MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University carried a 5-3 lead into the top of the seventh inning in game 2, but couldn't complete the upset as No. 10 ranked Minnesota State rallied for an 11-5 win to earn a sweep of a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball games Sunday at Herb Parker Stadium.

The losses spoiled the team's senior day and a tribute to head coach Bill Triplett, who announced his retirement after 10 seasons for the team at the end of the season. But, it didn't keep Minot out of the playoffs.

The Beavers received a little help from a pair of teams and will carry the ninth seed into the NSIC Tournament. Minot State tied for eighth overall with Southwest Minnesota State, but the Mustangs will earn the eighth seed due to tiebreaker. The two teams will open with each other to start the NSIC Tournament Thursday in Sioux Falls.

"It's going to be really good for this team," Triplett said about playing in the tournament. "With all the things we have gone through this year and the things we have battled and we still make the tournament is big. It's going to be great for our group."

Minot State (23-20 overall, 15-15 NSIC) used a pair of offensive rallies to put itself in place for the upset of Minnesota State (50-6, 38-2) in game 2.

First, the Beavers erased a 1-0 lead as Tori Zimmermann singled down the leftfield line to score Lauren Cowden and Sara Neubauer doubled home pinch runner Ashley Johnson and Zimmermann. Johnson ran for Ashley Hill after Hill doubled two batters before Neubauer.

"Sometimes you learn more about yourself in a loss. Like a freshman like Skyla who takes Reis (Mavericks No. 1 starter Coley Ries) to the wall. That's huge for a freshman against one of the top pitchers in the nation."

The Beavers second rally came in the sixth after the Mavs tied the game at three in the fifth. Isis Cabral gave the Beavers back the lead tripling in Rachel Burdette and then pushed the lead to 5-3 scoring on a wild pitch.

"It was big for our team to show who we are and come back and take the lead like that in the sixth," Triplett said. "We were just two outs away, but they are a top team in the nation for a reason. Give them credit, they can come back on any team."

The Mavericks did just that, plating eight in the top of the seventh. Minot State's Jenn Spencer got the first out with a strikeout, but walked the next two to start the rally.

"Jenn was so good yesterday and so good today for six innings, light out," Triplett said. "But she walked those to and that ignited the rally for them. You can't do that against great teams like Mankato."

Minot State finished with six hits from six different players including the triple by Cabral for an RBI and the double by Neubauer for two RBIs.

MaKenzie Papp had two hits, to RBIs and two runs scored for the Mavericks. Ries worked 3.2 innings in relief to win her second game of the day, improving to 27-2 on the year. Spencer dropped to 13-12.

In game 2, Minot matched the Mavericks for four innings, but a five-run fifth opened it up. It was more than enough for Ries, the reigning National Pitcher of the Week, who struck out 12 in six innings giving up three hits.

"We played pretty well in the game one, but I thought we didn't adjust enough at the plate," Triplett said. "You can't take that strike right down the middle on every at bat against a pitcher like Ries. I think that's why we did so well against her in the second game, we adjusted to that and were more aggressive."

Hill finished with two of the team's three hits including a double and Neubauer had the Beavers' other hit. Clarissa Ramirez went the distance for Minot State in the loss falling to 8-8 on the year.

Minot State opens with Southwest Minnesota State at 10 a.m. Thursday morning at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls.



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.