Pittsburg, KS – The University of Sioux Falls softball team dropped both games on Sunday, Game 1 went to nationally ranked Central Oklahoma by a score of 6-3 and Game 2 went to Pittsburg State by a score of 12-5.
 
Game 1: USF 3, Central Oklahoma 6
The Cougars faced nationally ranked Central Oklahoma to start play on Sunday and was in the game late but lost by a score of 6-3. USF dropped the first three games of the tournament and will look to bounce back when they face Pitt State later in the day.
 
Central Oklahoma took advantage of an error in the top of the 2^nd inning by USF to take an early 1-0 lead. The Cougars put the first run on the board with a home run by senior Kylie Madrid who hit a blast to center field to tie it up at one a piece in the bottom of the 4^th inning. UCO hit back to back singles by Gilbert and Dubler to break the tie and make it a 3-1 game.
 
In the bottom half of the 5^th inning, it was Kylie Madrid again who came up huge for the Cougars when she had a hard hit single to right field, scoring both Reese Holzhueter and Emma Spizzirri to tie it up at three.
 
UCO continues to put the pressure on as the nationally ranked opponent has done all season where they tacked on three more runs, two in the 6^th and one in the top of the 7^th to come away with the victory.
 
USF ended with 11 hits on the day, Kylie Madrid led the Cougars with three hits, followed by Emma Spizzirri and Reese Holzhueter with two a piece, and Kylan Straight, Jaden Haley, Megan Lawson, and Kennedy Thomas each getting a hit of their own. From the circle, Hanna Cress took the loss and giving up 12 hits, six runs (five earned), and striking out six hitters on the day.
 
Game 2: USF 5, Pitt State 12
USF faced another tough opponent in Pittsburg State in Game 2 on Sunday, falling by a score of 12-5 to round out the final game of the tournament in Kansas.
 
USF came out the gate swinging as Kylie Madrid continued her hot streak with a double to left field, scoring Lexie Swift, who reached on a bunt single to start the game. USF took an early 1-0 lead but Pitt State came away with a run of their own on a line drive single in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 1-1 ball game.
 
Pitt State took the lead in the bottom of the 2^nd on an RBI single by Stonestreet. In the bottom of the 3^rd inning, the Gorillas broke open the game scoring six runs off back to back home runs, an RBI single, and a three run home run to make it a 8-2 ball game.
 
The Cougars answered back in the top of the 5^th inning when Lexie Swift, Kylan Straight, and Kylie Madrid put the pressure on Pitt State with back to back to back singles to load the bases. Kait Van Der Zwaag made the Gorillas pay when she hit a grand slam to cut the lead down to 8-5 for Pitt State.
 
Pitt State continued to swing the bats well as they brought in four runs in the bottom of the 5^th inning to extend the lead back to seven with a score of 12-5, which ended up being the final score of the game.
 
USF ended with nine hits on the day, Lexie Swift, Kylan Straight, and Kylie Madrid all had two a piece, followed by Kait Van Der Zwaag, Bailee Lampman, and Emma Barta who each had one a piece.
 
From the circle, Kait Van Der Zwaag took the loss and the USF pitching staff surrendered 19 hits, 12 runs, and struck out two hitters on the day.
 
Up Next
The Cougars are headed back home for a week before they start conference play on March 29, where they'll head to Southwest Minnesota State University to open the NSIC schedule. Follow along on the USF Softball twitter and Instagram for updates leading up to the games ahead.