MINOT, N.D. – The Black Hills State University softball team dropped a pair of games on the opening day of the season on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets (0-2) fell to Minot State (2-2), 5-2, in the opening game of the day, before losing to the University of Minnesota-Crookston(1-1), 9-1, in the second game.
Minot State 5, BHSU 2
Neither team was able to score in the first inning, but the Yellow Jackets got on the board first. In the top of the second, Kindall Bethke got things going with a single to right field. After moving to third on a pair of groundouts, Bethke scored when Morgan Smith hit a double.
The Beavers responded in the bottom of the second with a two-run home run by Zoya Robbins. However, the Green and Gold tied it up in the top of the third. Brittany Henricksen tallied her first run batted in of the season, singling to score Maddie London.
The game would remain tied, 2-2, until the fifth inning, when Minot State added two runs. The Beavers added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to lead, 5-2. Down to their last chance, the Yellow Jackets got two runners on base in the top of the seventh, but were unable to capitalize, and ultimately fell.
Brittany Henricksen (1-for-4) and Smith (1-for-3) each recorded an RBI, while Bethke was 2-for-3 in the game. Alex Wiley and Samantha Schoen also tallied hits.
Alex Wiley (0-1) took the loss in the circle for the Yellow Jackets. The senior threw 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) while striking out two. Kyndal Wallace threw the final inning, allowing one run.
Minnesota-Crookston 9, BHSU 1
The Golden Eagles jumped ahead early in the second game of the day, scoring three runs in the top of the first. They added one run in the second and another in the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Yellow Jackets got on the board. Wiley hit a one-out double, before Bethke tallied an RBI to score Wiley. UMC would not stay down, however, and added two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to win, 9-1.
Wiley was 4-for-4 in the game, finishing the day with five hits. Bethke was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Katelyn Odle was also 2-for-4 in the game. London also recorded a hit.
Crystal Amaral (0-1) took the complete game loss. She allowed nine runs (seven earned) in 7.0 innings, striking out eight.
The Green and Gold will have rematches against both Minot State and Minnesota Crookston on February 10. The Yellow Jackets will take on the host Beavers at 8 a.m. mountain time, before meeting the Golden Eagles at noon.
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Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.
---BHSUAthletics.com---
