Bats come alive in non-conference sweep

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Three home runs and 18 runs scored led to two shortened victories for the Morningside softball team Monday afternoon.

The Mustangs defeated Dakota State 10-0 in game one and 8-0 in game two. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for today in Madison, South Dakota but field conditions moved the game to Jensen Softball Complex. Due to the venue change, Dakota State was the home team in game one, and Morningside was the home team in game two.

The five inning first game had plenty of excitement for the Mustangs, who scored multiple runs in the first three innings. In the first inning, a Sydney Petersen double brought home Ellie Cropley. Morgan Nixon reached on an error, and Petersen scored on the play. Ellie Gengler singled home Nixon to make it 3-0 Mustangs after one.

In the second inning, it was Petersen again doing the damage, as she hit a three-run blast to right field, giving Morningside a 6-0 advantage. It was a three-run homer for Mykel Ann Gray that made the score 9-0 in the third inning, and Petersen, who reached base and scored three times in game one, crossed the plate on a Nixon double to make it 10-0.

Cropley tallied two hits, including a double to extend her program record in career doubles. Taylor Richter and Vanessa Bohuslavsky tallied two hits each at the bottom of the lineup. 

Morningside used three pitchers in game one, with Grace Buffington getting the start and pitching two innings, followed by two innings from Morgan Secora and an inning from Maggie Fisher. All three gave up a hit, and Buffington struck out three batters.

In game two, Morningside bookended the game by scoring four runs in the first inning and four runs in the sixth to force the 8-run rule to go into effect and end the game. 

In the first inning, a Kennedee Jones single scored Nixon and Petersen. Jones came around to score in the next at-bat, as Mackenna Sidzyik blasted a home run to center field. 

The Mustangs' bats went quiet in the middle innings, but strong pitching from Jordan Skradski and Bralen Biddlecome kept the Trojans off the board. Skradski pitched three no-hit innings to start the game and Biddleome tossed a three-hit shutout in the final three innings. 

Richter's two-run single in the sixth made it 6-0 Mustangs. A Bohuslavsky bunt-single scored Richter. Being the home team with a seven-run lead, all the Mustangs needed was one more run to end the game. That run came on a double off the bat of Gray, ending the game with one out in the bottom of the sixth.

Despite scoring eight runs, not a Mustang had more than one hit. Jones' two-run single, Richter's two-run single, and Sidzyik's two-run home run carried the offense. 

The Mustangs are set to play their third doubleheader in four days Tuesday, as they take on Doane in a conference doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. at Jensen Softball Complex.