From VCSU Athletics
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUAthletics.com) – The Valley City State softball team split a pair of games that each went five innings Tuesday. VCSU picked up a 13-4 victory over Dickinson College and fell to Hastings College 10-2.
Valley City State is now 12-9 overall this season. Dickinson drops to 1-3 on the season and Hastings improves to 8-11 overall.
The Vikings close out play in Tucson with two games on Wednesday. VCSU rematches with Hastings College at 12 p.m. and then faces Benedictine University at Mesa at 2:15 p.m. CDT.
VCSU 13, Dickinson College 4 (5 innings)
The Vikings defeated Dickinson College 13-4 decided by run rule after posting 10 runs in the first inning.
Dickinson’s Riley Kuehn walked seven straight batters to open the inning. After a pitching change, Anne-Elise Gest followed with an RBI single. Marissa Hawkins scored on a wild pitch, and Saige Forseth drove in Andrea Rodriguez with a single to right field. A sac fly from Riley Perryman and an RBI double by Sierra Crocker rounded out the 10-run first inning.
The Vikings later scored three runs on a Dickinson error in the third inning to hold off the Red Devils.
Brooke Gaudry got the win in the circle Tuesday after five innings of work. She allowed four runs on eight hits and struck out one. Gest was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Vikings Tuesday. Rodriguez, Hawkins and Jessica Husband each scored two runs for VCSU.
Riley Kuehn got the loss in the pitcher’s circle for Dickinson College. Zoe Kleeblatt and Laila Gwathmey each tallied two hits for the Red Devils.
Hastings College 10, VCSU 2 (5 innings)
The second game wasn’t as successful for the Vikings as they fell 10-2 to Hastings College in just five innings. Hastings posted six runs in the third inning and totaled six RBI doubles on the day to rout VCSU.
Joelle Lamontagne got the loss for the Vikings after pitching 3 2/3 innings, allowing nine runs on ten hits and walking one. Marissa Hawkins threw 1/3 of an inning in relief. Andrea Rodriguez, Jessica Husband, Riley Perryman, and Ashlynne Copinga each had a hit for the Vikings.
Kyleigh Boever got the win in the circle for Hastings College. She went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three. Hastings collected 11 hits led by two apiece from Lauren Schneider, Mattie Hogrefe, and Isabel Tanabe.