SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – The University of Sioux Falls (2-4, 0-0 NSIC) softball team secured its first sweep of the 2026 season Saturday night at the American State Bank Sports Complex, defeating Upper Iowa (1-8, 0-0 GLVC) 4–3 in nine innings before earning a 5–4 victory in eight innings in game two.
Both contests required late-inning execution, as the Cougars erased deficits in each game and delivered clutch hits in the final frames. Sioux Falls combined for 23 hits across the doubleheader and received complete-game efforts in the circle from Maddi Duncan and Lauryn Foudree to move to 2–4 on the season.
Game One: Sioux Falls 4, Upper Iowa 3 (9 innings)
Sioux Falls opened the evening with a dramatic walk-off victory in nine innings, overcoming a pair of deficits to secure the 4–3 win.
Upper Iowa struck first in the second inning and extended its lead to 2–0 in the sixth. The Cougars answered immediately in the bottom half when Addison Heule delivered an RBI single to score Sammie Radish and cut the deficit in half.
USF tied the game in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Emma Kristof, then responded again in the eighth after Upper Iowa reclaimed a 3–2 advantage. Heule's sacrifice brought home Brianna DeLorenzo to knot the score at 3–3.
In the ninth, Ava Mejia scored the winning run on a single to center field from Brianne Lawver, completing the comeback.
Key Team Stats
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USF outhit Upper Iowa 11–3.
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The Cougars recorded five sacrifice plays.
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Maddi Duncan threw a complete-game nine innings with eight strikeouts.
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Only two of Upper Iowa's three runs were earned.
Key Cougars
Game Two: Sioux Falls 5, Upper Iowa 4 (8 innings)
The Cougars completed the sweep with another late push in game two, rallying from a two-run seventh-inning deficit to secure a 5–4 win in eight innings.
Sioux Falls jumped out early with two runs in the first inning, highlighted by an RBI double from Kyra Knudtson and a sacrifice fly from Charlie Pryor.
Upper Iowa tied the game in the fourth and later took a 4–2 lead in the seventh. The Cougars answered immediately in the bottom half when Emma Kristof singled to center field to drive in two runs and even the score at 4–4.
In the eighth, Andie Suhai delivered the decisive blow with an RBI single to right field, scoring Pryor to seal the comeback victory.
Key Team Stats
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USF collected 12 hits in game two.
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The Cougars scored three runs over the final two innings.
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Sioux Falls pitching combined for nine hits allowed and held Upper Iowa scoreless in the eighth.
Key Cougars
Up Next
The Cougars will return to the American State Bank Sports Complex next weekend to host Nebraska Kearney on Sunday, February 22 with game one scheduled for 1:15pm
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