M State Lady Spartans Split on the Road
The M State Lady Spartan softball team traveled to Willmar to take on the Ridgewater College Warriors and rallied big in game one winning 14-11 but lost a tough game two 7-5. This was the Lady Spartans first game action since late March and the start of divisional play.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
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2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 3 |
Game one started well for the Lady Spartans as they jumped to a 3-1 lead after one inning. Sid Imsande had an RBI double and Sam Lupkes followed that with a two run single.
The Lady Spartans made a couple of big errors in the third inning and Ridgewater built a 9-4 lead. The Lady Spartans started their comeback with a Taylor Kruger solo shot over the left field fence to make the score 9-5. The defense played solid ball and Lady Spartan pitcher Tarryn Justesen settled in and took control, giving the offense a chance to go to work.
The fifth inning was the big inning as the Lady Spartans scored six runs after two were out to take a 10-9 lead. Katie Merrick, Mackenzie Swanson and Macky Warne all had RBI hits. The big hit of the inning was Imsande's two run single that tied the game at 10-10. Lupkes plated Imsande with a hit to give the Lady Spartans the lead at 11-10.
Ridgewater did tie the score at 11-11 with a single run in the fifth but the Lady Spartans sealed the deal with a three run sixth. Imsande stayed hot and roped a two out run scoring single and Lupkes clutched up again and knocked in a pair with a single to make the score 14-11. Justesen pitched a perfect seventh to get the win.
For the game, Imsande was five for five with five runs batted in. Lupkes was close behind with three hits and four runs batted in. Justesen went the distance and picked up the win.
In game two, the Lady Spartans jumped to a 5-0 lead on a first inning two run single by Justesen, and added three more in the second on an error and another two out, two run single by Imsande to make the score 5-0 after an inning and a half.
Ridgewater would chip away and tied the game at 5-5 after six innings. The Lady Spartans could not score in the top of the seventh and Ridgewater ended the game with a two out, two run homerun in the bottom of the seventh for the 7-5 win.
Justesen went the distance and took the loss. Imsande had two more RBI, Justesen had two and Swanson knocked in one run.
The Lady Spartans are now 3-4 on the year, 1-1 in the MCAC Southern Division. They travel to Moorhead to play Concordia's JV Wednesday. Game time is 4:00. They will host Ridgewater Friday at 3:00.