winning run scored. Hogan charted the lone RBI of the contest as the Huskies used seven team hits to score their two runs.

St. Cloud State (16-14, 3-5 NSIC) will resume NSIC action tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, April 11, with a doubleheader against Minnesota, Crookston. The first pitch is slated for 12 pm at historic Selke Field.

Courtesy: St. Cloud State University