The University of St. Thomas softball team defeated the University of North Dakota 6-2 and 7-0 in a conference matchup Saturday at South Field.
The game marked the Tommies’ (12-28, 5-7 Summit League) first time in program history facing the Fighting Hawks (12-34, 2-12). The Tommies also evened their home record to 4-4 with the pair of wins.
“I think the biggest thing of today is we were able to put everything together; even when we had a mistake, we came back with a big play afterward,” coach Jennifer Bagley Trotter said. “It was good to see them come out and do what they needed to do today.”
Game one
The Tommies’ bats started game one hot, picking up 11 hits by six different players. Junior left fielder CJ Jacobson and first-year center fielder KK Raymond picked up three a piece while first-year Brooke Ellestad picked up two herself.
“I honestly thought we really showed up to be hungry and play today and go out for these wins,” Raymond said. “We really came together and we wanted this today.”
Junior pitcher Isabelle True tossed a complete game in the circle for the Tommies, allowing seven hits and picking up her second win of the season.
Despite the two runs scored, True’s team had her back on offense as the Tommies scored at least one run in each of the first four innings.
Ellestad and Raymond combined for five hits in the first two innings on bunts and/or infield hits, helping their team pull ahead after trailing 1-0 heading into the second inning.
“Sometimes you just have to mix it up and do things differently,” Bagley Trotter said. “I was proud of (Ellestad and Raymond) for being able to execute some of that stuff.”
Game two
Jacobson seemed to be the star of the show in the second game, going 3-for-3 at the plate and crushing a third-inning home run over the right field fence.
The crowd’s cheers started before the ball even landed as Jacobson crushed it. Jacobson said her first Division I home run “felt great” right off the bat and she “knew it was gone.”
“We went in wanting to play hard on our home field, and I’m happy with how things ended up,” Jacobson said.
Despite handily winning the second game, the Tommies’ bats did not start out as hot with no St. Thomas runners reaching base in the first two innings. However, Jacobson’s home run opened the flood gates.
During the fourth inning, Jacobson snagged her second RBI of the game as her single to left field scored sophomore designated hitter Katie Goelz.
With the Tommies only up 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, they knew they needed to add a few more insurance runs to seal the win. Ellestad started off the hitting with a single to left field followed by a double down the right field line by senior third baseman Sarah Hudson. A walk for Goelz loaded the bases for first-year utility Cass Carby to score Ellestad from third.
Jacobson added her third RBI of the inning on a single to left field followed by an RBI single from senior second baseman Nicole Pieper to pull the Tommies ahead of the Fighting Hawks even further.
Despite the hitting prowess of the Tommies in the game, first-year pitcher Christina Crawford’s pitching excellence should not go without notice. Crawford pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits in the contest.
“That’s exactly what we needed from our pitchers today,” Bagley Trotter said. “We had a pretty good plan and felt confident about that.”
The Tommies take on North Dakota again at 11 a.m. Sunday at South Field. The team will celebrate its four seniors following the game.
“I’m so excited for senior day,” Raymond said. “We have really great seniors.”
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.