ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The University of Sioux Falls softball team split a NSIC doubleheader with Concordia-St. Paul today inside the Husky Dome, falling 2-1 in extra innings in game one before bouncing back with a 4-0 shutout in game two.

The split moves the Cougars to 22-19 overall and 10-6 in NSIC play, highlighted by a historic day from Maddi Duncan, who recorded her 700th career strikeout, and Morgan Linstad, who set a new program career record for runners caught stealing with 18 on her career.

Game One: Concordia-St. Paul 2, Sioux Falls 1 (8 inn.)

It was a pitcher's duel from the start, as Duncan and CSP's Emma Bowne traded zeros throughout much of the contest. Concordia-St. Paul struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on a USF error to take a 1-0 lead on an unearned run.

Duncan settled in from there, keeping the Golden Bears off the board while working around traffic. The senior right-hander finished with nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits while issuing six walks.

Sioux Falls broke through in the seventh inning with aggressive baserunning. Addison Heule reached and eventually came around to score on a double steal, with Linstad swiping second as Heule crossed the plate to tie the game at 1-1.

The Cougars threatened late, but CSP answered in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases before drawing a walk-off RBI walk to secure the 2-1 victory.

At the plate, Kyra Knudtson led USF with two hits, while Heule scored the lone run.

Game Two: Sioux Falls 4, Concordia-St. Paul 0

Sioux Falls responded in a big way in game two behind a complete-game shutout from Lauryn Foudree and timely hitting throughout the lineup.

The Cougars opened the scoring in the third inning as Heule scored on an RBI groundout by Charlie Pryor to give USF a 1-0 lead. USF added two more runs in the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single from Linstad and a run scoring on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Cougars tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, as Andie Suhai delivered an RBI single to push the advantage to 4-0.

Foudree was dominant in the circle, tossing a complete-game shutout while allowing six hits and striking out four. She worked efficiently throughout, limiting the Golden Bears to just one walk and stranding multiple runners.

Linstad led the offense with a 2-for-3 performance, including a double and RBI, while Emma Kristof added a triple and scored a run.

Key Cougars

• Maddi Duncan – 7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 9 K; recorded her 700th career strikeout
• Morgan Linstad – 3 hits on the day, RBI in game two, and set program career record for caught stealing by
• Lauryn Foudree – Complete-game shutout in game two, allowing 0 runs on 6 hits
• Addison Heule – Scored twice and used aggressive baserunning to spark offense, including game-tying run in game one
• Kyra Knudtson – 2-hit performance in game one and reached base multiple times across the doubleheader

Key Team Stats

Pitching: USF allowed just two earned runs across 15.2 innings in the doubleheader

Timely Hitting: Cougars scored in three different innings in game two to secure the win

Aggressive Baserunning: Key double steal tied game one; multiple stolen bases in game two

Up Next

Sioux Falls returns to the Husky Dome tomorrow to take on St. Cloud State at 12pm and 2pm before hitting the road to take on Wayne State next weekend.

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