SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Twice the Bemidji State University Softball team held a lead over the University of Sioux Falls but the Cougars rallied twice to earn two victories and sweep the Beavers in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader Friday in Sioux Falls.
The Beavers fell 6-4 to the Cougars in game one and then fell just short of a comeback victory in game two, falling 5-4.
Bemidji State totaled four runs off seven hits in game one and held a 4-2 lead over the Cougars after four innings, However, USF rallied to score four runs in the fifth and sixth innings to earn a 6-4 victory.
Junior
Alexa Christenson and sophomore
Aubrey Aukerman each collected two of the Beavers' seven hits with Aukerman driving in two runs.
Senior
Stella Dolan pitched her 13
th complete game going all seven innings and allowed six runs (five earned) off 10 hits, walked one and struck out four. She falls to 6-10 on the season.
Bemidji State scored first in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead, but the Cougars answered with five consecutive runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 5-1 lead. The Beavers staged a comeback with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh but with runners on the corners and two outs, were unable to produce the game-tying run.
Junior
Aimee Christenson, senior
Molly Houts and freshman
Avery Amidon each recorded two hits with Houts and Amido both hitting doubles while four different Beavers drove in a run.
Sophomore
Elle Hastings pitched 4.2 innings allowing five runs off seven hits, walked one and struck out one to earn the loss, her fifth of the season. She was replaced by freshman
Danica Sarff who pitched the final 2.1 innings allowing just one hit, no runs, walked two and struck out two.
The Beavers take a break from action for Easter weekend and next return home to host University of Minnesota Duluth in Bemidji, Minn., Tuesday, April 2.
For more information on the Bemidji State softball program, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversSB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BemidjiStateSoftball) and follow them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversSB).
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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