WINTERHAVEN, FL – The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (7-5) continued its dominant offensive display as the Cougars rolled to a pair of wins at the Spring Games which opened for USF today (Friday, March 4.). With 8-2, 16-9 wins, USF has now won four straight games.

With Reese Holzhueter, Lexie Swift, Kylan Straight, Kylie Madrid and Kait Van Der Zwaag all hitting over .400 for the game, the Cougars picked up an 8-2 win over Kentucky Wesleyan which was followed by a season-best runs scored in a 16-9 decision over Holy Family. With the two victories the Cougars moved to 7-5 on the year and now has won six of its past eight games.

Holzhueter hit .667 for the day with six hits in nine at bats with a .667 on-base percentage. Lexie Swift, batting leadoff, had five hits in eight at bats with a pair of RBI and a .600 OBP. Kylan Straight hit .556 with five hits in nine trips to plate while Madrid hit .444 with a home run and four RBI. Van Der Zwaag, who, also picked up the win in game two, hit .429 with a pair of RBI and a .857 slugging mark as she had a home run – her fourth of the year. Kennedy Thomas also homered for USF, which was the first of her career.

In the circle, USF totaled 16 strikeouts, including nine by Hanna Cress in the opener in which she tossed a complete game and seven by Van Der Zwaag as she won her third decision (3-1) in game two.

Over the past four games, USF has hit .374 as a team with five home runs and 31 RBI with a .534 slugging and .429 OBP. USF has scored 39 runs on 49 hits,  just under 10 runs per game.

Game 1 – Sioux Falls 8 Kentucky Wesleyan 2
With the bats on fire and Hanna Cress dominating in the circle, USF rolled to an 8-2 win to kick off its play in the Spring Games event. Cress (4-3) allowed just five hits and an earned run with nine strikeouts to lead USF.

USF, which scored two in the first inning and then added one in the third inning and five more in the fifth inning had eight runs on 13 hits. Kylan Straight led the offense with three hits, two runs scored and an RBI while Lexie Swift had two hits and a run scored as did DH/catcher Reese Holzhueter.  Also, Taryn Wagner had a hit, two RBI and a run scored.

In the decisive fifth inning, Holzhueter singled with one out. Later in the frame, Megan Lawson singled with two out followed by Straight's RBI single through the right side which plated Holzhueter. After Straight stole second base, Wagner's two-run single to right field brought home Lawson and Straight.  Shortly after the two-run single, Rylie Jones singled and Wagner advanced to third, Swift reached on an error which brought home Jones and Wagner.

Game 2 – Sioux Falls 16 Holy Family 9
In an offensive showcase in game two, the Cougars had a season-high 16 runs, which was led by a season/career high four hits from Reese Holzhueter and three by both Lexie Swift and Kylie Madrid.

In the game, USF rallied from down 6-2 after one inning by scoring five runs in the second frame, three in both the third and fourth innings and closing with three in the seventh inning.

Madrid had a big day for USF with three hits, three runs scored and four RBI. She hit a two-run home run and also had two singles. Swift had three base hits in four trips to the plate with two RBI and two runs scored. Rylie Jones added a hit, three runs scored and two RBI while Kennedy Thomas homered and had four runs scored – a career-high – in five at bats. Kait Van Der Zwaag also hit a HR – her fourth of the season.

In the circle, Van Der Zwaag (3-1) took over in relief and finished the game. While not a complete game, since she came in relief, she worked seven innings and allowed just three earned runs with seven strikeouts against one walk.

In the second inning, Jones had an RBI single and Madrid's two-run single brought home a pair.  In the third inning, Thomas had her first-career home run, a solo shot to center field which led off the inning.  USF also had a home run to right field from Madrid as the Cougars built a 10-7 lead through three innings. In the fourth inning, USF scored three runs on just one hit. Then in the seventh inning, USF scored three runs on two hits with Swift producing the RBI with a bases load walk.

Up Next

The Cougars are back in action tomorrow morning when they'll face off against Nyack at 11:15 a.m. and Findlay at 1:30 for games 3 and 4 of the Spring Games in Winterhaven, Florida. Follow USFCougars_SB on twitter for updates throughout the tournament.