Continuing an eight-game road stretch, the Upper Iowa softball team travelled to Selky Field in St. Cloud, Minn. on Wednesday to take on the Huskies of St. Cloud State University in a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchups. The Huskies took a pair of one-run ballgames as UIU fell 3-2 in game one, before dropping game two, 2-1.
The Huskies scored a run in the bottom of the first inning and lead until UIU tied the contest up in the top half of the third. Ashley Brown lead the inning off with a single that turned into an extra base on a throwing error from the shortstop. Then, after reaching third base on a passed ball, the McFarland, Wis.-native scored when Robin Schaefer grounded out to third base to tied the score at one run apiece.
UIU took the lead in the top half of the next inning when Trisha Hagensick hit a sacrifice flyball to right field, scoring Chelsey Sechrest and giving Upper Iowa a 2-1 advantage.
Unfortunately for the visitors, two runs wouldn't be enough offense as St. Cloud State put two runs across in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homerun to right center field to retake the lead and win the game, 3-2.
Freshman hurler Sarah Dec pitched well in the loss. The right-hander allowed just five hits over six complete innings of work while striking out four Huskies. Seven UIU hitters tallied one hit in the contest as the Peacocks outhit SCSU, 7-5.
Runs were tough to come by in the second game as well, but Upper Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when the starting pitcher, Brooklyn Koranda, reached by an error on the third baseman to score Erica Maisto and give the visitors an early lead. That lead, however, disappeared in the bottom half of the same inning when SCSU scored an unearned run and tied things up at 1-1.
The teams would combine for just five hits over the remainder of the game with the final coming in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Huskies won the game, 2-1, on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Koranda scattered three hits over six and two-thirds innings of work. The Maquoketa, Iowa-native struck out five and allowed just one earned run to cross the plate. Upper Iowa once again outhit the Huskies in game two, 6-3.
Upper Iowa continues their roadtrip this Saturday when they visit Mankato, Minn. to line up against the #6-ranked Mavericks of Minnesota State. The first pitch of the conference doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m.
