DULUTH, Minn. – Minot State University's tough luck finally came to an end.

The Beavers, who fell on three-straight one-run games over the weekend, rolled to a 9-1 lead and then hung on to top Minnesota Duluth 9-6 in game 2 to salvage a split of a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games Sunday at Malosky Stadium.

The win ended a four-game losing skid but more importantly, gave the Beavers some much needed confidence.

"With any luck at all, we would have taken all four games this weekend," said MSU head coach Bill Triplett. "We will try and build on this last game and win a couple on Tuesday. You would think that dropping three nail biters by one run would get you down, but these ladies battled and battled and beat a very good Duluth team to wrap up the trip."

The Beavers (10-9 overall, 2-4 NSIC) cruised through six and a half innings in game 2, building a 9-0 lead, but had to hold off a charge by UMD (21-9, 5-1) to hand the Bulldogs their first NSIC loss of the season.

MSU's Clarissa Ramirez cruised through six innings before running into some trouble in the seventh. After giving up a home run to cut the lead to 9-2, MSU went with Emma Casey in relief. Casey was only able to record one out and gave up three runs before Ramirez came back in to shut the door for the win. She improved to 4-5 on the season.

"Clarissa was really good for six innings and the offense gave us nine runs, who we ended up needing," Triplett said.

The offense was led by four players who recorded multi-hit games against UMD's Valerie Hohol, who suffered her first loss of the season. Jordan Grant, Lauren Cowden, Rachel Burdette and Skyla Neubauer all finished with two hits. Ashley Hill and Tori Zimmermann each belted home runs with Hill driving in three and Zimmermann two for the Beavers. Cowden also drove in two runs for MSU.

In game 1, MSU almost rallied for the win after scoring three runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at four. UMD, however, scored on four straight singles to win game 1.

MSU's Isis Cabral went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Grant, Zimmermann and Neubauer all finished with two hits. Neubauer drove in two, Zimmermann finished with two doubles and Grant knocked in a run.

"Hill and Zimmermann had a couple big home runs for us and Neubauer hit the ball hard all day," Triplett said. "Jordan Grant continues to be Jordan Grant. She's having a great season."

Jenn Spencer worked five innings, giving up nine hits and four runs in a no decision. Casey gave up just one run, but it proved to be the game winner as she suffered her first loss of the season falling to 2-1. Hohol recorded the final out for UMD in the seventh to pick up the win in relief.

The Beavers return home for a single NSIC double-header Tuesday against Minnesota Crookston before heading back on the road for four straight on the weekend.

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.