SIOUX FALLS – Against one of the top teams in the league, University of Sioux Falls Softball held their own, but dropped a pair of high-scoring games to Minnesota Duluth on Sunday evening. The Cougars (25-14, 10-6 NSIC) hit four homeruns in game one, but ultimately fell 10-6 to the Bulldogs. In game two, the teams combined for 14 runs in the third inning alone, and USF nearly completed a late comeback, falling 13-12, suffering their first doubleheader sweep of the NSIC season.
 
The Cougars return to action on Monday, April 23, hosting St. Cloud State at 3 and 5 p.m. at Augustana's Bowden Field.
 
Minnesota Duluth 10, Sioux Falls 6
The Sioux Falls offense connected on three homeruns, but errors plagued their chances against regionally-ranked Minnesota Duluth in game one. The Cougars allowed five unearned runs, proving to be the difference in the 10-6 loss. Kerrigan Hoshaw scattered 11 hits over six innings of work, allowing 10 runs total, five earned, and striking out seven UMD hitters.
 
Following an unearned run in the top of the first inning, Ashley Meyer gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead with her team-leading ninth homerun of the season, driving in herself and Lindsey Mossman. UMD countered with two more unearned runs in the top of the second, before Emily Miller answered in the bottom half, hitting a solo homerun and her first career homer at USF.
 
Tied at 3-3, both teams continued to score at will. Minnesota Duluth scored twice more, using three hits in the top of the third. Again, the Cougars answered, beginning with Sydney Nieveen's solo homerun. A pair of walks preceded a UMD pitching change, but the Cougars capitalized on a Bulldog error to score the tying run.
 
Minnesota Duluth scored for the fourth consecutive inning, plating two more in the top of the fourth to take a 7-5 lead. USF kept pace through the first three innings, but they were shut out for the first time of the game.
 
Hoshaw shook off a hit in the fifth to throw her first scoreless inning of the game, but the Cougars were held shut out in the bottom half. UMD tacked on two more unearned runs and three total tallies in the sixth inning, extending their lead to 10-5. USF put a dent in their deficit, manufacturing a run in the bottom half, as Breanna Black and Sydney Nieveen both singled to score.
 
Courtney Mathews came on in relief of Hoshaw, and she threw a shutout seventh inning, striking out one UMD hitter. In the bottom half, Francesca Mickelson singled with one out, giving the Cougars a baserunner, but two outs ended USF's comeback shot.
 
Minnesota Duluth 13, Sioux Falls 12
Sioux Falls and Minnesota Duluth combined for 31 hits and 25 runs, but it was UMD who prevailed, holding off a late Cougar comeback for their 13-12 win. Kerrigan Hoshaw connected on her seventh homerun of the season and Emily Hove hit three doubles to pace the offense with seven combined hits. Courtney Mathews was saddled with the loss, dropping to 8-4 on the year after entering the game in the third inning.
 
USF pounced on the Bulldogs in the first inning, using Hoshaw's three-run homerun to build a 4-0 lead. Lindsey Mossman and Ashley Meyer both singled, setting up Hoshaw for her 22nd career homerun. Keeping the rally alive, Emily Hove hit her first double and was driven home on Breanna Black's RBI single.
 
Following a scoreless second inning by both teams, they each erupted in the third inning, combining for 14 runs. Minnesota Duluth posted nine hits, scoring eight times for a four-run advantage. Sioux Falls wasted no time responding, scoring six runs on five hits.
 
Hove led off the inning with her second double and the bases were loaded as Emily Miller was hit by a pitch and Emily Cheloha reached on an error by the first baseman. Mossman singled in the first run, then Sydney Nieveen drove in the next, getting hit by a pitch. Following a pitching change, Meyer kept the tally going, singling in the third run to cut the lead to one.
 
Giving the Cougars the lead, Hoshaw drove in two more, pushing her RBI total to five in the game, with a single up the middle. Francesca Mickelson then added one more run, driving in Meyer with a single.
 
The Cougars' 10-8 lead was brief as Minnesota Duluth scored three runs in the fourth inning then adding two more in the fifth for a 13-10 advantage.  Hoshaw connected on her third hit in the fifth, but USF couldn't cut into their three-run deficit.
 
Mathews tossed shutout frames in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing the Cougars to cut into the UMD lead. Leading off the sixth inning, Hove doubled for the third time and senior Jasmine Ragusi made her return from injury, singling in her teammate to bring the score to 13-11.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, USF nearly completed their late comeback with one more run. With two outs, Hoshaw reached on an infield single and was replaced by pinch runner Miranda White. Francesca Mickelson drove in White, doubling to left centerfield. However the Cougars rally ended one run short, falling 13-12.