photo courtesy of VCSU Vikings Athletics
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – Valley City State’s softball team allowed just two runs and five total hits on Wednesday as the Vikings swept a doubleheader against Mayville State University.
Amber Stewart and Emily Smith both pitched complete games and the Vikings widened their lead in the North Star standings with 10-1 and 5-1 wins over the Comets, who entered the day three games back of VCSU.
Valley City State is now 23-5 overall and has a 16-2 record in the North Star Athletic Association. The Vikings lead the NSAA standings and are four games ahead of second-place Bellevue University with 10 conference games remaining. Mayville State entered the day in second place in the NSAA standings, but now sit in fourth place with an 11-7 conference record and a 15-15 overall mark.
Up next: Valley City State continues its homestand with a four-game series against Waldorf University on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s games begin at 12 p.m.
VCSU 10, Mayville State 1 (5 innings)
The Vikings broke game one wide open with an eight-run rally in the second inning Wednesday.
VCSU tallied eight hits in the inning – all singles – as they put eight runs on the board and opened up a 9-1 lead. That’s all the offense that pitcher Amber Stewart and the Viking defense would need.
Stewart scattered four hits over her five innings in the circle. She gave up only one run, walked two and struck out six. It is the eighth win of the season for Stewart, who has allowed just one run in her last 17 innings.
Six different Vikings had hits in the game, including two each by Marissa Hawkins, Makenzee Stone, Riley Perryman and Autumn Perry. Andrea Rodriguez and Sierra Crocker each added a hit as well. All 10 of VCSU’s hits were singles.
Shaye Kemball took the loss for Mayville, giving up 10 hits and nine earned runs. She walked two and struck out five. Dayna Gutierrez went 1-for-3 and drove in Ashlyn Tingey for Mayville’s only run.
VCSU 5, Mayville State 1
Autumn Perry and Riley Perryman hit home runs, and Emily Smith was nearly untouchable in the circle en route to a 5-1 Viking victory in game two.
Autumn Perry broke a scoreless tie with a no-doubt home run in the second inning, smashing a pitch deep over the left-field fence for two runs and a 2-0 Viking lead. Perryman added a solo shot to centerfield in the fourth inning, and the Vikings tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning to go ahead 5-0.
Coming off back-to-back no-hitters last weekend, Smith was nearly untouchable again on Wednesday. The Viking righthander did not allow a hit through the first five innings before giving up a solo home run to Shaye Kemball in the sixth. That was the only hit the Comets could muster.
Smith went the distance, allowing just the one hit while walking four and striking out 10. It is the 14th win of the season for Smith and is the sixth time she’s reached double-digit strikeouts.
VCSU junior Jessica Husband went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of sharp singles. Perry and Perryman both hit home runs, and Makenzee Stone added an RBI single.
Courtney Boll pitched for Mayville State, scattering seven hits and five runs over six innings. She walked four and struck out two.