Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 TOPEKA, KAN. – With a strong effort in the circle, the University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (1-1) opened the season by splitting a pair of games at the Washburn Invitational on Friday afternoon. The Cougars took a 3-1 win in the opener as freshman Hanna Cress was dominate on the mound and earned her first win. Then, the Cougars dropped a 3-0 decision to Rockhurst in game two.

USF will play a pair of games on Saturday with an 11 am start against Pittsburg State and a 3 pm game against Fort Hays State. Fans will be able to follow the game with Pittsburg State on live stats by clicking here. However, the USF and FHSU game will not be available on live stats.

Junior outfielder Kylan Straight had a solid first day for the Cougars with four hits in eight trips for a .500 average. Freshman infielder Shayla Running finished with two hits while sophomore left fielder Lexie Swift had a hit, three walks and a run scored. Senior shortstop Mika Rodriguez had a hit, run scored and 12 putouts. Senior center fielder Frankie Mickelson and senior catcher Emmie Uitts both had a hit and RBI.On the mound, USF had a team earned run average of 2.77 with four earned runs and 12 strikeouts against just two walks.

USF Head Coach Shannon Pivovar noted that day one of the season included some standout efforts and the team was excited to get back onto the field.

"It was great to be able to get out and compete against someone other than our teammates. We learned a lot about our team and identity and saw some great performances," Pivovar said. "I was proud of our pitchers in the circle - just need to tighten up our defense and compete better at the plate. Luckily, we get the chance to come out right away tomorrow and play together again," she said.

USF 3 Missouri St. Louis 1
Hanna Cress (1-0) threw a five-hitter to lead USF to a season-opening win over Missouri St. Louis in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Leading the offense was Mickelson and Uitts who each had a hit and RBI. Straight recorded two of USF's seven hits. USF also had two walks, a double and a stolen base by Swift. Running added a hit and run scored and topped USF's defense with four assists. Rodriguez added a double and walk plus a run scored and two assists.

In earning her first win of the season and sixth of her career in nine decisions, Cress allowed just five hits and a walk while give up a single earned run in the fifth inning. Jenna Towle (0-1) took the look for UMSL as she gave up the seven hits and three runs with five strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings.

The Cougars opened the scoring in the third inning after Uitts walked and Straight singled which was followed by Mickelson's first hit and RBI of the season. It was Mickelson's 65^th career RBI which ranks eighth all-time at USF. USF also added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead. After Rodriguez doubled, Uitts hit a run-scoring single to plate her teammate in the fourth inning. After Running singled to open the fifth inning, Swift hit a double and Running later scored on a passed ball.
 
Rockhurst 3 USF 0
Despite a solid pitching performance by junior Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, who set a career-high in strikeouts with nine, USF dropped a 3-0 decision to Rockhurst in the second game of the day.

Lexie Storrer of Rockhurst out dueled Van Der Zwaag on the mound as she allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in sixth innings on the hill. Paige Renner closed for RU and earned her first save of the season.

Rockhurst opened the scoring when Emily Clark hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to provide a 2-0 lead. In the sixth inning, Sarah Winkelman scored on a fielder's choice to push RU's lead to 3-0.

USF had a couple of opportunities, including a bases loaded one-out opportunity but Storrer worked her way out of the fifth inning jam.

Van Der Zwaag allowed three runs across six innings. She set a career-high (SCSU, 8, May 3, 2019) with nine strikeouts and permitted eight hits. Straight had two of the three USF hits while Running also had a single for the offensive attack.