March 29, 2016

Photos credits by Scott Voigt

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) could not complete their furious comeback after trailing to No. 17-ranked Dickinson State (N.D.) and Bellevue (N.D.) on the second day of the North Star Athletic Association Softball Triangular at Thue Softball Complex.  The Trojans fell short to the Blue Hawks 8-5 and Bruins 4-3 Tuesday afternoon.

Dakota State dropped their overall record to 2-6 and 0-4 NSAA.  The Trojans will continue their home stand Thursday as they host Northwestern (Iowa) in a non-conference doubleheader.  The first game of the doubleheader is slated for 3 p.m. at Thue Softball Complex.

Bellevue (11-13 overall record) posted a 7-3 upset over Dickinson State (20-7 overall record) in the first game of the triangular Tuesday.  Both the Bruins and Blue Hawks finished with a 3-1 NSAA record in the triangular. 

#17 Dickinson State (N.D.) 8, Dakota State (S.D.) 5 – FINAL

After a scoreless first inning, Dickinson State grabbed the first lead of the game after McKenna Kostelecky smashed a 2-run home run for a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Hawks made it 4-0 in the top fifth with two runs scored.  McKenzie Kenobbie hit a two-out single, followed by Monique Yslas and Alex Vargas back-to-back RBI doubles.

Dickinson State extended their lead to 8-0 in the top half of the sixth inning, highlighted by Morgan Glowa's 2-RBI triple.

The Trojans scored once in the bottom sixth to cut DiSU's lead to 8-1.  Tatum Ronke hit a single with one out.  She advanced to second base after Kylee Pospisil's ground out.  Shai-Lee Hill produced an RBI to score Ronke for Trojans' first run of the game.

Dakota State started their furious rally in the bottom seventh inning, scoring four runs with no outs.  The Trojans kicked off with three consecutive singles by Kayla Schmell, Peyton Brokiewicz and Elizabeth Rubalcava.  Audrey Kosman drilled a 2-RBI double to score Schmell and Brokiewicz as DaSU trimmed DiSU's lead to 8-3.

April Pisk added an RBI single to score Rubalacava as Dakota State continued their scoring surge, cutting the Blue Hawks' lead to 8-4.  Ronke hit an RBI single to score Kosman as the Trojans trailed 8-5, forcing Dickinson State to make a pitching change.

The Blue Hawks went on to halt Trojans' late comeback, ending the game by a double play.

Ronke tallied three singles with an RBI and a run scored for Dakota State.  Brokiewicz, Rubalcava and Kosman each added two hits.  Kosman produced two RBIs.  Schmell, Pisk and Hill each had a hit.  Pisk and Hill each recorded an RBI.  Brokiewicz swiped one base.

Kenobbie went 4-for-4 at the plate for Dickinson State.  Kostelecky added a home run, single and two RBIs.  Yslas registered a double, single and produced two RBIs.  Vargas had a double and an RBI.  Brianna Grayson, Shannen Donnelly and Glowa each had a hit.  Glowa collected two RBIs.

The Blue Hawks had 14 hits in the game compared to the Trojans 13 hits.  DaSU left nine runners on base while DiSU had five runners left on base.

Kosman (L, 1-3) recorded the loss on the pitching mound for the Trojans.  She tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs on 11 hits.  Claire Fischer worked for 1 2/3 scoreless innings and limited DiSU to two hits.

Abi Brooks (W, 7-3) earned the victory for the Blue Hawks.  She pitched six-plus innings and allowed five runs on 13 hits.  Amanda Flores came in relief and shut down the Trojans.

Bellevue (Neb.) 4, Dakota State (S.D.) 3 – FINAL

The Bruins used a fast start for an early lead and held off Trojans' late comeback to secure a 4-3 victory in the final game of the NSAA Triangular.

Bellevue scored three times in the opening inning.  Emily Gigax and Emily Miller hit back-to-back singles.  Erin Sharpe hit a 2-RBI single to score Gigax and Miller for 2-0 BU lead.  The Bruins made it 3-0 after a defensive error committed by Dakota State.

