BOX SCORE GAME 1
BOX SCORE GAME 2

MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University's Mandy Greenberg (So., P, Winnipeg, Manitoba) pitched a solid seven innings to earn the win in game one.

She was matched, however, by Valley City State's Krystal Hathaway in game two.

The two teams used solid starting pitching to split a pair of games played on the turf at Herb Parker Stadium in Dakota Athletic Conference softball Thursday.

The game was played on the FieldTurf, which was installed this past summer, for the first time in the stadium's existence and due to snow still present on the Beavers' home field at South Hill Complex.

In game 1, Greenberg stuck out nine and gave up eight hits and two earned runs to get the win. She gave up a two-run home run to Emma Nelson in the sixth inning, but was solid throughout.

The Beavers went up 2-0 on a pair of home runs. MSU's Jen Dixon (Fr., OF/P, Brandon, Manitoba) hit the first home run at the Herb, launching a first-inning shot to left. Tiffany Friesen (So., P/DP, Morden, Manitoba) hammered a solo shot in the third.

MSU scored the eventual game winner in a little more workman like fashion. Melissa Elliott (Sr., OF, Escondido, Calif.) singled, stole second and came in to score as Leah Matthewson (So., OF, Regina, Saskatchewan) executed a perfect squeeze bunt.

The Vikings scored the two on Nelson's dinger in the sixth and had second and third with no outs in the s seventh, but Dixon gunned out a VCSU runner at home to complete a double play and preserve the win.

Hathaway wasn't as overpowering in game 2, but was just as effective as she gave up just a single run in the seventh for the win. The Beavers were held to just four hits in the game.

Nelson was again the hot hitter for the Vikings (5-1 DAC, 11-10 overall) as she finished with two hits and two runs batted in.

The Beavers got its lone run in the seventh as Stacy Fournier's (Fr., SS, Langley, British Columbia) groundout scored Jenna Moffatt (Fr., Util., Brandon, Manitoba). Ashley Smoke (Jr., C, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba), Deanna Mitchell (Jr., P/1B, Portage, Manitoba), Elliott and Greenberg all had one hit for MSU.

The Beavers (1-1, 13-6) are scheduled to travel to Spearfish, S.D., for four DAC games over the weekend.