Cougars complete road sweep over Dragons
MOORHEAD, Minn. (USF) – The University of Sioux Falls softball team secured its first NSIC series sweep of the season today, grinding out a pair of tightly contested wins over MSU Moorhead, 3-2 and 3-2, at Nemzek Stadium. The Cougars (15-14, 3-1 NSIC) leaned on timely hitting and strong pitching performances in both games, overcoming early deficits and holding off late pushes from the Dragons to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Game One: Sioux Falls 3, MSU Moorhead 2 After falling behind 2-0 in the second inning due to a pair of unearned runs, Sioux Falls responded with a decisive swing in the fourth inning to take control. The Cougars capitalized on momentum early in the frame, beginning with a Sandra Ribich RBI double to cut the deficit in half. With runners in scoring position, Andie Suhai delivered the biggest hit of the game, lining a two-run single down the right field line to give USF a 3-2 lead.
From there, Maddi Duncan settled in and took command in the circle. After working around traffic in the early innings, Duncan held the Dragons scoreless over the final five frames, stranding multiple baserunners and keeping Moorhead from regaining momentum. MSU Moorhead threatened in both the fifth and sixth innings, putting runners on base, but Duncan and the Cougar defense came through in key moments to preserve the lead.
In the seventh, Duncan closed the door with a clean inning, securing her ninth win of the season and eigth game with 10+ strikeouts. Suhai and Ribich led the scoring effort adding all three RBIs in the comeback inning while Hanna Raethz and Addison Heule each record two hits for the Cougars.. Game Two: Sioux Falls 3, MSU Moorhead 2 Game two followed a similar script, with Sioux Falls once again using a single inning to swing the game in its favor.
After three scoreless innings, the Cougars broke through in the fourth. Hanna Raethz sparked the rally with a leadoff single before Ribich added another base hit to put runners in scoring position. Kyra Knudtson delivered in the clutch, driving a two-run single up the middle to give USF the lead.