VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUVikings.com) – The Valley City State University softball team made Senior Day a memorable one for its four seniors. Playing their first and only home games of the season, the Vikings swept a doubleheader from Mayville State University on Saturday to clinch the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament.
Emily Smith delivered a go-ahead 2-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning in game one, propelling VCSU to a 5-4 victory. In game two, VCSU pounded out 15 hits en route to a 7-2 victory.
Valley City State improves to 35-10 overall and 18-5 in the North Star Athletic Association. The Vikings have locked up the No. 2 seed for next weekend’s NSAA Tournament in Aberdeen, S.D. University of Jamestown will be the top seed. Mayville State drops to 12-25 overall and 8-16 in conference play.
Up next: The Vikings and Comets close out the regular season on Sunday with another conference doubleheader at Mayville State. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
VCSU 5, Mayville State 4
Emily Smith pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings in relief and then delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Trailing 4-3 in the sixth, the Vikings put together a two-out rally to take the lead. Joelle Aiello and Kelsey Hamade had back-to-back two-out singles to put runners on first and second, and then Smith drilled a double to the left-center gap to score both and give the Vikings a 5-4 lead. Smith then set the Comets down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, including the final two on strikeouts.
Haley Butterfield started in the circle for VCSU and went 3 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and four runs. Smith came on in fourth inning and pitched out of a jam to keep the Vikings within one run. She proceeded to pitch 3 2/3 hitless innings to close out the game and pick up the win, walking only one and striking out four.
Valley City State scored three runs in the second inning to build an early 3-0 lead. Brittney Manthie, Tatum Lundin and Joelle Aiello all had RBI singles in the inning. Mayville State got one run back in the third inning and then took a 4-3 lead with three runs in the top of the fourth – two of which scored on Shaye Kemball’s bases-loaded single to right field.
Valley City State outhit the Comets 9-4 in the game. Aiello had two hits for VCSU while seven other Vikings each had one hit. Kemball led the Comets with a pair of hits. Bailey Nordquist and AJ Tinoco each had a hit as well.
Kemball pitched a complete game for Mayville State, allowing nine hits and five runs – three earned runs – in her six innings of work. She did not walk anyone and struck out five.
VCSU 7, Mayville State 2
The Viking offense pounded out 15 hits in game two as they earned the sweep with a 7-2 victory.
Tied 1-1 in the second inning, the Vikings took the lead for good with a pair of runs on Lundin’s RBI triple and Kadie Anderson’s RBI single. The Vikings tacked on two more runs in the fourth and then Kelli Moore drove in VCSU’s final two runs with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
Kathleen Gallais started in the circle for VCSU and pitched the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs. She walked four and struck out three. Smith came on in relief again and pitched the final 3 2/3 innings for the win, giving up four hits and no runs while striking out four.
Four Vikings had multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4, three-RBI performance by Kelli Moore. Joelle Aiello went 3-for-4 and scored two runs, and both Emily Smith and Jayme Menard had a pair of hits.
Megan Rabe led the Comet offense by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Shaye Kemball and Jade Ledochowski each had a pair of hits. Haley Kravetz started for Mayville State and went the distance in the circle, giving up 15 hits and seven runs.