Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Megan Cull fires in a pitch during their NSIC Tournament game against Augustana University on Saturday morning in Sioux Falls. The Mustangs’ postseason run came to an end on the tournament’s final day, with SMSU finishing in the top four of the bracket.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team had to make a late run in the final week of the regular season just to earn a spot in the NSIC Tournament. What they did next helped make that run even more special.

Coming in as the No. 10 seed, the Mustangs knocked off No. 7 Minnesota State University, Mankato with a thrilling 4-3 victory to start the tournament before falling in the next round to the No. 1 seed and eventual tournament champion Winona State. SMSU would then take out No. 4 seed St. Cloud State University and No. 8 seed Concordia-St. Paul on Friday to cement a spot amongst the final four teams, joining the Warriors, No. 2 Augustana University and No. 3 seed University of Minnesota Duluth.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their postseason run and season would come to a close on Saturday morning, as Augustana used a string of big offensive innings to earn a 14-1 victory in five innings over SMSU.

Mustangs coach Jamie Dunn said she’s extremely proud of her team for their effort and that the loss on Saturday shouldn’t overshadow what they were able to accomplish at the tournament.

“It takes a lot of energy and a lot of things to go your way to make it to the final day; I mean, this is championship Saturday and SMSU hasn’t been here for awhile. So for us to come in as the No. 10 seed and to be able to have a chance to play the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds; like I told the team, in my mind we’re one of the four best teams in the conference because everybody else is home,” Dunn said. “We didn’t really even talk about this loss because that’s not a reflection of what we’ve done here this weekend and a lot of games this season. We had a lot of close games where if the ball bounces differently, we come out with a win. They just need to be proud of everything they accomplished and to keep their heads up and walk out with confidence knowing that we play the game the right way, do the right things and it was a great run.”

The Mustangs looked to maintain their momentum following a pair of well-played wins to keep their season alive in the consolation bracket. SMSU would go up against the Vikings, who also looked to keep their season going with a win.

It was SMSU who got out to a quick start in the top of the first, as Emma Grote connected for a single before advancing on a sacrifice bunt by Abbie Decker and later coming home on a Bailey Johnson single to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead.

But that would be all SMSU got against Augustana, as the Vikings struck big over the next three innings. In the bottom of the second, AU would get three consecutive singles to start the inning to plate their first run before getting two more across on a bases-loaded single. The Vikings would later get another run on an RBI single to take a 4-1 lead.

Augustana then struck for three more runs in the next inning, getting a one-out solo homer before two more baserunners came across on a double to extend the lead to 7-1.

After SMSU went down in order in the top of the fourth, the Vikings broke out the bats in the bottom of the frame. Augustana would get a pair of singles before reaching on an error to load the bases with nobody out. After a walk brought in a run, the Vikings connected on a single that plated two more to make it 10-1. Augustana then would load the bases again and would capitalize on a fielder’s choice to score another run before the Vikings got a two-run double and an RBI single to bring it to the 14-1 final.

Grote, Johnson, Kali Tomlinson, Kaylee Hentges and Madison Krog led the way for the Mustangs offensively with a hit apiece.

Megan Cull took the start in the circle for SMSU, going 2.1 innings while giving up six runs on eight hits.

The Mustangs finished the season with a record of 18-26. SMSU went 3-2 in the tournament and defeated three Top 10 region teams, all of which had 30 or more wins on the season.

Dunn said her team just continued to fight and believe in themselves and was pleased with their commitment to stepping into roles and played positions they were uncomfortable with to make the run a reality.

“It says a lot about what these young ladies have done this year. They just kept fighting and hung in there; we had some injuries that we had to battle through not to mention just having a small roster to start with,” Dunn said. “We had to ask some kids to play positions they were unfamiliar with and they just hung in there and we told them they have a lot of potential and if we can just get it to click, you want to peak at the right time and I think we peaked at the right time. I’m just really proud of their commitment to keep going and play their best softball at the end.”

Saturday was also the final game for the Mustangs’ lone senior in Mackenzie Clouse. The veteran catcher wrapped up her final season with a batting average of .291 and tied the team lead in doubles with 11.

Dunn said they’re going to miss Clouse and what she brought to the program but added she is excited to see what the young wave of players on the roster can bring to the table next season as SMSU looks to return to the tournament next year.

“We’re just losing one senior in Mackenzie Clouse; she’s played in a lot of innings for us, been a leader for us in a lot of different ways and we’re definitely going to miss her,” Dunn said. “But that’s just the nature of being a college softball program is you just get the next group ready. For our young kids to come and experience this; we have a pretty big sophomore class, we’ll be graduating a big class next year but we have a great group of freshmen coming in so you have all of these returners who understand that if we can get to the conference tournament we can play our best softball.”

Dunn said their biggest takeaway will be putting in the work before the tournament and aim for a even higher seed and hopes this year’s run will be used as motivation.

“Last year was the first year we hadn’t won at least one game at the conference tournament. To have tournament experience it kind of drives them all season long to make the tournament; that’s our goal. My challenge to them is we need to put this work in prior to the tournament, let’s shoot for a four or five seed,” Dunn said. “We finished in the top four and were really close to making it to Saturday two years ago; they’re just so close. It’s just getting them to believe and just see what we see, and then hopefully doing that a little bit earlier so I’m hoping this experience will motivate them to carry that confidence into the fall and then next spring.”