MARSHALL, Minn. – Minot State University carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but gave up single runs in each of the final two innings and one more in the eighth to fall 4-3 to Southwest Minnesota State in game 1 and the Mustangs went on to sweep the Beavers in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball Saturday at Mustang Field.

After winning twice in Florida in extra innings, the Beavers have lost twice in conference play after regulation. MSU fell to 1-6 in league play with the pair of losses and 12-14 overall. SMSU won game 2 5-2.

"All of our pitchers threw well enough to win today, but errors cost us both games," said MSU head coach Bill Triplett. "Game 1 went extra innings, but it shouldn't have. We gave that one to them."

MSU took the 3-1 lead with a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth after trailing Southwest Minnesota (9-18, 5-5) 1-0 after the first. The Beavers got on the board with an RBI double by Ashley Hill (So., 1B, Mesa, Ariz.) in the fourth, scoring Rachel Burdette (Jr., UTL, Temecula, Calif.), who singled to lead off the inning.

Hill singled and scored along with Clarissa Ramirez (Jr., P/UTL, Tucson, Ariz.), who walked, on Isis Cabral's (Fr., OF, Oxnard, Calif.) two-out single to center in the sixth to give MSU the lead.

SMSU scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2 and Sam Flack hit a solo home run in the seventh to force extra innings. In the extra session, SMSU again scored an unearned run for the win as the Beavers committed two errors in the inning.

In game 2, the Mustangs built a 5-0 lead and held off a charge my MSU in the sixth to earn the sweep.

The Beavers got two in the sixth as Jordan Grant (Jr., CF, Adelanto, Calif.) singled, Ramirez walked and Hill singled to load the bases. Cabral plated Grant with a sacrifice fly to get MSU on the board and Kyla Larson (So., OF, Wahiawa, Hawaii) drove in Ramirez with a single to cut into the lead, but SMSU Shelby Crank came on to lock the Beavers down and earn her first save of the year.

Hill had two hits in each game going 4 for 6 with an RBI and a run scored while Cabral went 3 for 3 in game 1 and knocked in two. Alyssa Cornejo (Jr., P/UTL, Riverside, Calif.) pitched well in game 1, going 7 2/3 innings with eight hits, four runs – with just two earned – and struck out five, but fell to 6-4. Jenn Spencer (Jr., P, Winnipeg, Manitoba) suffered the loss in game 2 going 4 2/3 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs.

"Hill and Cabral had good at bats for us," Triplett said. "But it wasn't enough to get us over the hump."

The Beavers travel to the University of Sioux Falls Sunday for the finale of a six-game road swing.

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.