SIOUX FALLS – With a 13-run flurry in game two, University of Sioux Falls Softball salvaged a split with Northern State in a Saturday doubleheader. The Cougars (20-17, 7-5 NSIC) nearly completed a comeback to steal game one, but the Wolves (22-13-1, 7-4-1) held on to defeat USF, 5-4. In game two, the Cougars played from behind again, but homeruns from Kerrigan Hoshaw and Jasmine Ragusi sparked a spree of 13 unanswered runs by USF, who went on to win 13-5, splitting the series.
 
Emma Schifferle posted five hits between the two games and Sydney Nieveen went 2-for-3 while reaching four times after getting hit by a pitch twice in game two. Hoshaw started USF's big game-two rally with a homerun and Ragusi hit a solo shot the next inning before driving in the final two runs to put USF over the eight-run marker.
 
The juxtaposition of spin versus speed paid off again for the Cougars in game two. Breanna Black, who also drove in two runs in game one, got the start in the circle and earned the win after two innings of work before giving way to Courtney Mathews, who tossed three shutout frames while allowing one hit and striking out two.
 
Sioux Falls closes their eight-game home stand with a mid-week doubleheader against Wayne State on Wednesday, April 12 with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Sherman Park.
 
Northern State 5, Sioux Falls 4
Northern State broke open a scoreless game with five runs in the fourth and fifth innings and Sioux Falls clawed back to within one run, but couldn't complete their comeback in a 5-4 game-one loss. Kerrigan Hoshaw was saddled with the loss after allowing one run in the fourth before Breanna Black and Courtney Mathews came in to change up the tempo.
 
Emma Schifferle recorded three hits and scored two runs in game one to lead the Cougars. Jasmine Ragusi and Breanna Black each notched two base hits, while Black drove in a game-high two runs.
 
Hoshaw scattered three hits in the three first innings, but the USF bats were equally cold. USF stranded three runners in the first two innings and didn't get their first hit until Schifferle singled with one out in the second.
 
Despite the slow start for both teams, the Wolves broke the game open with two runs in the fourth inning. Eager to respond, the Cougars loaded the bases after base hits from Kenna Heath and Sydney Nieveen, but they couldn't put a dent into the NSU lead.
 
With three timely hits, Northern State turned their two-run lead into a 5-0 advantage in the top of the fifth, but the Cougars were set to start the comeback shortly after. USF scored three in the fifth, starting with Schifferle and Ragusi hits. Hoshaw and Black provided RBI hits with a double and single, respectively, after Schifferle scored on a wild pitch.
 
Mathews enters the game in the sixth inning and registered two shutout innings, allowing just one hit in each. The Cougars manufactured one more run in the sixth to draw within one of NSU, using Black's second single up the middle to score Schifferle for the second time. After scoring four unanswered runs, USF's comeback ran out of runs and a 1-2-3 seventh inning ended the game.
 
Sioux Falls 13, Northern State 5 (5 inn.)
After a slow start on both sides of the ball, Sioux Falls erupted to score 13 unanswered runs and cruise to a 13-5 victory over Northern State in game two. USF erased a 5-0 deficit with eight runs in the second inning then added five more over the next three innings to secure the victory and series split.
 
Kerrigan Hoshaw and Jasmine Ragusi each finished with three RBI and a homerun, both serving critical roles in turning the momentum in favor of the Cougars. Hoshaw led off the bottom of the second inning, in which USF batted around, with a double then connected on her eighth homerun of the year, a three-run blast, in her second trip to the plate. Ragusi scored in the second inning then hit a solo homerun in the fourth. To cap off her performance, Ragusi doubled to right field, plating the final two runs USF needed to end the game in five innings.
 
In the Cougars' eight-run second inning, five different Cougars recorded an RBI. Kenna Heth singled to score the first two runs, then Emily Hove drove one in with a sacrifice fly. Britni Broussard's speed helped her reach on a ground ball as she plated one run. Schifferle connected on her first of two hits in game two with an RBI single before Hoshaw put the finishing touches on big inning with her homerun.
 
Breanna Black earned the start in game two and while she allowed five runs in two innings of work, the game plan of changing speeds when Courtney Mathews came on in relief stymied the NSU bats as the visitors mustered just one hit in their final three at-bats.
 
With Mathews dealing in the circle, the Cougars were focused on building their lead. Ragusi added one run in the fourth with her solo shot then USF pounced on a new pitcher in the fifth for their game-ending spree. Broussard drove in her second run then Schifferle scored another with an infield single before Ragusi's double ended the game in the next at-bat.