ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The Dakota State University fastpitch softball team opened the 2010 campaign last weekend in the Husky Invitational.
On Saturday, DSU suffered an opening-game loss to DAC foe Valley City State. The Trojans bounced back and defeated Bemidji State. On Sunday, Southwest Minnesota State defeated the Trojans. DSU notched the second victory of the invitational by defeating University of Minnesota-Crookston to earn a 2-2 record.
Valley City State
The Vikings scored 12 runs in the first three innings to defeat the Trojans 12-1 in five innings. DSU scored one run in the fourth inning.
Danielle Vitale went 2-for-3 behind the plate with an RBI for the Trojans. Leslie Neiman and Amanda Stevenson each hit a double. Laura Shanafelt added a single. Ashley Souphimdara stole two bases.
Valley City State had 12 hits. Paige Smith and Jane Pettit were both a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. Pettit had a double and two RBIs.
Ashton Lansink suffered the loss for DSU. She pitched three innings and gave up 12 runs on 12 hits. Lansink struck out two batters. Maddie Willers pitched one inning of relief and limited VCSU to no hits.
Bemidji State
The Trojans notched their first victory of the season over NCAA Div. II Bemidji State. The Trojans scored four runs in the second inning and held on for a 5-3 victory over the Beavers.
The Trojans outhit the Beavers 12-11.
Shanafelt went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Vitale, Kelsie Peterson and Jayna Ackerman each added two singles. Souphimdara, Ashley Stevenson and Brittany Haiar all hit a single. Souphimdara recorded one stolen base.
Every Beaver batter recorded at least one hit. Stephanie Rossman went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run, a double and three RBIs. Jamie Ford added a double.
Southwest Minnesota
The Mustangs scored two runs in both the first and third innings to defeat the Trojans 4-0.
Amanda Stevenson had two singles for DSU. Souphimdara and Neiman each hit a single.
Christine Borowiak went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBIs for Southwest Minnesota State. Krista Steen and Amanda Neumann each added a double. Meaghan Laetsch and Britney Hallahan both hit a single.
DSU's Maddie Willers suffered her first loss of the season. She tossed six innings and gave up four runs (two unearned) on six hits.
Ali Honken pitched a complete-game victory for the Mustangs and allowed four hits while striking out 10 batters.
Minnesota-Crookston
The Trojans bounced back in the final game of the Husky Invitational, defeating the Eagles 9-4. With a 2-1 lead, DSU scored four runs in the third inning to take a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles cut the deficit to 5-4 after the third inning. DSU added three runs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth frame for the victory.
The Trojans had 14 hits compared to the Eagles' nine.
Vitale went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs for DSU. Neiman added a double, two singles and two RBIs. Kelsie Peterson was 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Souphimdara had a single and recorded two stolen bases. Amanda Stevenson, Lansink and Haiar each hit a single.
Krystal Plouff and Micki Nogowski each had a double and a single for Minnesota-Crookston. Kayla Bowar, Holly Repke, Krista Kenyon, Stacey Marcum and Erin Fowle each hit a single.
Lansink recorded her first pitching victory for the Trojans. She tossed the complete game and allowed four runs while striking out six batters.
Fowle took the loss for Minnesota-Crookston. She pitched the complete game, giving up nine runs and striking out five batters.
Next up for DSU is a four-game series with Black Hills State in their DAC softball conference opening weekend on March 20-21 in Spearfish.
Send us your community news, events, letters to the editor and other suggestions. Now, you can submit birth, wedding and engagement announcements online too!
