Topeka, KS – The University of Sioux Falls softball wrapped up their second day of the Washburn Invitational dropping both of their games against Newman and Washburn University. The Cougars lost their first game of the day vs Newman 5-4 and fell by a score of 8-0 against Washburn later in the day.
 
Game One: USF 4, Newman 5
 
Kait Van Der Zwaag kept swinging a hot bat as she broke the game open with a two-run home run in the top of the 3^rd inning to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. It was followed by Kennedy Thomas hitting a single to left field, scoring Reese Holzhueter and Emma Barta to make it a 4-0 contest. The Jets answered back with an unearned run of their own in the bottom of the 4^th.
 
The Cougars had finally given up an earned run in the tournament after 20 consecutive innings of stellar pitching from USF in the circle. It was in the 6^th inning when Newman answered with a two-run single to make it a 4-3 ball game. The game ended with the Jets threatening in the bottom of the 7^th, when a single up the middle scored two runs and making it a final score of 5-4, Newman over USF.

The Cougars ended the contest with six players combining for seven hits on the day. Lexie Swift drew three walks and scored a run, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag hit her 3^rd home run of the season, Reese Holzhueter went 1-2 with a run scored and a walk, and Emma Barta finished 2-2 with a run scored for the Cougars. Hanna Cress threw five strong innings from the circle, surrendering one unearned run and finishing with five strikeouts and giving up zero walks. Bailee Lampman took the loss after 1 2/3 inning pitched and surrendering four runs.

Game Two: USF 0, Washburn 8
The Cougars dropped their 2^nd game of the day on Sunday afternoon, 8-0 to Washburn University. The Ichabods struck early tacking on a run in the first by an RBI single and again in the 2^nd inning with a solo home run to take an early 2-0 lead. It was in the 4^th inning when Washburn's Ashton Friend hit a home run and put another run on the board for Washburn to make it 3-0.
 
The Ichabods bats stayed hot as they put together a five run inning in the 5^th inning. An RBI single, a two-run home run, and a single to center on an unearned run make it 8-0 and ending the game on Sunday afternoon. Jaycee Ginter pitched all 5 innings, striking out nine on the day.
 
The Cougars finished the day with four hits. Lexie Swift, Kylie Madrid, Damaris Cuevas, and Rylie Jones each had one a piece. Van Der Zwaag pitched the first four innings and took the loss from the circle surrendering three earned runs and giving up five hits on the day. Kennedy Thomas pitched the final 2/3 of an inning giving up five runs (three earned) on Sunday afternoon.

Up Next
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow for the final day of the Washburn Invitational where they'll face off against Fort Hays State at 10 a.m. & Emporia State at 1 p.m. Follow along on twitter @usfcougars_sb for updates throughout the tournament.