QUINIX Sport News: Beavers use experienced batting, youthful pitching to notch Senior Day sweep of Marauders

Apr. 19—BEMIDJI — Some of the Beavers’ best hitters are seniors. It was only natural that they showed up on Senior Day.

The Bemidji State softball team (19-29) capped off a four-game home stand with a doubleheader sweep of U-Mary (9-40) on Saturday, defeating the Marauders 9-1 in game one and 5-2 in game two.

“It went by so fast,” senior Mariah Stevenson said. “Honestly, it feels like I was just a freshman playing my first season. We haven’t swept in a while, so it was good to get two wins. And on Senior Day, it just makes it even better, more bittersweet.”

Stevenson notched a pair of runs, a hit, a walk and an RBI in game one.

Fellow senior Alexa Christenson had a standout afternoon as well. She went 3 for 4 at the plate in game one, reaching home twice and tallying an RBI. In game two, Christenson earned four hits in four at-bats.

Yet another stellar batting performance from a senior came courtesy of Molly Houts, who secured four hits and five RBIs through both games.

“I think we were definitely adjusting to the different pitchers well,” Stevenson said. “Everyone throws different pitches, so I think we were doing that well today and just hitting when we had runners on.”

While much of Bemidji State’s batting came from its group of seniors, it was the underclassmen who took charge in the pitching circle.

“Our top four hitters are four seniors, so that’s the hard part gonna be going next year,” head coach Jordan Petersen said. “On the reverse side of it, we’re very young in the pitching circle, and that’s where we’re kind of seeing some growth there, and that’s what we need for next year in order to help make us that much better. Those pitchers will have another year underneath their belt versus right now, all of them are pretty young and don’t have that much experience.”

Sophomore Danica Sarff pitched a complete game to open the doubleheader, allowing just one run and four hits while tallying nine punchouts. Freshman Kennedy Joachim got the starting nod in game two, tossing through all seven innings for the win. She finished the day with six strikeouts and a walk, giving up eight hits and a pair of runs.

“They’ve been pitching great,” Stevenson said. “Danny’s been on fire, Kenny has been good all season, so it’s just nice to have. As hitters, your pitchers are backing you up when you’re in the field, so you kind of get a little bit more of not wiggle room, but kind of get a little bit of pressure taken off of you.”

Between the pitching performances and the batting, Saturday afternoon was one of the more complete two-game showings BSU has put together.

“We honestly just talked about it, we haven’t played a complete two games in a while,” Petersen said. “We hit well, we played defense well, we pitched well and we did it great in game one, and that’s been kind of our kryptonite. We haven’t been able to finish it in game two, and they showed up for game two just as well as game one.”

Coming off the heels of Friday’s two-game split with Minot State, the Beavers’ four-game homestand this weekend was arguably the best stretch they’ve played since the Spring Games in early March.

With the end of the regular season just over a week away, a weekend like this was essential to keep postseason hopes alive. Bemidji State is currently third from last in the conference standings, and to make it into the NSIC tournament, a team must finish in the top 10.

That means the odds are not in the Beavers’ favor. BSU has to win its last four games, Minnesota Crookston can only win once, Minnesota State Moorhead can win two (if Bemidji State sweeps them) and Sioux Falls cannot win once.

Again, it’s a long shot. However, BSU is playing with some confidence now and still has something to play for at the tail end of the season.

“It’s awesome to see (them) playing well after us not doing the best at the start of the season,” Petersen said. “It’s kind of cool to see them change that around. We have to win out from here on out, so we’ve got to get four next weekend. But again, we can still do it, so (it’s about) keeping that confidence in them.”

If the Beavers can’t pull the rabbit out of the hat in this final stretch, though, it will not have been a lost season. Petersen has seen plenty of development in this group, especially amongst the youthful pitching staff made up of three freshmen, one sophomore and a junior.

“We started off the season, we did pretty well, but that was nonconference,” Petersen said. “Then coming into conference, they’re like crap, these girls can play in the NSIC. So they worked that much harder, pitching-wise, and it’s finally showing off.”

Bemidji State 9, U-Mary 1 (F/5)

UM 100 00 — 1-4-1

BSU 102 51 — 9-10-0

WP: Sarff (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO)

LP: Johnson (3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO)

Bemidji State 5, U-Mary 2

UM 001 001 0 — 2-8-1

BSU 100 120 x — 5-11-0

WP: Joachim (7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO)

LP: Elyssa (4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO)

​

BEMIDJI — Some of the Beavers’ best hitters are seniors. It was only natural that they showed up on Senior Day.

