MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University was a key hit short in both games.

The Beavers battled Minnesota State nearly every step of the way, but it was the Mavericks who came up with a pair of wins.
 
Minot State fell 6-3 in game 1 and 4-2 in game 2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball Sunday at South Hill Complex.
 
"We have played well against the very best in our league – in the region – with these two and the two other 'big wigs' in Augie (Augustana College) and Winona (State)," said MSU head coach Bill Triplett. "We beat Augie in nonconference and then had them down big in another game this year, we played a pair of one-run games with Winona and then played pretty well today. But, because of where we are at in league play, these were tough ones to lose."
 
The Beavers (29-18 overall, 10-14 NSIC) fell into a tie for 12th with Concordia-St. Paul, a game behind St. Cloud State, a game and a half back of the University of Mary and just two back of both University of Sioux Falls and Minnesota Duluth.
 
"We probably have to win 5 of our last 6, but it's certainly not over," Triplett said. "We were in the tournament (10th overall) at the start of the day. Losing these two is a bummer, but we are going to do whatever we can to get in."
 
In game 1, Minot State struck first, getting a run on a bases-loaded passed ball. Melissa Bell (Sr., UTL, Belgrade, Mont.) scored after singling earlier in the inning.
 
That lead held until the fourth, when Minnesota State (32-18, 17-7) scored on a passed ball of their own. The Mavericks tacked on four more in the fifth as Ashley Thell doubled in two and Dana Mogren and Molly Sager each drove in runs.
 
The Beavers got one back in the fifth as Bell doubled home Jenn Spencer (So., P, Winnipeg, Manitoba), who was pinch running, but Minot State stranded two in the fifth. The Beavers also stranded the bases loaded in the sixth and left one on after scoring a run in the seventh.
 
"We did our job of getting on base and moving runners over, but we just didn't get it done to get those in," Triplett said. "We did a lot of that with less than two outs. The two things you don't want to do is pop up or strike out and we did both of those too many times. That hurts."
The Beavers finished with 10 left on in game 1.
 
Sager finished with three hits for Minnesota State, while Tatum Klein and Mogren added two hits apiece. Coley Ries went seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits to improve to 17-13.
 
Bell and Jordan Grant (So., CF, Adelnato, Calif.) had two hits for the Beavers, while Alyssa Cornejo (So., P/UTL, Riverside, Calif.) drove in a run for the Beavers.
 
In game 2, The Beavers looked like they were going to get the key hits, as Cornejo hit a solo home run and Bell singled home Grant in the fourth and fifth innings respectively to tie the game at 2.
 
The Mavericks, however, were the ones to key a big hit. Thell and Sager hit back-to-back, two-out home runs in the top of the sixth to earn the sweep. Minnesota State made the most of their eight hits leaving just two runners on.
 
Thell had two hits and two RBIs for the Mavericks, while Libby Bemis went the distance for the win, improving to 15-3.
 
The Beavers got two more hits from Bell in the loss. Mindy Lorimor (Sr., P, Thurman, Iowa) suffered her second loss of the day, relieving Cornejo in the fifth. She gave up just three hits, but two were the solo home runs in the sixth. She fell to 19-13 on the season.
 
Minot State will finish its home schedule with a pair of games Wednesday, taking on Bemidji State at 2/4 p.m. at South Hill Complex.