Bears Rally For a Split With South Dakota

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. -- The University of Northern Colorado softball squad rallied to split a doubleheader with former North Central Conference opponent South Dakota on Sunday afternoon. South Dakota scored a 1-0 win in game one, and the Bears rallied for a 7-6 win in 10 innings in the nightcap.

The Bears moved to 1-1 on the season, while South Dakota ended their trip to Colorado with an overall record of 1-3. South Dakota dropped a pair of games on Saturday at Regis.

GAME ONE
UNC's bats were stymied in game one as South Dakota's Angela Palma pitched a gem. Palma limited the Bears to only six hits and a nary a run in winning 1-0.

UNC's Stacey Moon also pitched a fine game and gave up only three hits in taking the loss. Moon fell to 0-1 on the season but fared well at the plate as she tallied two of the Bears' six hits.

South Dakota scored the game's only run in the third inning.

GAME TWO
After a pitching dual in game one, the nightcap turned into a slugfest as the squads tallied 11 runs in the first two innings.

USD scored a single run in the first inning, but UNC answered with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 advantage. However, USD would come right back with a four-spot in the second inning to take a 5-2 lead.

UNC would answer right back with four runs of their own in the second to take a 6-5 lead.

The Bears' 6-5 lead looked like it would hold up, but a key throwing error by catcher Whitney Platten in the sixth inning with two outs allowed the Coyotes to knot the game at 6-6.

In a game where the offenses could hardly be contained, the cold weather may have taken effect. The offenses then went silent until the bottom of the 10th inning.

UNC won the game in the bottom of the 10th on a suicide-squeeze bunt single by Erika Trujillo. Trujillo put down a perfect bunt and Kelsey Dumler scooted across the plate to give the Bears a 7-6 victory.

Stephani Miller earned the win after going the distance in the pitching circle. Miller moved to 1-0 on the season and Palma took the loss. Palma dropped to 1-2 on the season.