saint paul, minn. - junior brynn larsen was a double away from the cycle in game one of a double header against #12 minnesota state (36-9, 13-5 nsic) on thursday as she drove in both runs in the 2-1 win over msu. Concordia (24-16, 7-9 nsic) fell 8-3 in the second game, the highlight for cu was a three run homer by freshman tessa ewert. Larsen finished the afternoon 4-6 with two rbi's and two runs scored. box game 1 | box game 2
game 1
pitching was the initial storyline of the first few innings as ashley kluever and kendra huettl were able to use a combination of fastballs and off speed pitches to keep the offenses in check. Concordia had a pair of infield hits in each of the first two innings and msu had an infield hit in the first.
kluever pitched out of jam in the top of the fourth as the mavericks tried to rally with two outs. A double to center field got past a diving katie anderson and singled to left field put runners on first and third with two outs. Kluever got a ground out to third as the threat was naturalized. Larsen hit her third home run of the year to start the top of the fourth inning as cu took a 1-0 lead. calli brennan hit a single and was pinch run for by megan revoir who advanced to third before being stranded.
the mavericks responded in the top of the fifth with a run of their own. A leadoff double to right center was followed up by a sac bunt getting the runner to third with one down. A single to second base brought the runner home to tie the game.
concordia went down in order in the fifth and kluever pitched out of jam in the top of the sixth. A pair of one out singles put runners on first and second but kluever got a fly ball out and ground out to end the inning.
anderson started the bottom of the sixth off with a single to short, beating out the throw. Larsen struck again sending a ball to the gap in right field allowing the speedy anderson to score and hitting her league leading seventh triple of the season.
in the bottom of the seventh kluever pitched around a one walk to secure the complete game win.
game 2
the mavericks got the scoring right away in game two as they scored two runs in the opening frame. Minnesota state used two hits, a walk and two sac bunts, including a safety squeeze to score the two runs.
after being held hitless in the first two innings, msu picked up four more runs in the top of the third. A leadoff walk and pair of sac bunts put a runner on third with two outs. A singled scored the runner from third and back to back doubles scored the second and third runs of the inning. An error by ewert allowed the fourth run of the inning to cross the plate as msu took a commanding 6-0 lead.
stephanie schmikla got cu's first hit of the game with a two out single to short but the inning quickly ended as anderson blasted a line drive that found the glove of third baseman.
the fourth and fifth innings went by without any scoring taking place. Each team had a single hit in the fourth. Msu had a pair of runners in the fifth but couldn't score. Cu had a pair of singles in the bottom of the fifth but anderson grounded out with two runners on to end the inning.
the mavericks tried to end the game in the sixth inning as the inning starting off with a double and single, scoring a run right away. After a fly out to right field a passed ball and throwing error allowed the runner to get to third with one away. A sacrifice fly to center allowed the runner to score as msu took an 8-0 lead.
concordia fought off the run rule in the bottom of the inning scoring three runs. Larsen walked and brennan singled to advance larsen to third. After erin tjornhom struck out ewert hit her blast to pretty much straight away center as golden bears got to the msu reliever. missie feuerbach singled and her sister, katie feuerbach followed it up by walking as cu tried to keep the scoring going. Unfortunately a strike out and ground out ended the threat.
minnesota state threatened to score again in the top of the seventh but cassye mcmahon pitched out of the jam to give cu a chance. Larsen singled with one out in the seventh but that was all cu could muster as they fell 8-3.
the golden bears are back in action tomorrow afternoon at carlander field at 1 and 3 p.m. Against bemidji state.
