MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University fired on all cylinders in its final conference tune up as the Beavers swept a pair of nonconference games against Montana State Billings Sunday at Herb Parker Stadium.

The Beavers (8-5 overall) have won six straight games and seven of their last eight. MSU toppled the Yellowjackets Sunday 7-2 and 7-1.

"We played about as well as we could. We were good defensively, swung it well and ran the bases," said MSU head coach Bill Triplett. "About the only thing we didn't do well was we didn't protect the corners and had too many backward Ks, but other than that, it was a great double header for us."

Minot State used a pair of outs at home in the top of the first inning and a big five-run outburst in the second to take a 6-0 lead in game 1. MSU allowed single runs in the third and sixth innings, but never felt too threatened after the five-run second.
Lauren Cowden relayed a throw by Isis Cabral to gun down a runner at home with no outs in the first inning and then Clarissa Ramirez caught a Yellowjacket runner trying to advance on a double steal at home to end the first. The pair of home outs set the tone early for the Beavers.

"It gave us some momentum early for the team throwing those runners out like that," Triplett said. "Instead of being down 2-0, its zero-zero. It was huge for us right away."

Cowden helped MSU to a 1-0 lead as she tripled and later scored on a Tori Zimmermann single. Cowden also had a big hit in the second inning, scoring Marissa Dado and Ramirez with a single down the line to make it 4-0. Zimmerman, Hill and Dado all had RBIs in the second.

The Beavers cruised from there as starter Jenn Spencer upped her record to 4-3 with seven strong innings. She gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out seven.

"Spencer has been solid for us all season," added Triplett.

Heather Tracy, Cameron Cassinelli and Myrissa Prince all finished with two hits for MSUB (12-19). Cassinelli and Prince drove in runs.

Zimmermann went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for the Beavers. Hill, Cowden and Jordan Grant all finished with two hits apiece. Cowden also drove in two runs, while Grant scored two and finished with two stolen bases.

It took the Beavers bats a little longer in game 2, but MSU's pitching remained consistent throughout. Ramirez worked all seven, allowing 10 hits, but just one run with four strikeouts to improve to 3-2.

"Ramirez had some extra spin on the ball today. She pitched very well," Triplett said. "This is the first game we have not let her hit when she pitched. She might not have been very happy about that, but I thought it helped her concentrate on pitching."

Minot State picked up two runs in the second as Rachel Burdette doubled home Grant and Jordan Branch. Cowden made it 3-0 in the fourth has she drove in Skyla Neubauer after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. MSU broke things open in the sixth as Cowden doubled home Grand and Kyla Larson for a 5-1 lead and Zimmermann and Dado finished off the scoring with RBIs.

Cowden drove in three in the game going 1 for 1 with two walks. Grant added three hits and scored two runs and Kyla Larson was 2 for 3.

"We got timely hits and we moved runners along, took the extra base when was there," Triplett said. "We had a great day on the bases and set ourselves up to score runs."

Tracy finished with three hits for the Yellowjackets in the loss.

MSU will begin conference play Wednesday as they travel to the University of Mary for a double header.

 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.