MINOT, N.D. – Welcome back, Ashley Hill.

Minot State sophomore Ashley Hill (1B, Mesa, Ariz.) laced a one-out single to right center to score Clarissa Ramirez (Jr., P/UTL, Tucson, Ariz.) breaking a 5-5 tie with the University of Mary in the bottom of the 12th inning. It was Hills first series back since injuring her ankle two weeks ago.

"I said, 'I think they're going to walk you, but they know you have a sprained ankle so they might try to turn the double play,'" said MSU head coach Bill Triplett. "That's what they ended up doing. We were hoping for something in the air to get the sac fly or a line drive in the outfield. She came through and hit the line drive to the gap – game over."

The extra-inning rally lifted the Beavers to a 6-5 win over U-Mary and split of two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games Thursday at Herb Parker Stadium. The Marauders won game 1 8-4.

The single and run capped a two-run 12th for the Beavers, overcoming a solo home run by the Marauders in the top of the inning. MSU snapped a 12-game losing streak in the process.

"That was a tough game," Triplett said. "We got behind there. To go down one run and battle back to get it tied and then continue to score the winning run was pretty sweet. We haven't tasted a lot of victory lately and to get one like that is a good feeling."

The Beavers (13-24 overall, 2-17 NSIC) had been outscored 5-0 after taking a 4-0 lead early in the game. The Marauders (12-26, 6-13) rallied for two runs in the fifth, a run in the sixth and seventh to tie the game, forcing extra innings and then another in the top of the 12th.

But MSU got the first run right back. Lauren Cowden (Fr., UTL, Moorpark, Calif.) opened the inning with a short flair to left that fell in between three Marauders and stretched that in to a double with heads up baserunning. She scored two plays later after a throwing error by and a passed ball.

Ramirez singled to start the rally for the second run, moved up to third on Rachel Burdette's (Jr., UTL, Temecula, Calif.) single to right and trotted home for the game winner as Hill smashed her single to right center.

The runs also helped MSU started Jenn Spencer (Jr., P, Winnipeg, Manitoba) finish off a fantastic outing. The junior went the distance, giving up just five runs in 12 innings to earn her fourth win on the season.

"She pitched well," Triplett said. "She kept the ball down at the knees in a tight zone. The couple she left up left the yard, but we battled to get her some runs as well. She pitched very well for us."

Isis Carbral (Fr., OF, Oxnard, Calif.) went 3 for 4 at the plate with a home run, while Jordan Grant (Jr., CF, Adelanto, Calif.) was 3 for 6 with three stolen bases and a run scored. Kyla Larson (So., OF, Wahiawa, Hawaii) and Ramriez had two hits apiece for MSU.

MSU needed the win to earn the split after U-Mary rallied late in game 1.

After the Beavers spotted the Marauders a 5-0 lead, MSU started a rally. The Beavers got to 5-4 with three runs in the fourth and another in the fifth, but U-Mary scored in both the sixth and seventh to pull away.

Burdette clubbed her team-leading sixth home run, a solo shot in the fourth and finished with two hits for MSU. Ramriez and Hill joined Burdette with two hits and Alyssa Cornejo (Jr., P/UTL, Riverside, Calif.) drove in two runs.
Cornejo went the distance, giving up just eight hits, but suffered the loss, falling to 6-6 on the year.

The Beavers take to the road for four NSIC games, playing double headers at Minnesota State Saturday and Concordia-St. Paul Sunday.

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.