ST. PAUL, MINN. – With two hits and three RBI from Damaris Cuevas plus three hits and her career first save from Kennedy Thomas, the University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (21-20, 15-12 NSIC) earned a 4-2 win in game two and a split of an NSIC doubleheader with Concordia St. Paul (22-18, 16-10 NSIC).
With the victory, USF moved to 21-20 on the season and at 15-12 in the NSIC, the Cougars are eighth in the league. They have clinched a winning NSIC mark with the victory today. USF will close out the regular season with a doubleheader against Minnesota State at noon and 2 pm on Sunday in Mankato, Minn. After that, USF will head to the NSIC Tournament which will be held May 13-15 in Rochester, Minn.
On the day, Cuevas led USF with five hits in six at bats with three RBI, 1.167 slugging mark and .833 OBP. As a result, she pushed her season average to .458 and her slugging mark to .625. She now has 20 RBI on the season. With three hits in seven at bats today, Thomas hit .429 and is now hitting over .300 this season (.301) with a .348 on-base percentage. Plus, she threw two innings of scoreless relief to earn her first career save. USF also had a home run from Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, who hammered her sixth home run of the season.
USF Head Softball Coach Shannon Pivovar was pleased with her team’s effort and resilience today. And, she also noted the win by the USF Baseball Team, which after clinching a league tourney berth with a 13-8 win against Concordia St. Paul in at a nearby St. Paul field, stopped over and cheered the softball team to victory.
Game 1 – Concordia St. Paul 3 Sioux Falls 0
Despite three hits from Damaris Cuevas, USF dropped a 3-0 decision to Concordia St. Paul in the opener on Saturday.
Kali Kaestner threw a complete game, four-hitter for CSP. She had six strikeouts with a walk in throwing 107 pitches across seven innings.
USF, which also had a hit from Cassie Van Beek, started Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag (11-9), who allowed three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts in six innings. Hanna Cress finished for USF with one inning of hitless relief.
CSP was led offensively by home runs from Hanna Mortenson and Grace Beseman. The Golden Bears scored single runs in the second, fifth and sixth inning.
Game 2 – Sioux Falls 4 Concordia St. Paul 2
In the second game, USF was led by the hitting of Damaris Cuevas and Kennedy Thomas, plus sterling work in the circle from Hanna Cress and Thomas to earn a 4-2 victory.
Cuevas had five straight hits on the day until a ground out in her final at bat of the day. In game two she had two hits and three RBI. Thomas had three hits and two runs scored while senior outfielder Rachel Klassen added two hits and a run scored. Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag contributed her sixth home run of the season.
Cress (10-10) earned her 10th win of the season by allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out one in throwing 53 pitches across five innings. Thomas added two innings of scoreless and no-hit relief as she had a strikeout in throwing 15 pitches.
USF opened the scoring in the first after Klassen and Thomas had singles and both scored on a run-scoring hit from Cuevas for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the second inning, USF moved in front 3-0 on Van Der Zwaag’s home run, a shot over the left center field fence. The Cougars added their final run in the third inning when Thomas singled to right center and came home on a run-scoring double by Cuevas.
CSP scored a run in the fourth inning on three hits to draw within, 4-1. In the fifth inning, Grace Beseman homered in her second straight game as USF’s lead was cut to 4-2. Then, Pivovar brought in Thomas in the sixth inning and she retired all six batters to earn her first career save.
