CLERMONT, Fla. – Minot State University used the lethal combination of Alyssa Cornejo's (Jr., P/UTL, Riverside, Calif.) pitching and Jordan Grant's (Jr., CF, Adelanto, Calif.) speed for another extra-inning win.

Cornejo twirled her second-straight eight-inning shutout and Grant motored around from second on an RBI single by Lauren Cowden (Fr., UTL, Moorpark, Calif.) in the bottom of the eighth to send MSU to a 1-0 win over Bentley University Monday at the National Training Center Legends Way Field 4.

"Any win is a good win at this point," MSU head coach Bill Triplett said. "We want to start hitting the ball better, but we earned another extra inning one here. We hope to put two more together tomorrow and leave here with a winning record. That would be a great way to end the trip."

The Beavers (9-7 overall) have won two straight after snapping a three-game losing streak in the second game Saturday. Cornejo was brilliant in that one, going the distance for a three-hitter. She duplicated that effort Monday under the lights, not allowing a runner to third base and returning the final nine batters in a row to run her season record to 6-1.

"She's been a bulldog for us," Triplett said. "She's still not 100 percent coming off the injury, but she's been getting stronger and stronger. We had her penciled to come out in the fifth, but she wanted to finish it. She's thrown two exceptional games for us and her presence in the circle has made a difference for our whole team."

MSU finished the game without an error for the second straight game as well, although Cornejo forced 10 fly outs with multiple coming on the pop out variety.

The Beavers earned their lone run in quick fashion in the extra inning. Cowden roped an opposite field shot to left on the second pitch she saw in the inning and Grant drove home, scoring just ahead of the throw.

"We ran in the bottom of the seventh because we knew that if we got thrown out, she would be placed on second with the international tiebreaker," Triplett said. "I wasn't happy with her sliding home head first, that's something we don't do because of the chance of injury, but there isn't anyone else we would want on second with the chance to score the game winner. Her speed makes a huge difference."

Ashley Hill (So., 1B, Mesa, Ariz.) went 2 for 3 for the Beavers, while Cowden was 1for 4 with the RBI. Clarissa Ramirez (Jr., P/UTL, Tucson, Ariz.) and Rachel Burdette (Jr., UTL, Temecula, Calif.) both went 1 for 2 with a walk for the Beavers.

MSU finishes off its 2016 Florida trip with a pair of rematches from this week, taking on Philadelphia and Bentley.

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.