SIOUX FALLS – Advancing to the second day of the NSIC Tournament for the fourth straight season, No. 6 seed University of Sioux Falls Softball dropped their tournament opener, 4-0, to No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth before avoiding elimination with an 8-6 victory over No. 9 seed Minot State. The Cougars improve to 31-18 on the season and will face city rival, No. 2 seed Augustana, in an elimination game at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 4 at Sherman Park.
 
Minnesota Duluth 4, Sioux Falls 0
Mustering just four hits in the game, USF dropped their NSIC Tournament opener, 4-0, to Minnesota Duluth on Thursday afternoon. Kerrigan Hoshaw threw all six innings for the Cougars and held UMD to seven hits, but a pair of extra-base hits and six stolen bases plagued the junior pitcher.
 
Hoshaw avoided any early trouble from a pair of first-inning walks when she stranded three Bulldog runners in the bottom half of the inning. The Cougars went down in order for the second straight inning and UMD scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Francesca Mickelson recorded USF's first hit, a single in the top of the third inning, and Hoshaw held Minnesota Duluth in check in the bottom half. Ashley Meyer added the Cougars' next hit in the top of the fourth, but USF again came up empty.
 
Natalie Wright gave the Bulldogs their third run with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth and she added the fourth tally with a solo homerun in the sixth inning.
 
Cassie Van Beek led off the sixth inning with a bunt single, but the Cougars failed to capitalize. In their final at-bat, Jasmine Ragusi gave the Cougars a baserunner, singling with one out, but again USF stranded a runner on base.
 
Sioux Falls 8, Minot State 6
Bouncing back from a sluggish offensive performance in their tournament opener, the USF offense exploded with 15 hits, including homeruns by Ashley Meyer and Kerrigan Hoshaw, to defeat No. 9 seed Minot State, 8-6, in an elimination game. Six different Cougars recorded two hits each and Hoshaw worked six innings to earn her 10th win of the season.
 
Minot State (25-24) pounced on the Cougars early, scoring four runs in the first inning. Sioux Falls didn't roll over as they fought back to tie the game with the help of the long ball. USF manufactured a run in the bottom half of the first as Francesca Mickelson drove in Sydney Nieveen to cut the MSU lead to 4-1.
 
Hoshaw replaced USF starting pitcher Breanna Black in the circle and tossed a shutout second frame, setting up a chance for the Cougars to tie the game in the bottom half. With two outs, Lindsey Mossman doubled and Nieveen drove her in with a single to centerfield. On a 2-0 pitch, Meyer connected on her 12th homerun of the season, tying the game at 4-4 through two innings.
 
Minot State responded in the top of the third, scoring their fifth run on a sacrifice fly. USF looked primed to take their first lead as Cassie Van Beek and sBlack singled with one out. Following a flyout, Mossman drove in Van Beek for the tying run.
 
Hoshaw kept the game tied with a shutout fourth inning then gave the Cougars a lead they wouldn't surrender in the home half. Meyer singled up the middle to lead off and Hoshaw hit USF's second homerun of the game and her ninth dinger of the season, a two-run shot to put USF 7-5 through four innings.
 
Surrendering her final hit of the game, Hoshaw gave up a two-out solo homerun in the top of the fifth, but she maintained the USF lead with an inning-ending flyout. Sioux Falls threatened in the bottom half as Jasmine Ragusi and Nieveen both reached on base hits, but were stranded to keep USF up one, 7-6.
 
Hoshaw shook off a leadoff runner after hitting the first batter of the inning, retiring the next three batters. In response, USF added an insurance run as Mickelson utilized her speed to give the Cougars a two-run edge. She singled down the first base line for her second hit of the game, and Emily Hove followed with a base hit through the right side. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and Mickelson then scored when a second wild pitch bounced up the third base line and she beat the catcher to the plate for USF's eighth run.
 
Avoiding any Minot State threat, Hoshaw retired the Beaver side with three straight outs to keep the Cougars' tournament alive.