Waldorf brings down Mount Mercy
Posted by Waldorf Sports Information Director on Feb 20, 2017 in News, Softball, Women's Sports | 0 comments
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Waldorf University softball team scored its first win of the season, bringing down Mount Mercy University in a 5-3 victory while closing out the St. Paul Dome Tournament on Friday.
“It was a great team win,” Waldorf coach Lexy Determan said. “We executed on offense, including hard hits and bunts as well.”
Brittani Sanchez led the Warriors (1-2) as the senior center fielder from Mason City went 3-for-3 at the plate.
Waldorf’s Kennedy Vinchattle finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs while smashing a solo home run. Freshman Payge Jurgens provided two hits, including an RBI single. Junior Hattie Hupke also collected two hits. The Warriors, who pounded out 10 hits, received a single from junior Kaylie Brindley.
Mallory Madsen and Madelyn Irwin paced the Mustangs (0-2) as they each went 2-for-3. Madsen drove in a run and Payton Bruner contributed a two-run double.
Brindley (1-1) secured the win inside the pitcher’s circle. She struck out three batters, walked two and yielded three runs (two earned) while scattering seven hits in seven innings.
Mount Mercy’s Samantha Croghan (0-1) took the loss. Croghan tallied one strikeout, issued two walks and surrendered three runs (two earned) on six hits in four innings of work.
Irwin pitched the final two innings for the Mustangs. She notched three strikeouts, gave up one walk and allowed two runs on four hits.
Waldorf stranded nine runners while Mount Mercy left six runners on base.
The Warriors raced to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, stringing together four hits. Hupke and Sanchez led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Senior Trista Bures reached on an error to load the bases. Vinchattle and Jurgens followed with run-scoring singles. Senior Hailey Kofron knocked in a run while grounding into a double play.
Vinchattle went yard with a solo shot in the fifth, boosting Waldorf to a four-run advantage. It marked the first homer of the season for the junior infielder from Boone.
The Mustangs got on the scoreboard in the sixth following Bruner’s two-run double.
Bures connected for an RBI sacrifice fly during the Warriors’ half of the sixth.
Madsen drove in Mount Mercy’s final run on a seventh-inning sac fly.
The Warriors committed two errors in the win, but showed defensive improvement following a pair of season-opening losses to Cardinal Stritch University (3-0) on Thursday.
“Defensively, we played well and focused on getting outs,” Determan said. “We did a great job of not letting one runner being on base allow us to affect the next play.”
Waldorf opens North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) play with six conference games in next weekend’s NSAA Crossover Classic at Aberdeen, S.D.
The Warriors open the NSAA Crossover Classic on Friday, facing Presentation College (2-2) in a 10 a.m. twin bill. They take on Valley City State University (2-2) on Saturday in a two-game set at 10 a.m. and square off against Dickinson State University (0-0) in Sunday’s 10 a.m. doubleheader. Dickinson State is ranked No. 21 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) preseason poll.
With the victory over Mount Mercy, Waldorf is looking to battle in its first conference games of the season.
“This was a good game to lead us into conference play,” Determan said. “We have to practice hard this week to start off strong in the conference. It was a good note to end the week on, but we have to continue to push to find consistency.”