Despite loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and trailing by two runs, the University of St. Thomas softball team fell 5-3 to University of North Dakota Sunday at South Field.
The Tommies (12-29, 7-8 Summit League) recognized senior day after the game, celebrating the first graduating class after the transition to Division I. The roster consists of four seniors: third baseman Sarah Hudson, second baseman Nicole Pieper, and pitchers Kendall Hopkins and Megan Baniecke.
“It’s disappointing to lose, but it was still a good game,” Baniecke said. “I pitched my hardest; our defense was there. We just, right at the end, needed more hits.”
The Fighting Hawks (13-34, 3-12) outhit the Tommies nine to seven on the day, but Baniecke’s pitching kept things close by only allowing three runs in her six innings of play.
The Tommies had a chance to bring the game closer in the bottom of the fourth inning as they loaded the bases with two outs and first-year center fielder KK Raymond at the plate, but the team was unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
Coach Jennifer Bagley Trotter said that was one thing her team could have done better that may have led to the senior-day win.
“We had runners in scoring position in a number of different innings,” Bagley Trotter said, “and if there’s something we didn’t do fantastic today, it was finishing those innings out and getting those runs to score.”
In contrast, there were a few times when North Dakota was in a similar situation but was able to capitalize. In the third inning junior pitcher Lauren Feld crushed a triple deep into the right field corner to pull her team ahead 2-1.
Hopkins also got an opportunity to take the mound on senior day in the seventh inning. North Dakota tacked on two more in the final frame and pulled ahead by four, giving the Tommies just one chance to come out with the victory.
However, the Tommies’ offense gave the Fighting Hawks a scare in the bottom half of the seventh as Raymond and first-year shortstop Brooke Ellestad started off the inning with two singles. With just two outs to spare, sophomore first baseman Katie Goelz continued the hot-streak, driving in two runs with a single to center field.
Finally, after Baniecke got walked to load the bases and with just one out remaining, Pieper’s hit to left field was caught, giving North Dakota its lone win in the series.
Despite the loss, Bagley Trotter was proud of her seniors and the effort they have put in this season.
“I have a lot of respect for these four and how they’ve had to endure all that,” Bagley Trotter said. “They still have to show up and fight for Tommie softball and they take that legacy real seriously.”
The Tommies’ next game is a non-conference matchup against the University of Minnesota Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium in Minneapolis.
It will not be the team’s first time playing the Gophers, but this will be the Tommies’ first in-season game against Minnesota since the DI era began. The two faced off in a scrimmage last fall also at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
“The University of Minnesota is a different animal,” Bagley Trotter said. “Our biggest goal for that day is to not only enjoy that experience but to go and show them a better version of us than we showed in the fall.”
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.