University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, March 30
Fargo, N.D. / Tharaldson Park
12:00 p.m. Central
4
at
13
North Dakota State
Players Mentioned
C/UT
/ Softball
C/UT
/ SoftballP/UT
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF/SS
/ Softball
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Comeback bid comes up short despite Miller grand slam
3/30/2024 5:31:00 PM | Softball
The Tommies lost both ends of their doubleheader with North Dakota State, but nearly erased an 11-run deficit in game two.
FARGO, N.D. – The University of St. Thomas Softball team (6-28, 2-4 Summit League) dropped both game two and game three of their conference series with North Dakota State (15-23, 3-3), falling 13-4 in five innings in their first game of the day and 12-9 in their second.
The Toms fell behind 12-1 after two innings during the final game of the series but mounted an eight-run comeback that came up three runs short. Kenzie Miller had the single biggest moment of the game with a grand slam to cut the Bison lead in half from eight to four.
GAME ONE RECAP
The North Dakota State Bison batted around in the first inning and scored four runs on six hits and one Tommie error. St. Thomas did answer back with three runs in the top of the second before surrendering two in the bottom half of the frame to fall down 6-3.
The Toms' best offensive inning began with a Morgan Klein solo home run, her third of the season. Cassidy Carby followed the big fly up with a single down the right field line. Kameron Monson pushed Carby to second with a seven pitch walk but was retired on a fielder's choice that put Carby on third and Kenzie Miller on first with one out. Miller stole second during Laken Lienhard's at-bat that concluded in an RBI single.
NDSU made a pitching change with Kaitlyn Raymond awaiting her second at-bat of the contest. Once the junior got up to the plate, she delivered with an RBI double off the right field wall. Avery Wukawitz walked the bases loaded but back-to-back pop-outs put an end to the Tommies' second inning rally.
The Bison added three runs in the third and four more in the bottom of the fourth after Avery Wukawitz bunted a trouble ball that allowed Raymond to come around and score from first base.
The Tommies got two runners on base in the top of the fifth inning via walks but could not bring the game to within seven runs.
Kaitlyn Raymond went 3-3 with two doubles, a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Cassidy Carby was the only other Tommie with a multi-hit game, she was 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Wukawitz and Kenzie Miller also stole a bag.
GAME TWO RECAP
Once again, the Bison opened up a large lead on the visiting Purple in game two of the doubleheader of Saturday in Fargo. This time they batted around and scored seven runs on five hits in the opening frame.
Cassidy Carby answered with a two-out solo home run in the top of the second that skied over the center field scoreboard to set the score at 7-1. NDSU hit back for five runs on five hits and two Tommie errors for an 11-run lead. That would be the last scoring that the Bison would do.
Ella Cook gave her team a chance after that five-run second with four consecutive perfect innings. She faced the minimum 12 batters from the third inning on.
With a renewed and determined spirit the Tommies attempted to mount an unlikely comeback. They went on to score seven runs in the top of the third and one in the fourth. They then stranded two runners in the top of the seventh in falling to the Bison 12-9.
Kaitlyn Raymond got that seven-run third inning started with a one-out walk. Avery Wukawitz, Ella Cook, and Abbi Stierlen each followed suit with walks of their own. Wukawitz was retired at home on a fielder's choice before Carby once again came through, this time with a two-RBI double.
Maddie Grad drew the Tom's fifth walk of the inning to reload the bases as Kenzie Miller stepped up to the plate. The senior outfielder took the first pitch of the at-bat before slamming the 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to cut Bison lead from eight to four with one swing of the bat. The Toms scored seven on just two hits and left no one on base in the inning and found themselves down 12-8.
Raymond was once again the offensive catalyst in the one-run fourth inning with a leadoff double. She stole third during Avery Wukawitz's at-bat before scoring on a one-out Ella Cook single to center field. Unfortunately, that was the final run of the contest for St. Thomas.
They were sent down in order in the fifth and sixth innings and left the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh.
