Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Athena Golling winds up a pitch during game two of their doubleheader against the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Mustangs defeated the Bulldogs 4-2 in the opener but fell 4-1 in the nightcap to earn the split.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team continued its homestand on Monday afternoon with a tough task in front of them, as the University of Minnesota Duluth came in riding an 11-game win streak. The Mustangs were able to snap that streak with a wire-to-wire 4-2 victory in the opener but the Bulldogs held on 4-1 in the nightcap to earn a split at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.

In the opener, neither team could find scoring to start the game before SMSU was able to strike first in the bottom half of the second. After a Mackenzie Clouse flyout, Kaylee Hentges drew a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch to put a runner in scoring position with one out. Madison Krog then reached on another walk before Alex Reak brought in the game’s first run on a bunt to give the Mustangs a quick 1-0 lead.

In the next inning, SMSU was able to get some runners on the basepaths thanks to a single from Bailey Johnson and a walk from Kali Tomlinson. Hentges then stepped up and drilled a double to bring in Johnson before Krog connected on a two-run single to make it a 4-0 lead for the Mustangs.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth by loading the bases before a pair of runs came across on an SMSU error to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Neither team would find scoring the rest of the way, as SMSU starter Megan Cull shut down UMD to earn the victory.

Cull had another strong outing for the Mustangs, tossing her fourth complete game of the season while allowing just five hits. On Sunday afternoon, Cull set a career-high in strikeouts with 10. It didn’t take long for the sophomore pitcher to break it, as she retired 11 batters via strikeout on Monday.

Johnson led the way offensively for SMSU, picking up a pair of hits in the win.

The nightcap saw the Bulldogs strike first right away, as UMD got a run across in the top of the opening inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Mustangs would answer back, though, in the bottom of the second as Hentges delivered the equalizer with a solo shot to make it a 1-1 game.

After a scoreless third, the Bulldogs reached on another error before an RBI double gave UMD the lead back at 2-1 in the fourth.

Both teams wouldn’t find the scoreboard over the next few innings as the game remained 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh. UMD would open the final frame with three consecutive bunts to put runners in scoring position before a two-run single from Jordyn Thomas with two outs pushed the Bulldogs’ advantage to 4-1 and UMD would hold on for the three-run victory to earn the doubleheader split.

Athena Golling took the loss for SMSU in the circle, but had a strong performance, as the junior allowed just four runs on six hits while matching her teammate Cull in strikeouts with a career-high 11.

SMSU coach Jamie Dunn said she was extremely pleased with the pitching performances from her team and was happy with their offensive effort in the opener.

“We had excellent pitching performances. Both Megan and Athena had 11 strikeouts apiece and like I told them in the postgame, when you’re doing a lot of the work and you’re only having your defense get 10 outs, it makes it pretty easy,” Dunn said. “Offensively we executed in the first game and that was the difference; we scored runs when we needed to and our defense was a lot better. I was just really pleased with our performance in the first game; that was a big win for us and that was their pitchers only third loss on the season. That’s the type of potential that the team has. We can play up to that level but we can also from time to time don’t play very well but you take it and try and build on it for Wednesday.”

Hentges led the way offensively for SMSU in the second game, going 2 for 3.

Both Cull and Golling tossed complete-game efforts, with Cull throwing 126 pitches (88 for strikes) while Golling threw 135 pitches (90 for strikes).

Dunn said their key was getting ahead in the count with first pitch strikes and being able to hit their spots.

“When you hit your spots, that helps. That’s why we call pitches because we have an idea of what the hitter is going to do and what their swing looks like,” Dunn said. “I think both of them did a really good job of getting first pitch strikes so for us that was the key. They did a good job of getting ahead of their batter and hitting their spots.”

SMSU (11-22) will continue its homestand with a doubleheader against Wayne State College on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Schwan Regional Event Center. Dunn said this is a key stretch for them this week as they head towards the end of the regular season with a handful of teams vying for conference position.

“We’ve got a lot of really big games coming up this week. We’re still in it, and it’s going to be tight and come down to the end; I think there are about five or six teams all within a game of each other,” Dunn said. “It’ll be interesting if we can take care of business but we can only control what we can control, so if we play well we have a chance to win out but also those teams are competing for a spot in the conference tournament.”