April 10, 2004

[BSU vs. NDSU box][BSU vs. UND box]

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- At the second and final day of the Concordia-St. Paul Tournament today, the Bemidji State softball team got wiped out by a 0-9 count to #12 North Dakota State before losing 2-5 to North Dakota. Sophomore Megan Woslager continued her hot hitting with two hits on the day extending her hitting streak to five games and has hit safely in seven of the last eight.

In the five-inning loss to NDSU, the Bison jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings and wrapped up their scoring with one in the third and three in the fourth. Like several times this season, BSU had a chance to plate a run thanks to fundamental softball. Woslager rapped a single in the second and advanced to second on a Nikki Eckebrecht sacrifice bunt. However, two straight ground outs thereafter ended the threat.

Senior Leah Bowen, who pitched five innings and allowed nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits, singled to left field putting runners on the corners in the fifth frame. With one out, Bowen was thrown out at second on a steal attempt and, following a strikeout, NDSU secured its 15th consecutive win over the Beavers.

Against North Dakota, the Beavers struck first with two runs in the second inning - just the second time this season they have scored before the opposition. The team’s leading hitter with a .345 average, Woslager led off the frame with a ground-rule double. She scored after Jamie Fisher reached on an error. Fisher posted the second run of the game on a Bowen RBI single to center field.

UND responded with three runs on five hits in the top-half of the third and added insurance tallies in the fifth and seventh innings. BSU left on one runner apiece in the third, fourth and fifth innings but was unable to get the key hit.

Bowen again took the loss, her ninth of the season, after she gave up four earned runs on 12 hits - she struck out four hitters and did not walk a batter. BSU scored the two runs on four hits and had only one error compared to UND’s two.

The Beavers drop to 0-13 on the year with both games being of the non-conference variety. The winless start is the worst since the 1985 team went 0-22 overall, which was part of the longest reported skid of 27 games. Overall, the Beavers have dropped 15 straight dating back to last season, the longest since a 16-game losing streak in 1986.

The Beavers will host North Dakota, Monday, April 12 for their 2004 home opener. First pitch is thrown at 3:00 p.m. from the BSU Softball Field.