MINOT, N.D. – Anna LaCount's sacrifice fly to centerfield provided the walk-off game winner in the eighth inning to start the day and fueled a sweep by the Minot State softball team of NSIC-leading Concordia, St. Paul in a conference doubleheader Saturday at the SCHEELS Complex at South Hill.
 
LaCount's game-winning fly ball lifted the Beavers (17-11 overall, 12-4 NSIC) to a 2-1 win in the first game and handed the Golden Bears (32-8, 14-2) their first league loss.
 
Riding the momentum of the opening upset, Minot State completed the sweep leading the entire second game in a 7-5 victory.
 
Minot State looks to continue its winning ways Sunday as the Beavers hosts Winona State (26-14, 10-4) in another NSIC doubleheader at the SCHEELS Complex at South Hill starting at 11 a.m.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS
"We did a lot of watching of CSP and saw that they get in some slugfests, but they also play a lot of close games. Whether they are low-scoring games or high-scoring games, so we knew we had a really good shot," Minot State coach Sal Rodriguez said.

"And we've been working over the course of the past couple of weeks to really do a better job of putting balls in play hard, but also playing a little small ball. And I think all those things wrapped up today.

"And then, of course, our pitchers threw really well for us."
 
GAME 1 | Minot State 2, Concordia, Saint Paul 1, 8 innings
MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State Beavers needed eight innings to finish the job, but earned the 2-1 extra-innings win, walking it off with sophomore Anna LaCount at the plate to claim victory over the Concordia-Saint Paul Golden Bears Saturday.
Junior Reegan Floyd (6-4) got the win for Minot State. The right-hander went eight innings, giving up one run on nine hits, allowing no walks and striking out one.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beavers were trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning when they first put runs on the board. Senior Gabi Dawyduk put Minot State on the board with a one-out solo home run off junior Erica McCullough.
 
The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth, when Minot State walked it off when senior Brooklyn Morrison came across to score.
 
GAME NOTES
» Minot State pitchers limited Concordia, Saint Paul to just 1-for-6 (.167) with runners in scoring position.
» Minot State pitchers faced 32 Concordia, Saint Paul hitters in the game, allowing 14 ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out one.
» Dawyduk led the Beavers at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run and an RBI.
» Concordia, Saint Paul was led offensively by senior Clara Heislen, who went 1-for-4 with a triple.
» McCullough led the Golden Bears pitching staff, throwing 7.2 innings of two-run ball.
 
GAME 2 | Minot State 7, Concordia, Saint Paul 5
MINOT, N.D. -- Sophomore Anna LaCount and senior Lauryn DeGuzman each racked up three hits to help power the Minot State Beavers over the Concordia, Saint Paul Golden Bears 7-5 on Saturday.
 
Senior Gabi Dawyduk (6-5) got the win for Minot State. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits, allowing one walk and striking out two.
 
In addition to her three hits, DeGuzman had a triple to lead the Beavers. LaCount added a double and an RBI to her three-hit performance as well. Senior Brooklyn Morrison also helped out for Minot State, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding a walk and an RBI.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beavers got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Minot State got on the board thanks to LaCount's RBI double with two outs.
 
The Golden Bears failed to push any runs across before the Beavers offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Sophomore Paige Kellogg came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minot State, which brought the score to 2-0 in favor of the Beavers.
 
Minot State held Concordia, Saint Paul scoreless before expanding their lead to 4-0 the following inning. Morrison's run-scoring single highlighted a two-run output in the frame for the Beavers.
 
The Golden Bears fought back, closing the gap to 4-3 until Minot State added some insurance in the fourth. Sophomore Sara Van Wickler crossed home plate with the lone run of the inning for the Beavers on a Taylor Smith sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of Minot State.
 
The Beavers held Concordia, Saint Paul scoreless before expanding their lead to 7-3 in the sixth inning. Minot State brought home a pair, with one run driven in by LaCount's single. Concordia, Saint Paul put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Beavers still held on for the 7-5 win.
 
GAME NOTES
» Minot State got three-hit games from both DeGuzman and LaCount.
» Minot State's highest-scoring inning was the sixth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Minot State grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Beavers out-hit the Golden Bears at a 9-8 clip.
» DeGuzman stole two bases in Saturday's game.
» Minot State pitchers faced 32 Concordia-Saint Paul hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out two.
» DeGuzman led the Beavers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a triple.
» Concordia, Saint Paul was led offensively by junior Rachel Novak, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI.
» Freshman Makayla Wigern led the Golden Bears pitching staff, throwing six innings of seven-run ball.
 
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