MOORHEAD, Minn. - Serving as the precursor to their longest trip of the year, the University of Mary Softball team paid a visit to Minnesota State University Moorhead today, with U-Mary looking to improve their standing in the Northern Sun.
 
The Marauders (18-21, 7-6 NSIC) cruised to an easy 5-1 victory in the first game over the Dragons (11-15, 1-11 NSIC), but it came down to the wire in the second game as U-Mary held on for the 4-3 win and earned the midweek sweep over MSU Moorhead.
 
Alana Norman struck early in the first game as she led off the top of the third inning with a single down the left field line. She got to second on a groundball from Nena Dudley and Taylor Mendez, fresh off her NSIC Player of the Week recognition, brought her home with a single to center field that put the Marauders up 1-0 on the Dragons.
 
MSU Moorhead was unable to respond thanks to four stellar innings from Dudley in the circle, and U-Mary added to their lead in the top of the fifth by capitalizing on a few miscues from the Dragons.
 
Francine Villalobos reached first base after getting hit by a pitch and she was sure to punish the Dragons for their mistake by stealing second and third base in consecutive pitches. Norman brought her in with a triple that was laced over the left fielder's head and gave the Marauders a 2-0 lead.
 
U-Mary wasn't done yet as Dudley and Mendez both reached on errors in their respective at bats and allowed Norman to score. Dudley was thrown out on a double steal attempt but Mendez was able to advance on the play. Julissa Perales got in on the action with a single to left field and advanced to second on a throw to the plate that couldn't stop Mendez from scoring and Perales eventually scored on a single to left field from Kristin Ormsby.  By the time the Marauders were done they were looking at a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.
 
The Dragons finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Brittany York beat out the throw from the shortstop, but the throw was errant anyways and allowed Hannah Klug to score to cut the Marauder lead down to 5-1.
 
That was all MSU Moorhead could manage as the Marauder bullpen picked up the rest as MeLanie Rodriguez and Erin Keen pitched three solid innings and U-Mary took the first game 5-1.
 
Norman finished the first game with three hits, two singles and a triple, to go with one RBI and two runs scored.
 
Mendez's average continues to climb as she got two hits, both singles, with one RBI and one run scored.
 
Dudley got a hit in the game as well but was more effective in the circle as she got five strikeouts in four innings pitched, with only one walk given up and one hit.
 
U-Mary still had one more game to play on the day and they made sure of scoring the first run of the game per the norm.
 
Norman led off the top of the first inning with a single to the third baseman but was thrown out on a stolen base attempt. Dudley was sure to pick her up with a single to left field and Mendez brought her in with a double to left field and put the Marauders on top at 1-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
 
U-Mary added to their lead in the top of the second as Colleen Crutchfield was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Demaree Rodriguez. Villalobos drew a two out walk and Norman singled to the shortstop as she beat out the throw to load the bases for Dudley. Nena responded with a single to left field that scored Crutchfield but Villalobos was thrown out trying to advance to home. In the meantime, however, U-Mary had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the second and Dudley, who got the start in the circle for the second game, brought the heat on the Dragons.
 
MSU Moorhead couldn't find an answer for The Whip as Dudley struck out the side in the bottom of the second to pad her team-leading 162 strikeouts on the season. U-Mary couldn't add to their lead, though, as the game started to turn into a pitcher's duel for both sides.
 
The Marauders got some insurance runs in the top of the fourth when Crutchfield drew a one-out walk and Demaree reached on an error by the shortstop. Villalobos was able to move the runners up on a sacrifice bunt and Norman did her job with a two-out RBI single back up the middle that scored Crutchfield and Keen, who was running for Rodriguez, as U-Mary was looking at a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
Dudley kept the Dragons in check by holding them scoreless through four innings before she was removed and MeLanie Rodriguez came into the game in relief to put the Marauders closer to the sweep.
 
MSU Moorhead got some runs back in the bottom of the sixth when Taylor Huss scored on a Kristy Bruni single to left field, and Lauren Meeker sent a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Klug.
 
The Marauders couldn't get anymore insurance runs in the top of the seventh and Keen came into the game as a pitcher in the bottom of the fifth, looking for her first save of the season.
 
The Dragons provided a scare for U-Mary as Carly Williamson drew a lead off walk and Mollie Annen advanced her to second on a single through the left side. Jill Fox moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt and the pressure was on Keen with one out and the tying run at second base. Annen scored on a wild pitch while Williamson advanced up to third base to cut the Marauder lead down to 4-3 with the tying run only 60 feet away.
 
Keen responded by forcing the next batter to groundout to third base as Crutchfield picked the grounder up and looked back the runner at third. The next batter sent a groundball right back to Keen and she had to scramble to get the final out of the game. Keen got her composure, and tossed the ball over to first base to secure the second win of the day for U-Mary with the score final at 4-3.
 
Norman followed up her performance from the first game with three more hits in the second game, all singles. She also got two RBI in the game for U-Mary.
 
Dudley got two hits as well, both singles, along with one RBI and one run scored. In the circle, she finished with six strikeouts, one walk, and only one hit given up in four innings pitched.
 
Keen got the save as her solid seventh inning secured the win for the Marauders.
 
U-Mary will have a schedule change starting tomorrow. With inclement weather approaching, the doubleheader against Upper Iowa University will be moved up to Friday, April 10, starting at 2 PM. The Marauders are still scheduled to take on Winona State University on Saturday, April 11, starting at 1 PM.
 
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