CLERMONT, Fla. – Minot State University needed just a couple key hits to awaken the offense.

The Beavers had been stymied for the most part during the past five games, even in the past two extra inning wins, and it looked MSU might go another game without a run in regulation.

But all that changed on three big swings of the bat – the last two both figuratively and literally.

MSU rallied for three runs on a single, double and walk off home run in the bottom of the seventh to edge Philadelphia University 3-1 and capped off the day with explosion of runs, beating Bentley 10-2 in five innings to end its annual Florida trip at the National Training Center Tournament on a high note.

"We had a bunch of opportunities early but were just too anxious," said MSU head coach Bill Triplett. "We were shooting ourselves in the foot. But once we settled down and got more patience, we looked much better at the plate. Once we got one, the flood gates opened."

MSU (11-7 overall) trailed the entire way as Philadelphia scored an unearned run in the top of the first. MSU stranded eight runners in the game and trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh.

The Beavers, however, wasted little time to get going. Jordan Grant (Jr., CF, Adelanto, Calif.) singled up the middle and stole second. Rachel Burdette (Jr., UTL, Temecula, Calif.) tied the game with a double to right center, scoring Grant, and Ashley Hill (So., 1B, Mesa, Ariz.) smacked her third home run of the season for the walk off.

"I wasn't hitting the way I can (during the tournament) but made an adjustment – I should have done that sooner – and it payed off," Hill said. "I feel like we had a little more 'oomph' in this one. I felt much better today and the team was better at the plate."

The homer lifted MSU starter Jenn Spencer (Jr., P, Winnipeg, Manitoba) to the win as she improved to 3-5. She worked all seven innings, giving up one unearned run with eight hits and 10 strikeouts.

"I think that was her best outing of the season," Triplett said of Spencer. "She settled in after that first inning."

The Beavers' bats didn't cool off in game 2.

MSU scored four runs in the first and four more in the third to blow out Bentley – a team they went to extra innings in a scoreless tie the night before.

The Beavers got a solo home run by Burdette, an RBI double by Clarissa Ramirez (Jr., P/UTL, Tucson, Ariz.) and a home run by Isis Cabral (Fr., OF, Oxnard, Calif.) to open a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. The Beavers scored with a combination of plays in the third as Grant, Ramirez and Daniela Carbajal (Fr., INF, San Marcos, Calif.) singled and the Beavers earned three walks, a hit by pitch and scored twice on passed balls.

"Ashley really came out of her slump and hit couple big shots for us and we had two or three others big hits. Burdette and Cabral both hit homers and Ramirez hit the one off the top of the wall," Triplett said. "It started with Rachel in game 1, she hit a lined shot the previous spot (second to last at bat) and she came up in the seventh confident and I was confident she would get a hit there. I thought if Hill got up she could lose one too. This was the first game where we had the wind blowing out or at least not in our face, we're a fly ball, long ball team and we took advantage of it all day."

Hill's two-run HR in the fourth pushed the lead past the mercy rule and helped MSU finish with a four-game winning streak in Florida.

"It was big for us to get going at the plate late in the tournament like this," Hill said. "I was something like 0 for my last whatever, six or eight, but felt confident today. The team had a much better day at the plate."

Ramirez earned the win in the circle, improving to 2-1 on the season, going 4 2/3 innings, giving up four hits, two runs with just one earned, and a strikeout.

Burdette finished with four hits in two games, while Grant collected three. Ramirez was 3 for 3 in game 2, while she, Hill and Cabral all knocked in two runs in the win over Bentley.

MSU is now off until opening the NSIC regular season March 22 with two games against rival University of Mary on the turf at Herb Parker Stadium.

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.