Rochester, MN – The University of Sioux Falls softball team came away in Game 1 of the final day of the NSIC tournament with a 4-0 victory over #14 ranked Minnesota State-Mankato. The Cougars advanced to face Winona State in the game to go to the NSIC Championship game, losing by a score of 6-2, concluding the 2022 season.
Head Coach
Shannon Pivovar picked up her 7
th NSIC Tournament victory, 4
th of this season as the Cougars finished with the most wins in a tournament since joining the NSIC.
"I'm not sure of a word that is stronger than proud when I look at this group of amazing women. The lessons they learned this year, the love they showed, the character they deepened, their passion and compassion - there are few teams in the country that could go through the highs and lows that this group did and then come together to battle and claw in the tournament for one another. They never gave up, never felt counted out, and never second guessed themselves. They are champions in every sense of the word. I am simply so proud and I love them so very much.", said Head Coach
Shannon Pivovar.
Game 1: USF 4, Mankato 0
The Cougars picked up an elimination game victory against #14 Minnesota State-Mankato by a score of 4-0 to advance to the semi-final game against Winona State.
USF struck first in the top of the 2
nd inning when Freshman
Reese Holzhueter started off the inning with a double to left field.
Kennedy Thomas came up to the plate laying down a sacrifice bunt, followed by an RBI single by
Rylie Jones, scoring Holzhueter to take a 1-0 lead for the Cougars.
The pitching matchup continued to limit any scoring as the game remained 1-0 USF until the top of the 7
th inning.
Lexie Swift started things off with a walk, followed by a
Kylie Madrid double to bring the runners into scoring position with one out. Freshman
Taryn Wagner drew a walk to load the bases and providing some insurance runs was senior
Kylan Straight with a three-RBI double, scoring Swift, Madrid, and Wagner to extend the Cougars lead to 4-0. The Mavericks put pressure on in the top half of the final inning as
Hanna Cress closed the door, getting the save and helping the Cougars advance to the semi-final game by a score of 4-0.
The Cougars finished with five hits on the day with
Kylan Straight,
Reese Holzhueter,
Rylie Jones,
Kylie Madrid, and
Taryn Wagner each with one hit apiece on the day.
From the circle,
Kait Van Der Zwaag pitched four innings, picking up the victory surrendering three hits and zero runs, facing 16 Maverick hitters on the day.
Hanna Cress picked up the save, pitching three innings, surrendering one hit, and zero runs.
Game 2: USF 2, Winona 6
USF dropped the 2
nd game of the day to Winona State by a score of 6-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Winona State struck first in the 2
nd inning when they brought across five runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning. The Warriors brought across another run in the bottom of the 4
th inning to make it 6-0 on three hits in the inning.
The Cougars got on the board in the top of the 5
th inning as senior
Kylan Straight reached on a single to left field, followed by a
Kait Van Der Zwaag home run to make it a 2-6 score for Winona State. The game and season concluded for the USF Softball team, ending the season taking 3
rd place in the NSIC tournament as the #9 seed Cougars historic run finished on Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars ended the day with six hits on the day led by
Kylan Straight with two, followed by
Kait Van Der Zwaag,
Kennedy Thomas,
Rylie Jones, and
Kylie Madrid each with one hit apiece on the day.
From the circle,
Hanna Cress threw one inning, surrendering three hits, five earned runs, and two walks, taking the loss on the afternoon.
Kait Van Der Zwaag threw the final five innings, surrendering six hits and one earned run.
NSIC Tournament Recap
The Cougars wrapped up the NSIC tournament going 4-2 with wins against Concordia St. Paul, Upper Iowa, SCSU, and #18 MSU-Mankato and dropping their opening game to SMSU and Winona State in the semi-final game on Saturday afternoon. Head Coach
Shannon Pivovar picked up her 7
th NSIC tournament victory and the Cougars wrapped up the year with a record of 27-25 in the 2022 season.