MINOT, N.D. -- Senior
Kyla Larson hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two leading Minot State to an 11-10 win and a split of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader against Wayne State on Sunday in the Air-Supported Dome at Herb Parker Stadium.
Wayne State rallied with five runs in the top of the inning to tie the score at 10-10, but the Beavers would answer in the bottom of the inning.
With one out,
Julia Suchan worked a walk on four pitches and
Tori Zimmermann also coaxed a walk from Maddie Moser to put the potential winning run on second base. On a 3-1 count, Larson found the gap in right-centerfield sending the Beavers home with an 11-10 win.
It was a wild day of softball in the Air-Supported Dome as the doubleheader featured 45 runs scored, 55 hits and 605 pitches thrown.
Minot State appeared well on its way to a win in the opening game as the Beavers scored 11 runs in the bottom of the second inning to take an 11-0 lead.
Ashley Hill laced a two-run homer, Suchan hit a two-run single,
Isis Cabral hit a two-run triple and
Skyla Neubauer hit a two-run single as the Beavers sent 16 players to the plate and recorded 11 hits in the second-inning eruption.
Wayne State slowly chipped away at the lead with a run in the third inning and four runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 11-5. The Wildcats then tied the game at 11-11 by scoring six times in the top of the sixth inning.
Wayne State took the lead for the first time in game one in the top of the seventh inning when Emily Chandler hit a two-run homer giving the Wildcats a 13-11 lead. The Beavers brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning after Zimmermann hit a two-out double, but reliever Allison Niemeier got the final out to nail down the victory.
Wayne State, which is 10-21 overall and 4-8 in the NSIC, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game two, but the Beavers would answer in their half of the inning.
Lauren Cowden led off the inning with a triple and Suchan followed with a walk to put runners on the corners with no outs. After Suchan stole second base, Zimmermann lofted a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Cowden and tie the score at 1-1.
Larson reached on an error by the Wildcats, which brought home Suchan and put Minot State ahead 2-1.
Ashley Hill and
Camille Greene followed with RBI singles to increase the Minot State lead to 4-1.
After Wayne State scored a run to trim the lead to 4-2, Minot State responded with four runs to up the lead to 8-2.
Greene and Cowden had RBI singles and Zimmermann added a two-run double to up the lead to 8-2.
Wayne State scored a single run in the fourth inning and two runs in the top of the fifth inning to climb to within 8-5.
Minot State, which is 19-14 overall and 6-6 in the NSIC, responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Suchan scored on a passed ball and Zimmermann scored on a sacrifice fly by Larson.
The Wildcats answered with five runs in the top of the seventh inning to set the table for the game-winning heroics of Larson.
Laura Mendez picked up the win in relief for the Beavers in game two and improved to 8-9 on the season with the win.
Zimmermann, who was 5-for-5 in game one, finished the day 7-for-8 with three RBIs. Cowden, Larson and Neubauer each had two hits in game one, while Suchan, Cabral, Hill,
Haley Hernandez, Greene and
Aubry Johnson each had one hit.
In game two, Cowden, Zimmermann and Greene had two hits while Suchan, Larson and Hill each had one hit.
Minot State is next scheduled to face Minnesota State Moorhead for a NSIC doubleheader on Wednesday (April 11) in Moorhead, Minn.