Cassidy Carby was the only Tommie with a multi-hit game as she went 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI. Raymond's steal of third was her eighth of the season.
UP NEXT
The Tommies finally play softball at South Field in St. Paul next weekend April 6-7 against the first place and reigning Summit League tournament champion Omaha Mavericks. They play two games on Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. followed by the final game on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
The Toms fell behind 12-1 after two innings during the final game of the series but mounted an eight-run comeback that came up three runs short. Kenzie Miller had the single biggest moment of the game with a grand slam to cut the Bison lead in half from eight to four.
GAME ONE RECAP
The North Dakota State Bison batted around in the first inning and scored four runs on six hits and one Tommie error. St. Thomas did answer back with three runs in the top of the second before surrendering two in the bottom half of the frame to fall down 6-3.
The Toms' best offensive inning began with a Morgan Klein solo home run, her third of the season. Cassidy Carby followed the big fly up with a single down the right field line. Kameron Monson pushed Carby to second with a seven pitch walk but was retired on a fielder's choice that put Carby on third and Kenzie Miller on first with one out. Miller stole second during Laken Lienhard's at-bat that concluded in an RBI single.
NDSU made a pitching change with Kaitlyn Raymond awaiting her second at-bat of the contest. Once the junior got up to the plate, she delivered with an RBI double off the right field wall. Avery Wukawitz walked the bases loaded but back-to-back pop-outs put an end to the Tommies' second inning rally.
The Bison added three runs in the third and four more in the bottom of the fourth after Avery Wukawitz bunted a trouble ball that allowed Raymond to come around and score from first base.
The Tommies got two runners on base in the top of the fifth inning via walks but could not bring the game to within seven runs.
Kaitlyn Raymond went 3-3 with two doubles, a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Cassidy Carby was the only other Tommie with a multi-hit game, she was 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Wukawitz and Kenzie Miller also stole a bag.
GAME TWO RECAP
Once again, the Bison opened up a large lead on the visiting Purple in game two of the doubleheader of Saturday in Fargo. This time they batted around and scored seven runs on five hits in the opening frame.
Cassidy Carby answered with a two-out solo home run in the top of the second that skied over the center field scoreboard to set the score at 7-1. NDSU hit back for five runs on five hits and two Tommie errors for an 11-run lead. That would be the last scoring that the Bison would do.
Ella Cook gave her team a chance after that five-run second with four consecutive perfect innings. She faced the minimum 12 batters from the third inning on.
With a renewed and determined spirit the Tommies attempted to mount an unlikely comeback. They went on to score seven runs in the top of the third and one in the fourth. They then stranded two runners in the top of the seventh in falling to the Bison 12-9.
Kaitlyn Raymond got that seven-run third inning started with a one-out walk. Avery Wukawitz, Ella Cook, and Abbi Stierlen each followed suit with walks of their own. Wukawitz was retired at home on a fielder's choice before Carby once again came through, this time with a two-RBI double.
Maddie Grad drew the Tom's fifth walk of the inning to reload the bases as Kenzie Miller stepped up to the plate. The senior outfielder took the first pitch of the at-bat before slamming the 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to cut Bison lead from eight to four with one swing of the bat. The Toms scored seven on just two hits and left no one on base in the inning and found themselves down 12-8.
Raymond was once again the offensive catalyst in the one-run fourth inning with a leadoff double. She stole third during Avery Wukawitz's at-bat before scoring on a one-out Ella Cook single to center field. Unfortunately, that was the final run of the contest for St. Thomas.
They were sent down in order in the fifth and sixth innings and left the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh.
Cassidy Carby was the only Tommie with a multi-hit game as she went 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI. Raymond's steal of third was her eighth of the season.
UP NEXT
The Tommies finally play softball at South Field in St. Paul next weekend April 6-7 against the first place and reigning Summit League tournament champion Omaha Mavericks. They play two games on Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. followed by the final game on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
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