The Bemidji State softball team (19-29) capped off a four-game home stand with a doubleheader sweep of U-Mary (9-40) on Saturday, defeating the Marauders 9-1 in game one and 5-2 in game two.

“It went by so fast,” senior Mariah Stevenson said. “Honestly, it feels like I was just a freshman playing my first season. We haven’t swept in a while, so it was good to get two wins. And on Senior Day, it just makes it even better, more bittersweet.”

Stevenson notched a pair of runs, a hit, a walk and an RBI in game one.

Fellow senior Alexa Christenson had a standout afternoon as well. She went 3 for 4 at the plate in game one, reaching home twice and tallying an RBI. In game two, Christenson earned four hits in four at-bats.

Yet another stellar batting performance from a senior came courtesy of Molly Houts, who secured four hits and five RBIs through both games.

“I think we were definitely adjusting to the different pitchers well,” Stevenson said. “Everyone throws different pitches, so I think we were doing that well today and just hitting when we had runners on.”

While much of Bemidji State’s batting came from its group of seniors, it was the underclassmen who took charge in the pitching circle.

“Our top four hitters are four seniors, so that’s the hard part gonna be going next year,” head coach Jordan Petersen said. “On the reverse side of it, we’re very young in the pitching circle, and that’s where we’re kind of seeing some growth there, and that’s what we need for next year in order to help make us that much better. Those pitchers will have another year underneath their belt versus right now, all of them are pretty young and don’t have that much experience.”

Sophomore Danica Sarff pitched a complete game to open the doubleheader, allowing just one run and four hits while tallying nine punchouts. Freshman Kennedy Joachim got the starting nod in game two, tossing through all seven innings for the win. She finished the day with six strikeouts and a walk, giving up eight hits and a pair of runs.

“They’ve been pitching great,” Stevenson said. “Danny’s been on fire, Kenny has been good all season, so it’s just nice to have. As hitters, your pitchers are backing you up when you’re in the field, so you kind of get a little bit more of not wiggle room, but kind of get a little bit of pressure taken off of you.”

Between the pitching performances and the batting, Saturday afternoon was one of the more complete two-game showings BSU has put together.

“We honestly just talked about it, we haven’t played a complete two games in a while,” Petersen said. “We hit well, we played defense well, we pitched well and we did it great in game one, and that’s been kind of our kryptonite. We haven’t been able to finish it in game two, and they showed up for game two just as well as game one.”

Coming off the heels of Friday’s two-game split with Minot State, the Beavers’ four-game homestand this weekend was arguably the best stretch they’ve played since the Spring Games in early March.

With the end of the regular season just over a week away, a weekend like this was essential to keep postseason hopes alive. Bemidji State is currently third from last in the conference standings, and to make it into the NSIC tournament, a team must finish in the top 10.

That means the odds are not in the Beavers’ favor. BSU has to win its last four games, Minnesota Crookston can only win once, Minnesota State Moorhead can win two (if Bemidji State sweeps them) and Sioux Falls cannot win once.

Again, it’s a long shot. However, BSU is playing with some confidence now and still has something to play for at the tail end of the season.

“It’s awesome to see (them) playing well after us not doing the best at the start of the season,” Petersen said. “It’s kind of cool to see them change that around. We have to win out from here on out, so we’ve got to get four next weekend. But again, we can still do it, so (it’s about) keeping that confidence in them.”

If the Beavers can’t pull the rabbit out of the hat in this final stretch, though, it will not have been a lost season. Petersen has seen plenty of development in this group, especially amongst the youthful pitching staff made up of three freshmen, one sophomore and a junior.

“We started off the season, we did pretty well, but that was nonconference,” Petersen said. “Then coming into conference, they’re like crap, these girls can play in the NSIC. So they worked that much harder, pitching-wise, and it’s finally showing off.”

Bemidji State 9, U-Mary 1 (F/5)

UM 100 00 – 1-4-1

BSU 102 51 – 9-10-0

WP: Sarff (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO)

LP: Johnson (3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO)

Bemidji State 5, U-Mary 2

UM 001 001 0 – 2-8-1

BSU 100 120 x – 5-11-0

WP: Joachim (7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO)

LP: Elyssa (4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO)