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St. Cloud State University
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SCSU steals two wins in home debut
By Jay Corn
Published:
Thursday, April 1, 2004
Media Credit: Christin Osgood
Pitcher Lacey Trossbach strikes out a Southwest State player to end the inning, and eventually earn the win Wednesday during the season opening double header at Selke Field. The Huskies won the series 5-4 and 4-3.
The SCSU softball team was victorious in both games of their double header Wednesday, defeating Southwest Minnesota State by scores of 5-4 and 4-3. Both games went eight innings, with the Huskies riding the backs of their two ace pitchers on the way to sealing the pair of victories. The double-dip was the first action the squad has seen in over a week, and despite showing some signs of rust, the Huskies demonstrated why they're the perennial favorite to win the division title for a second straight year.
In Wednesday's opener, Nicole Webb turned in six solid innings of work, allowing three earned runs on four hits and walking none. Despite giving up long homeruns to Sarah Campbell and Betsy Matheis, Webb showed good velocity and control, striking out four batters, at times fooling opposing hitters badly with her mix of fastballs and change-ups.
"After that second homerun (by Matheis) I was just like, 'I can't believe it.' They kept getting hit after hit and I wasn't expecting them to jump on us like that," center fielder Callie Stewart said.
"Southwest State seems to give us a hard time every year, and I'm glad we were able to come away with two wins."
Webb gave way to freshman Lacey Trossbach in the seventh after showing signs of fatigue and declining velocity. Trossbach was strong in her two innings of work, striking out three batters while allowing no hits on her way to earning the victory.
In addition to earning the win in game one, Trossbach started the second game of the twin bill. Despite the heavy workload, Trossbach showed no obvious signs of fatigue, pitching all eight innings of the extra inning affair. The pair of victories ups Trossbach's record to 8-4 on the season, and she was arguably the player most responsible for effectively putting an end to the squad's three-game losing streak. In addition to her strong showing on the mound, Trossbach slammed the first homerun of her young career, a solo shot in the second. Trossbach went 2-3 at the plate in game two with a walk, showing why she's considered by many to be such a potent double-edged sword.
"Lacey did very well today," senior first baseman Brooke Gentzler said. "She hit her first collegiate home run, and I really see her contributing for years to come."
The pair of Wednesday victories improves the Husky record to 15-4, good for an 18th ranking in the latest Division II polls, a ranking that may rise depending on the Huskies performance this weekend against Augustana College and South Dakota State.
Abby Velta and Brooke Gentzler carried the offensive load for the Huskies, and despite leaving a small nation stranded on base, SCSU was able to squeeze enough runners across the plate to come away with the two game sweep. Gentzler went 3-6 in the two games, with an RBI and a walk. Gentzler, however, seemed overly impatient at the plate Wednesday, swinging at the first pitch on three separate occasions, once with the bases loaded. While it can be argued the first pitch is the best one to hit, Gentzler knows she needs to be more patient at the dish, especially in RBI situations.
"I was a little trigger happy today, especially in the first game," Gentzler said. "I think that there were a lot of us that just weren't waiting for our pitch, and there were a bunch of us who were a little over anxious. The pitching today was a little slower too, which contributed to the free swinging. But as a team, we know that we have to sit and wait for a pitch we can drive, and that means being more patient."
Velta did her part as well, going 3-9 on the day, a .333 clip, and scored twice. Velta proved why she's such a threat at the top of the lineup, driving Southwest Minnesota crazy all day with her drag bunts and pesky base running. Velta and Gentzler both turned in solid defensive performances as well, which is more than can be said for some of their teammates.
Defensively, the Huskies were erratic in the field, committing two errors in the first game, but managed to play mistake-free ball in game two. Jessica Swartout misjudged a routine fly ball in left field during the fourth inning of game one, prompting head coach Paula U'Ren to pull her outfielder mid-inning. Swartout, however, would return later in the game, and played solidly after having some time to sit and fume about things. Swartout's miscue, which wasn't scored an error, effectively cost the Huskies a run, but it was by no means the only defensive miscue. A sky-high pop up between the pitchers mound and home plate was botched by catcher Jessica Preiner, leading to an unearned run in the third.
"We haven't played a game on our home field since last fall," Gentzler said. "Because of the weather and the being flooded, we just haven't been able to get in the repetition we need, especially in the field. Yeah, we were a little rusty, but once we get some solid practice time outside, that will correct itself."
Despite the erratic play, the Huskies are bona fide Division II contenders, and with over half the season still to play, are well on their way to repeating as division champions.
"We have the potential to do very, very well this year," Stewart said. "If we can step up our collective hitting, we'll be fine. We were all a little off today at the plate, but we have some serious scoring power, and we know that we can't win games if we don't score. It's still early in the season, and there's time to work out the kinks, but this is a dangerous team that can beat anybody."
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