April 15, 2003

BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Bemidji State softball team swept the University of Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles today in double-header action. But the wins came in very different ways.

Game one was a pitcher’s duel. The Beavers would manufacture two runs in the first when Megan Bray would come to the plate with runners on first and third with nobody out. Hitting a grounder to the short stop, she was thrown out at first but it was enough to get BSU on the scoreboard as Lauren Wilson crossed the plate. The next batter, Leah Bowen, singled to center, scoring Katie Hurst from second.

Hurst would keep the Golden Eagles off the board until the fourth inning. With a runner on second and two outs, the BSU pitcher gave Kacee Biederman a free pass to first base. The runners would move into scoring position when Hurst delivered a pitch the BSU catcher could not handle. Katie Murray would get credit for UMC’s lone RBI when she reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Biederman.

The final 2 1/2 innings were scoreless as both pitchers settled in and forced batters to swing at less-than-perfect pitches. BSU’s Hurst was credited with the win. She pitched seven innings, allowing one earned run while collecting 11 strikeouts.

Game two was a slugfest. A total of 17 runs were scored in the game--a far-cry from the first game’s three runs.

The Beavers got their bats going early using a five-run first inning to take the lead.

BSU broke the 0-0 tie with a sting of four RBI singles. Bowen got the streak started with a single to center that scored Wilson. Betsy Hegland followed with a single of her own scoring Hurst. Jess Radermacher then scored Bowen from second with a hit to deep left-center. Jenna Grimsrud then knocked Hegland in when she reached on a single. Kara Nicolet broke the streak when she grounded out to third base, but not before collecting an RBI as Radermacher crossed the plate.

The Golden Eagles would come back to tie the game in the second as they replicated BSU first inning scoring prowess. On the mound for BSU, Bowen hit the first batter with a pitch and walked to the second. Ashley Holland would make Bowen and the Beavers pay as she wrapped a double into the left-center gap, scoring two base runners. But Holland would also make the first out of the inning when she tried to take advantage of a possible play at the plate by advancing to third. The BSU pitcher would cut off the throw from the outfield and make the throw to third to get the runner.

BSU would again take the lead in the second by scoring three runs. Bowen knocked her second run of the game when she reached base safely. Then Radermacher came to the plate and doubled over the center fielder’s head collecting her second and third RBI’s of the game.

Bowen would be dominant in the final five innings of the game allowing only two hits while getting eight of UMC’s final 15 batters to ground out to the infield. But BSU was not done scoring yet. The Beavers would add another run in the third and three more in the sixth to put the game and the double-header out-of-reach for the Golden Eagles.

Jess Radermacher led the way for BSU offensively as she went 3-4 with a double, a triple and four RBI’s. She also scored a run for the Beavers.

Bemidji State is now 5-4 over-all with all nine game coming within the NSIC. The team will be in action again this weekend when they travel to Fargo, N.D. for four games. The Beavers will play the University of Minnesota-Duluth Friday (April 18th) at 9:00 a.m. and then North Dakota State University at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday (April 19th) the team will face off against the University of North Dakota at 9:00 a.m. and then Concordia College-Moorhead at 10:30 a.m.