VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The Valley City State softball team was down to its final out on Sunday, trailing 10-5 during game one of a doubleheader with Bellevue University. That final out never happened.
The Vikings put together six straight two-out singles – tying the game at 10-10 – and then Marissa Hawkins hit a walk-off grand slam to complete a stunning comeback. When the celebration ended the Vikings had scored nine runs with two outs, rallying for an improbable 14-10 victory.
Bellevue earned a doubleheader split with a 10-1 victory in game two as pitcher Cory Carrillo flirted with a perfect game.
VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State softball team totaled four home runs and 20 hits in a Saturday sweep over Bellevue. The Vikings took game one 9-3 and game two 7-5.
Valley City State improves to 16-4 overall this season and 9-1 in the NSAA. Bellevue drops to 22-15 overall and 8-4 in the conference.
VCSU 9, Bellevue 3
Riley Perryman opened scoring Saturday with a solo home run in the second inning. Bellevue’s Ellie Bliemeister put the Bruins on the board with a two-run homer in the third, answered by a two-run blast from VCSU’s Marissa Hawkins. Bellevue then tied it up 3-3 in the fourth.
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The top two softball teams in the North Star Athletic Association square off this weekend as Valley City State hosts Bellevue University in a four-game series.
The Vikings currently sit atop the standings with a 14-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference play. VCSU continues to receive votes in this week’s NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. Their lone conference loss came at Dickinson State University.
Bellevue University enters the weekend with a 22-13 overall record and is second in the NSAA standings with an 8-2 conference record. The Bruins’ two conference losses came during a series split with Viterbo University.
THE OPPONENTS…
Florida National is 7-10 and are 3-3 in their last six games. It has a team batting average of .258 with Megan Johnson batting .421 this season and Gabryella Hay and Zaira Nunez are each batting .327 and .314 respectively and Hay leads the team with six stolen bases. Hay and Johnson each have 11 runs batted in and Johnson has two homeruns. Hay also leads the team in innings pitched with 37 and she is 3-2.
Keiser is 5-5 this season and boast a .307 batting average and have outscored teams 49-23. Ally Thompson has a team best .478 batting average with 11 hits while Janelle Dominguez has a .417 batting average with 15 hits and a team high six stolen bases with 16 runs batted in and four homeruns. Giovanna Watts is 3-3 with a 1.72 earned run average and 24 strikeouts with 44 innings pitched. Kelsie Merriman is 2-2 with a 2.24 earned run average and has seven strikeouts in 25 innings pitched.
THE OPPONENTS…
Calumet St. Joseph is 0-3 this season and has been outscored 18-5 so far. Calumet St. Joseph has not submitted stats for the three games so far.
Spring Arbor is 3-5 this season and has been outscored 41-30 through those eight games. Abbie Funk has a .375 batting average and six hits this season. Sarah Matlock is batting .368 with seven hits and two doubles and Jessie Panchaud is batting .360 with a team high nine hits. Hannah Laurin has a team high 23 innings pitched and is 1-3 with a 3.90 earned run average with 17 strikeouts.
Bellevue is 7-6 so far and have outscored teams 78-52. Allison O’Driscoll has 17 hits and a .459 batting average while Ashley Young has 16 hit and a .400 batting average with 10 doubles. Katlyn Kinman has 17 hits as well and a .362 batting average with 12 runs batted in. Lauren Russell leads the team with five homeruns and 16 runs batted in. Lauren Jurek is 4-3 on the mound in 40 innings pitched and has struck out 45 batters. Cory C