BEMIDJI, Minn. – For the fifth straight season, University of Falls Softball reached 30 wins, sweeping Bemidji State in their final doubleheader of the regular season on Sunday afternoon.
Kerrigan Hoshaw worked a complete game in a 4-2 win in game one then hit a homerun in game two to lead the Cougars to a 6-2 victory for the sweep.
The Cougars improved to 30-17 and finished their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference campaign with a 15-9 record, placing them sixth in the final standings. The Cougars will face No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth in the first round of the NSIC Tournament, which will be co-hosted by USF and Augustana in Sioux Falls on May 3-5. A full bracket will be released by the NSIC on Sunday night.
Sioux Falls 4, Bemidji State 2
Behind
Kerrigan Hoshaw's complete-game pitching performance, Sioux Falls defeated Bemidji State, 4-2, in game one. Hoshaw earned her ninth win of the season, allowing just one earned run on five hits.
Ashley Meyer led the offense with two hits and
Francesca Mickelson finished with two RBI.
Capitalizing on a Bemidji State error, the Cougars scored two runs in the first inning. Nieveen reached on the BSU error and Meyer singled before Mickelson drove both runners in on a single to right field. Hoshaw surrendered just one hit in the first two innings and USF added to their lead in the top of the third.
Nieveen led off with a single and Meyer singled for the second time. Helping her own cause, Hoshaw drove in Nieveen with an RBI single to put the Cougars up 3-0. The Beavers recorded three hits in the bottom half of the inning, scoring once, but Hoshaw stranded two runners to keep USF up two runs.
Megan Peterson and
Lindsey Mossman both singled in the top of the fourth, but the Cougar lead stayed at 3-1. After working out of her third-inning jam, Hoshaw retired nine straight hitters, striking out four hitters in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
With one out,
Emily Hove singled and senior
Jasmine Ragusi drove in her with a pinch-hit double. Bemidji State scored an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh, but Hoshaw closed the game out for a 4-2 USF win.
Sioux Falls 6, Bemidji State 2
Sydney Nieveen had three hits and
Kerrigan Hoshaw hit a homerun, leading USF to a 6-2 win over Bemidji State to complete their sweep.
Breanna Black picked up the win, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four hitters.
The Cougars manufactured their first run, again capitalizing on a BSU error in the first inning.
Lindsey Mossman led off by reaching on an error and she was moved to second on Nieveen's sacrifice bunt. After
Ashley Meyer advanced Mossman to third on a groundout, Hoshaw drove her in with a single up the middle.
The Beavers tied the game in the bottom of the second inning with a solo homerun, but the Cougars were quick to respond with three runs in the top of the third.
Mossman started the rally with a one-out double to left field and moved to third on Nieveen's infield single.
Ashley Meyer drove in Mossman with a sacrifice fly and, after stealing second, Nieveen scored on a throwing error. With the bases cleared, Hoshaw hit her eighth homerun of the season, pushing the Cougars' lead to 4-1.
Bemidji State cut into USF's lead again with a solo homerun in the bottom of the third, but Black avoided any further damage by stranding two runners.
Courtney Mathews relieved Black in the circle with two outs in the fourth inning and recorded her first of two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work.
In the top of the fifth inning,
Megan Peterson led off with a single down the left field line and advanced to third on Nieveen's double. With her second pin-hit of the day,
Jasmine Ragusi drove in Peterson with a single up the middle.
Mathews worked a shutout bottom half of the fifth and Hoshaw entered to pitch a perfect sixth inning, keeping the Cougars up 5-2.
Tacking on an insurance run, the Cougars scored again in the top of the seventh inning. Peterson led off with her second hit of the day, reaching on a bunt single. After advancing to second on a groundout, Peterson scored on Nieveen's third hit of the day.
With a 6-2 lead, Hoshaw earned the save with the help of a double play and a game-ending strikeout.
