CLERMONT, Fla. – Closing their trip to Florida, University of Sioux Falls Softball split their final doubleheader on Tuesday. The Cougars dropped a shootout with Truman State, 11-10, before bouncing back to defeat Millersville, 9-1, in six innings. USF finished their eight-game trip with a 5-3 record and improved their overall record to 12-7. Sioux Falls now heads to St. Joseph, Mo. for a five-game slate at the Hy-Vee Classic before opening conference plat on March 28 against Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Truman State 11, Sioux Falls 10
After taking a one-run lead with seven runs in the fifth inning, Truman State scored twice in the sixth to hand Sioux Falls an 11-10 loss. Jasmine Ragusi hit a homerun and double for two RBI while Breanna Black connected on a three-run homer. Black was handed her first loss of the season, coming on in relief for 3.1 innings of relief, striking out two batters.
 
In a game of big innings, USF struck for three runs in the top of the first. Emma Schifferle singled and was driven in by Kerrigan Hoshaw then one batter later, Ragusi hit her homerun for a 3-0 lead after the first frame. Truman State got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning then scored four in the bottom of the second following a shutout top half.
 
The bulldogs tacked on two more to their lead with a pair of runs in the third inning then pushed their lead to 9-3 with another in the bottom of the fourth. The large deficit was quickly erased by the Cougars as the USF offense exploded for seven runs on seven hits to take the lead back in the top of the fifth.
 
Francesca Mickleson opened the inning with a walk and Britni Broussard followed with a single. After they advanced on a groundout, Schifferle drove both in with a single down the leftfield line. Sydney Nieveen added the third hit of the inning, forcing TSU to change pitchers, but Black homered on the next at-bat to pull USF within one run.
 
Keeping the rally alive, Ragusi doubled to right center and Kenna Heath singled, which scored pinch runner Brianna Painter to tie the game and force the Bulldogs to return to their starting pitcher. Heath stole third during the next Cougar at-bat and scored before Mickleson's single on a passed ball to put USF up 10-9.
 
The Cougars' lead was short lived as Truman State scored two runs on three hits to take the lead. USF's last trip to the plate wasn't enough as the Cougars went down in order to finish the game with TSU on top, 11-10.
 
Sioux Falls 9, Millersville 1 (6 innings)
With a steady offensive attack and a dominant performance from pitcher Courtney Mathews, Sioux Falls ended their trip with a 9-1 victory over Millersville in six innings. Emily Hove hit a homerun, Britni Broussard scored twice and Mathews struck out six while allowing just four hits in a complete game.
 
Back-to-back doubles by Emma Schifferle and Sydney Nieveen set the Cougars up for two runs in the first inning and Hove's second-inning homer gave Sioux Falls a 3-0 lead after two frames. Mathews struck out five batters in the first three innings and gave up just two hits before USF would tack on another run in the fourth.
 
Millersville scored their only run of the game in the top of the fourth, suing two hits to plate their lone score. Britni Broussard manufactured her own run to respond, reaching on an error, stealing second then scoring on a passed ball after being advanced to third on a groundout.
 
USF added two more runs following a Mathews shutout fifth inning as Nieveen and Jasmine Ragusi came across home plate with Kenna Heath providing the single to score them. Mathews induced three flyouts in the top of the sixth, allowing the Cougars to score three runs and end the game in the sixth inning.
 
Kerrigan Hoshaw led off with a pinch-hit single and Broussard followed with a base knock of her own. With two outs, Nieveen reached for the third time and scored a run on an error. Ragusi provided the game-ending hit with a single to left centerfield, scoring the final two runs for USF's 9-1 victory.