BU added a run in the top sixth inning to extend their lead to 4-0.  Maddie Siedlik, pinch hitter for Sarah Zeleny, recorded an RBI single to score Sydney Robertson, who ran for Sayde Woten which led off the inning with a single.

Dakota State ended their scoring drought with three runs in the bottom sixth.  Kosman drilled a triple to lead off the bottom half of the inning.  Pisk followed up with an RBI single to score Kosman as DSU cut BU's lead to 4-1.

Ronke added another RBI triple to score Pisk in the bottom sixth as the Trojans reduced their deficit to 4-2.  DSU trailed at 4-3 after Hill registered an RBI ground out to score Ronke.

Dakota State was unable to complete their comeback as they went three-and-out in the final inning.

Rubalcava went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a single for the Trojans.  Kosman added a triple and a single.  Ronke had a triple, single and collected an RBI.  Pisk recorded a single and an RBI.  Hill had an RBI.

Sharpe was 2-of-4 at the plate with a double, single and two RBIs for the Bruins.  Gigax and Miller each had two singles.  Katie Franzen, Alex Tooley, Woten, Zeleny and Siedlik each had a hit.

BU had 11 hits in the game compared to DSU 7 hits.  The Bruins left eight runners on base while the Trojans had six runners left on base.

Fischer (L, 1-2) took the loss on the mound for Dakota State.  She pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs (one unearned) on 10 hits.  Kosman tossed 1 2/3 innings in relief and limited BU to one hit.

Kelli Fisher (W, 9-7) earned the victory as she worked for four innings in the game for the Bruins.  She allowed one run on four hits and recorded four strikeouts.  Sharpe tossed three innings in relief and gave up two runs on three hits.

Bellevue (Neb.) 7, #17 Dickinson State (N.D.) 3 – FINAL

Down 3-0, Bellevue rallied back by scoring seven unanswered runs in the final three innings to upset No. 17 Dickinson State in the first game of the NSAA triangular.  BU's victory also snapped the Blue Hawks' 15-game winning streak.

Kenobbie hit a 2-RBI double to give Dickinson State a 2-0 lead in the bottom second frame.

DiSU McKenzie Bassett led off with a triple in the bottom fourth.  Shannen Donnelly produced an RBI sacrifice fly to score Samantha Hardwick – pinch runner for Bassett – as the Blue Hawks' lead went up to 3-0.

The Bruins exploded for four runs in the top fifth, thanks to Kayla Young's 3-RBI base-clearing triple to knot the game at 3-3.  Franzen followed up with an RBI single to score Young as Bellevue earned their first lead of the game at 4-3.

BU extended their lead to 5-3 after Miller hit an RBI single in the top sixth frame.

Bellevue's lead went up to 7-3 after scoring three two more runs in the top seventh by Siedlik's 2-RBI single.

The Blue Hawks went three-and-out in the bottom seventh as the Bruins secured the victory.

Young tallied a triple and three RBIs for Bellevue.  Franzen and Kaitlyn Goney each added two hits.  Tooley, Sharpe, Woten and Siedlik each had a hit.  Siedlik collected two RBIs.

Kenobbie recorded a double and two RBIs for Dickinson State.  Vargas and Bassett each added a triple.  Whitney Mesi and Donnelley each had a hit.

BU outhit DiSU 11-5 in the game.  The Bruins left nine runners on base while the Blue Hawks had four runners left on base.

Bruin Fisher (W, 8-7) earned the victory as she worked for four innings.  She gave up three runs (one unearned) on four hits.  Sharpe (S, 1) posted her first save of the season after tossing three scoreless innings, limiting the Blue Hawks to one hit.

Amanda Flores (L, 5-2) recorded the loss for the Blue Hawks.  She pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs (one unearned) on five hits.  She recorded four strikeouts.  Brooks pitched for one-plus inning and allowed one run on two hits.  Alex Watson came in the sixth inning and worked for one-plus inning, giving up two runs on three hits.  Raylee Ortiz came in for the final two outs of the top seventh inning.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director