From Jamestown Athletics
ABERDEEN, S.D.– The University of Jamestown softball team went 1-1 on Friday in its season opener at the PC Dome Tournament.
Jamestown lost 5-1 to Valley City State (N.D.) University in the opener, then defeated Minnesota-Crookston 4-3 in eight innings for its first win of the season.
The Jimmies will play three games on Saturday in the dome, taking on Minnesota-Crookston at 8 a.m., Dickinson State (N.D.) University at 10 a.m., and Presentation College at 4 p.m.
VCSU 5, Jamestown 1
Jimmie starter Kat Miska (SR/Pequot Lakes, Minn.) sailed through the first four innings against VCSU, holding the Vikings off the scoreboard while allowing just two hits and a pair of walks and striking out six. Anne-Elise Gest led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run, then with two outs, Sierra Crocker reached on an error to score another run. With runners on first and second, Marissa Hawkins drilled a three-run homer to center, making it 5-0.
The Jimmies scored their lone run in the top of the sixth on a single by Santina Zito (JR/Boise, Idaho), scoring La La Romero (FR/Surprise, Ariz.) who had reached on a two-out single and moved to second after Ally Battistoni (FR/Elizabeth, Colo.) also singled.
Katie Reisdorfer (SR/Fresno, Calif.) doubled while Megan Neiles (SO/Winnipeg, MB) and Molly Haley (SO/Atwater, Calif.) also had hits. Sunny Halsey (FR/Honolulu, Hawaii) worked the final 1 1/3 innings in relief of Miska, striking out two, walking one and allowing one hit.
Jamestown 4, Minnesota-Crookston 3 (8 innings)
The Jimmies held on to a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh against the Golden Eagles, but a two-out single by Annjelica Moreno-Englebrecht tied the game and sent it to extra innings
In the UJ eighth, Katie Reisdorfer started as the runner at second base and moved to second on a one-out walk to Ally Battistoni. With two outs, La La Romero walked to load the bases for Steph Cota (JR/Tucson, Ariz.). Cota delivered with a two-run single, moving Romero to third. Cota later stole second but the Jimmies were unable to add to their previous two runs.
Hailey Schaffer (FR/Valley City, N.D.) came on in relief of Katie Merchant (JR/South Haven, Minn.) in the eighth and allowed just one run to the Eagles, preserving the win for her first save. Merchant struck out nine over seven innings of work, giving up two runs on seven hits with just one walk.
Merchant helped get the Jimmies on the board in the second after Minnesota-Crookston took an early 1-0 lead. Her single and an error by the right fielder allowed Reisdorfer to score.
Gracie Fisher (SO/Bemidji, Minn.) led off the top of the sixth with her first home run of the season to make it 2-1 UJ. Fisher and Merchant each finished with two hits, and Megan Neiles and Camryn Schwab (SO/Thief River Falls, Minn.) also had base hits.