VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSU Sports Information) – The Valley City State University softball team swept the first two games in their four-game home stand against Dakota State University on Saturday, March 28. The Vikings improve their record to 14-13 overall and 4-2 in Frontier Conference games. DaSU is now 7-17 overall and 1-5 in Frontier Conference games.
The Vikings delivered a complete performance on both sides of the ball in a 4-0 shutout over Dakota State. The Trojans threatened early in the first inning, advancing runners to second and third, but Vikings worked out of the jam after Maddy Hazelton delivered a strikeout and a lineout to first. From there, the Vikings settled in defensively, retiring Dakota State in order in the second to shift momentum.
The Vikings broke through in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a powerful swing from Kylee Banerd, who launched a solo home run to center field to open the scoring. Jenna Decker followed with a triple, and Reagan Mieras brought her home on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 2-0. VCSU continued to apply pressure later in the game, capitalizing on Dakota State miscues in the fifth inning. Ahleeya Nicola reached on an error and came around to score on Avery Kuklinski’s single, while Kuklinski later scored on a sacrifice fly from Madden Bogenreif to push the lead to 4-0.
The Vikings worked out of multiple scoring threats, including a runner stranded at third in the fourth and a double play in the fifth that erased a potential rally. Closing out the game with a clean seventh inning, VCSU sealed the shutout win.
Maddy Hazelton pitched all seven innings allowing no runs, and two hits while delivering six strikeouts earning the win moving to 7-8 on the season. The Trojan’s Makenna McGee was credited the loss after pitching five innings yielding five runs. On offense the Vikings were led by Kylee Banerd who hit 2/3 with a home run.
In game two, the Vikings came from behind to secure a 5-4 win completing the sweep of the double header. The Trojans struck first in the opening inning, using a two-run home run from Emmalynn Rabe to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead. Dakota State added another run in the fourth on a solo shot from Alexis Resseguie, putting VCSU in a 3-0 hole midway through the game.
The Vikings responded in the bottom of the fourth with a momentum-shifting inning. Madden Bogenreif and Kennadi Stone each singled putting runners on base, and Kylee Banerd followed with another base hit to load the bases. Jenna Decker brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly. Reagan Mieras delivered the big swing with a two-run double to center field, tying the game at 3-3.
VCSU carried that momentum into the fifth inning and took its first lead of the game. Pascale Kihn worked a walk to get on base, and Bogenreif with her second hit of the game sent a two-run home run to center field to give the Vikings a 5-3 advantage.
Dakota State made one final push in the seventh, scoring a run on an RBI single from Alexia Hayden and putting the tying run on base. However, VCSU’s Maddy Hazelton held firm under pressure, recording two clutch strikeouts to end the game and secure her second save of the year.
Vikings Cooper Klaahsen was credited the win pitching 2.2 innings with four strikeouts. Maddy Hazelton was credited the save after closing in the seventh with two strikeouts. Dakota State’s Grace Kitterman was credited the loss after a 2.2 inning performance yielding the Vikings game winning runs. Madden Bogenreif was credited the win going 2/3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBIs. Kennadi Stone was 2/2 with a double. Reagan Mieras was 2/3 with two RBIs.
Gametime for game three of the series is Sunday at 12:00 PM. Pregame will begin around 11:45 AM on NewsDakota.com and the VCSU Athletics YouTube page. You can watch the games in the window below.