Box Score ROCHESTER, Minn. – Clutch hitting and strong pitching were the keys for the University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (24-29), which split a pair of games as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament opened on Thursday (May 2) at the RYFSA Complex. The Cougars, seeded No. 10, battled back from 3-0 and 7-6 deficits to defeat No. 7 seed Minot State, 9-7, in the first round game. Then, USF battled No. 1 seed Winona State to the wire before falling, 3-2.

USF will face the winner of the St. Cloud State-Minot State game at 10 am on Friday, May 3 on Field A in the second day of the NSIC Championship.

"I am so proud of the way our team competed today and how we rallied for the win in game one," said USF first-year head coach Shannon Pivovar. "Playing in a ballgame like we did against Winona State, is what this league is all about. We talked about being the aggressor and playing the game with no fear and I feel our players did that for seven innings. We just needed a ball to drop or one foul ball to stay fair and there is a different outcome," she said. "But the best part is that we get another chance to play tomorrow. This family – this team is ready to fight to stay alive," she said.

USF, which was competing in the tournament for a sixth straight season, had a number of standout performances in the two games. Junior Sydney Nieveen came up big at the plate and on the mound. She was 4-of-7 for a .571 average with a team-high four RBI. Playing in her home town, Francesca Mickelson had four hits in seven at bats for a .571 mark and she scored three runs. Ashley Meyer had three hits – all doubles – in five at bats with two RBI for a .600 batting average. Emily Miller had three hits, including a home run, while Emily Hove and Lexie Swift both had a pair of hits as USF batted .318 as a team and did not make an error on 43 putouts.

On the mound, Nieveen took the loss against Winona State but allowed just three runs and had three strikeouts. Kaityln VanDerZwaag also had a big performance as she hurled seven innings with six strikeouts in earning the game one win.

No. 10 Sioux Falls 9 No. 7 Minot State 7 (eight innings)
Led by the pitching of VanDer Zwaag and the batting of Nieveen and Meyer, the Cougars rallied from 3-0 and 7-6 deficits to earn a first round win of 9-7 in eight innings over Minot State.

Nieveen had clutch RBI in the sixth and eighth innings to lift USF to the win. Nieveen, who finished with two hits and three RBI, hit a one-out two-run single in the eighth inning as USF took a 9-7 lead. Then, VanDer Zwaag closed the door on the Beavers.

After taking over for Courtney Mathews (one inning, four hits, three runs, strikeout), VanDer Zwaag, who improved to 2-6 on the season, worked seven innings and allowed 10 hits and four runs with six strikeouts. However. She held MiSU off the board for the final four innings.

The Cougars, which had nine runs on 14 hits with no errors, had a big performance from Mickelson, who had four hits and scored three runs. Meyer supplied two hits – both doubles – with two runs scored and two RBI while Emily Miller had two hits.

Zoya Robbins, who took the loss to fall to 9-7 on the season for MiSU, hit a two-run single as the Beavers took a 3-0 lead over USF in the top of the first inning.   After Meyer opened the second inning with a double, she scored on a ground out and fielding error by MiSU on a ball hit by Kylan Straight as USF cut the lead to 3-1. After Lexie Swift singled and Emily Hove walked, Lindsey Mossman moved the runners with sacrifice. Swift scored when MiSU misplayed a ball by Miller as USF cut the lead to 3-2. Then, Meyer slammed her second double of the game and plated both Hove and Miller. Mickelson followed with a double to plate Meyer and Mickelson later scored on Emmie Uitts run-scoring single as the Cougars scored five runs to take a 6-3 lead.

MiSU bounced back with two runs in the third frame as Robbins hit a two-run home run. Karlee Coughlin added another two-run home run in the fifth inning as MiSU took a 7-6 lead.   

At that point, USF's resilience and clutch genes showed. With two out in the sixth inning, Mickelson singled and Cassie Van Beek reached after being hit by a pitch. Then, Nieveen tied the game with a run-scoring single to center field.

Nieveen was part of the winning combination in the eight-inning as the Cougars plated two runs for the lead. With two out, Mickelson again singled and Van Beek drew a walk. After a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, Nieveen smartly placed a hit into right field to give USF a 9-7 lead. From there, VanDer Zwaag retired the side in order and that effort including a strikeout to end the game.

"This was a complete team win on all sides of the ball," said Pivovar. "Kaitlyn (VanDer Zwaag) stepped in and spun a great game in the circle. And, we had a whole handful of defensive gems behind her. Our entire offensive lineup competed at the plate with Sydney (Nieveen) coming up absolutely clutch while Frankie (Mickelson) outworked whoever she faced," added Pivovar.

Game 2 – No. 1 Winona State 3 No. 10 USF 2
Despite a stellar outing on the hill by Nieveen against the league's top team, USF dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 decision to regular season champ Winona State in the second round of the tournament.

USF had seven hits off Jordan Kleman, who improved to 25-1 on the season. Nieveen allowed 10 hits and three runs but was effective throughout the game. Nieveen, who fell to 5-6 on the season, recorded three strikeouts and did not issue a free pass.  She also had two hits and a game-tying RBI in the top of the sixth inning.

Miller hit a home run over Kleman in the first inning to give USF a 1-0 lead. For Miller it was her 10^th home run of the season and 11^th over her career.

In the third inning, WSU responded as Lani Van Zyl, the NSIC Player of the Year, gave WSU a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer. After Ashley Meyer doubled & was replaced by Sarah Keen as a pinch runner, Nieveen had a clutch run-scoring single to plate Keen as the Cougars worked their way into a tie at 2-2 in the sixth inning.

In the seventh frame, WSU won the game when Katie Kolb's one-out RBI double brought in the game-winning run as the Cougars lost in heart-breaking fashion.  

"I was so proud of our approach and attack in the game," said Pivovar. "Sydney (Nieveen) stepped up huge and put us in a position with a chance to win. Now, we will get ready to bounce back on Friday," she said.