Home > Sports > Softball’s season comes to an end
Softball’s season comes to an end
BY KJESTINE STEINBRING
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
iISSUE: 78/30
Postponed yet again last Friday, the North Central Conference (NCC) softball tournament was moved and completed on Saturday and Sunday last weekend for the Bulldogs. The first-round game against Augustana College on Saturday afternoon would determine if the team kept going into the next rounds.
A last inning surge gave UMD hope, scoring eight runs in the seventh inning to give them the win over the Vikings. A grand slam by freshman Casey Moore and a three-run homer by freshman Ashley Johnson made up for most of their scores, with another run tacked on at the end to win 8-6.
Game two in the tournament was a rematch against the tournament’s No. 1-seed from Minnesota State University-Mankato (MSU) on Saturday as well. Another big-scoring inning gave the Bulldogs their second straight win to start the tournament. Capitalizing on MSU errors, the Bulldogs scored seven runs in the fourth inning and rode that momentum to a big 9-3 win over the Mavericks.
The Bulldogs’ next competition was a tough team in the No. 2-seeded University of Nebraska-Omaha on Sunday, and UMD was looking to clear its next hurdle by beating them too. However, this would be more difficult than they thought, as UMD lost 5-2 for their first loss in the double-elimination tournament.
UMD’s two runs were scored off singles into center field. This loss put them one game away from elimination and left them to face MSU again. The second time around didn’t work out as well for the Bulldogs. Once again they had a sixth-inning surge, scoring three runs off a homer by sophomore Sarah Kabes.
Unfortunately, the Mavericks were not stopped. They scored four runs of their own in the sixth inning and ended up beating the Bulldogs 7-5 and ending their season. “Those two losses will stick with us until next season,” said head coach Jennifer Banford. “Even though it was disappointing to lose both those games, we will remember this feeling for next year and know where we want to be and that we are more than capable.”
UMD ended the season 21-18 and did pretty well against top-ranked teams, but the tournament this weekend ended their season without getting a berth to the regional tournament. “I think it is definitely a great moral booster for the girls next year,” said lone senior Gina Zech. “They are returning all of the talent. I think it will inspire them to work harder and propel them to be just as great if not better next year.”
