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N.D. (VCSUVikings.com) – The Valley City State softball team had it season come to an end Saturday on day two of the North Star Athletic Association Conference Tournament.
The Vikings fended off elimination for one game on Saturday after rolling to a 15-3 win over Presentation College. VCSU was eliminated in the Bracket B championship after a 5-0 loss to University of Jamestown.
VCSU entered as the No. 6 seed but posted a 2-2 record during the tournament with wins over Dickinson State and Presentation College. Both losses came against Jamestown.
Valley City State concludes its season with an overall record of 21-31.
VCSU 15, Presentation College 3
No. 6 seed Valley City State (N.D.) used their offensive explosion with 10 runs scored in the second inning, dominating No. 7 seed Presentation (S.D.) Saturday in the loser’s out game North Star Athletic Association Softball Postseason Tournament Bracket B at North Softball Complex. The Vikings ended the Saints’ season with a 15-3 rout in five innings.
Valley City State moves on to the Bracket B Championship rematch with No. 2 seed Jamestown (N.D.) for the second straight year. Presentation ended their season with an overall record of 21-32.
VCSU earned their first lead of the game in the opening inning. Kelsey Hamade led off with a single. A passed ball by the Saints advanced Hamade to second bae. Kelli Moore hit a single with two outs and advanced Hamade to third base.
Hamade scored on a defensive’s indifference when Moore attempted to steal for second failed, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
The Vikings’ 10-run outburst saw five hit-by-pitches, a 3-run home run by Kadie Anderson and a double by Morgan Nalley. VCSU’s lead expanded to 11-0 after two innings.
Nalley added 2-RBI double to complete Vikings’ four-run fifth inning, increasing their lead to 15-0.
The Saints ended their scoring drought with three runs in the bottom fifth frame, but could not extend the game into sixth inning. Kassandra Orozco had a 2-RBI single. Jaycee Herman added an RBI walk, but the Vikings secured the victory as the Saints left three runners on base.
Nalley finished the game by going 3-of-4 at the plate, with two doubles, single and collected four RBIs for Valley City State. Anderson added a home run and drove in four runs. Kelli Moore and Tatum Lundin each had two singles and an RBI. Kelsey Hamade and Kathleen Gallais each had a hit.
Cortni Mendoza led the Saints with two singles. Orozco added a single and two RBIs. Haylee Hemmert and Celia Cerezo each had a hit. Jaycee Herman had an RBI.
VCSU registered 10 hits in the game compared to PC 5 hits. The Saints left eight runners on base, while the Vikings left five runners on base.
Nalley pitched a scoreless first inning in the pitching circle for Valley City State. Ashley Metcalf (W, 7-8) earned the victory after tossing 3 1/3 innings in relief. She allowed three runs on four hits and recorded five strikeouts. Haley Butterfield worked the last two outs of the game.
Ashlyn O’Keefe (L, 11-16) took the loss after pitching one-plus innings for Presentation. She gave up nine runs (one unearned) on three hits. Amber Ewert tossed four innings in relief, allowing six runs on seven hits.
Jamestown 5, VCSU 0
Jamestown’s (N.D.) Hanna Dunnigan tossed a complete game victory, limiting sixth-seeded Valley City State (N.D.) to just four hits in 5-0 shutout victory Saturday in the North Star Athletic Association Conference Postseason Bracket B Championship game at North Softball Complex.
Jamestown went 2-0 record against Valley City State in the postseason tournament. The Jimmies, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, won their ninth straight game (where all those games UJ limited its opponents at two runs or less) and raised their overall record to 39-18.
Valley City State concluded their season with an overall record of 21-31.
UJ will meet top-seed Bellevue (Neb.) in the North Star Athletic Association Softball Championship Best-of-3 Series Sunday. Game 1 is set for 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time) with game two to follow. If necessary, Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at 2:30 p.m. (CT)/1:30 p.m. (MT).
Both teams did not score in the first two innings of the game. VCSU was unable to convert their scoring chances with bases loaded in the top third frame.
The Jimmies struck first in the bottom third inning. Kylie Macaig hit a single with one out and swiped to second base. Emma Keller followed up with an RBI single for 1-0 UJ lead.
With bases loaded situation and one out in the bottom third, Tifani Schorzman recorded an RBI sacrifice fly to score Keller to extend Jamestown’s lead to 2-0.
UJ added a run in the bottom fourth frame. Linda Ontiveros led off with a single. Dunnigan followed up with a single and advanced Chelsey Wolf – pinch runner for Ontiveros – to second base. Macaig recorded a sacrifice bunt to advance Wolf to third and Dunnigan to second. Jamestown made it 3-0 after Keller’s RBI sacrifice fly to score Wolf.
Jamestown scored twice in the bottom sixth, highlighted by a pair of extra-base hits. Dunnigan hit a double. Macaig drilled an RBI triple to score Dunnigan. On the same play, the Vikings committed a defensive miscue to allow Macaig to score to extend UJ’s lead to 5-0.
Valley City State left a runner on second base, despite a single by Kadie Anderson. UJ secured a spot in the championship series on Sunday.
Macaig was 2-of-2 at the plate with a triple, single and drove in a run for Jamestown. Dunnigan added a double and single. Keller had a single and two RBIs. Mikayla Frost and Ontiveros each recorded a hit.
Anderson, Kelsey Hamade, Kelli Moore and Tatum Lundin each had a single for Valley City State.
UJ outhit VCSU 7-4 in the game. The Vikings left eight runners on base compared to Jimmies’ seven runners left on base.
Dunnigan (W, 19-9) earned the victory in the pitching circle for Jamestown. She struck out nine VCSU’s batters.
Morgan Nalley (L, 10-12) took the loss after pitching six innings for Valley City State. She gave up five runs (two unearned) on seven hits. She recorded four strikeouts