CLERMONT, Fla. – Minot State University had one bad inning over the course of two games, but it caused the Beavers to settle for a split in a pair of nonconference NCAA Division II softball games at the National Training Center Tournament Thursday.

The Beavers held a 6-3 lead on Northwood University (Mich.) into the fifth, but gave up six in the bottom of the fifth for a 9-6 loss. MSU took its first-game frustrations out of Wilmington University (Del.) in game 2, blasting 11 hits in a 10-1 (5) win over WU.

"We built a pretty good lead in the Northwood game, but couldn't hang on," said MSU head coach Bill Triplett.

Against Wilmington, MSU (7-4 overall) scored five runs in the first inning and led 9-1 after three. Seven different Beavers finished with at least one hit and Alyssa Cornejo (JR., P/UTL, Riverside, Calif.) finished with three hits. She also cruised in the circle to run her season record to 4-1 with a five-hitter.

"Our bats came alive in the second game and Cornejo cruised," Triplett said. "Cowden (Lauren Cowden, Fr., UTL, Moorpark, Calif.) continues to hit the ball hard and Burdette (Rachel Burdette, Jr., UTL, Temecula, Calif.) had some good at bats today."

Cowden and Burdette each knocked in two runs and went 1 for 2 at the plate. Cowden's hit was a triple, while Cornejo finished with two doubles and Burdette and Ashley Hill (So., 1B, Mesa, Ariz.) added a double each for five extra base hits out of the 10 hits total for MSU.

Cornejo gave up a run in the top of the first as the first two hitters she faced singled. But she allowed just three more base hits the rest of the way and struck out three on her way to her fourth win of the season.

In the first game, MSU took a quick 4-0 lead on four runs in the top of the first inning. Clarissa Ramirez (Jr., P/UTL, Tucson, Ariz.) tripled home a run and Cornejo knocked in two more with her second home run of the year. After Northwood cut it to 5-2 in the third, MSU got it back to a 6-3 lead as Cowden doubled and scored on a Burdette single heading into the bottom of the fifth.

In the fifth for NU, MSU gave up six hits and allowed a walk as Northwood had 10 bat and plated six.

Cowden, Burdette and Ramirez all finished with two hits as MSU finished with nine in the game. Jenn Spencer (Jr., P, Winnipeg, Manitoba) had pitched a solid game until the fifth, but ultimately gave up 13 hits and nine runs in 4 2/3 innings to fall to 2-3 on the season.

The Beavers continue their Florida trip with Lock Haven University and Philadelphia University Friday.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.