SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – Valley City State University softball closes its weekend at the ASB Sports Complex Classic hosted by Dordt University with a pair of wins, taking down Waldorf 16-7 and College of Saint Mary 3-1.

The Vikings close the weekend with a 4-4 overall record after going 3-1 in the ASB Sports Complex Classic. Looking forward, the Vikings will return to ASB Sports Complex one more time before their trip to the Tucson Invitational Games.

With the first pitch at 9:00 a.m. this morning, the Vikings promptly jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. VCSU's leadoff batter, Pascale Kihn, earned a walk. Madden Bogenreif singled with Kylee Banerd following with another walk to load the bases. Kennadi Stone then put the Vikings on the board, scoring two RBIs with a single to left field. Base runners then advanced on a passed ball, and Jenna Decker doubled, bringing home two more runs. Later, with runners on first and third, the Vikings sent Anna Kowalyk, giving time for Decker to steal home. The Vikings would close the first inning 5-0.

In the second inning, the Vikings would tally three more runs to capture an 8-0 lead. Banerd doubled to score Kihn, who was walked once again. Decker followed that up with a one RBI single. Reagan Mieras then singled to left to bring Decker home, giving the Vikings an 8-0 lead. Waldorf rallied in the bottom of the second to score four, capitalizing on bases loaded situation.

Later in the fourth, the Vikings once again added to their lead, scoring two from a Decker single and another one from a single from Olivia Kalbus. Avery Kuklinski hit a sacrifice fly to score one more. Kihn then doubled to make the Viking lead 13-4. Waldorf then scored three of their own make the score 13-7 going into the fifth. The Vikings would score three more runs later in the sixth and seventh, closing the game 16-7 off a Kihn single, a Hadley Gerle single, and a Kalbus double.

The Vikings were led by Jenna Decker, who was 3-for-4 with five RBIs and one walk. Pascale Kihn was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two walks.

College of Saint Mary threatened early in the top of the first inning when a double, a single, and a walk led to the bases loaded.  Their rally stalled as Valley City State's Maddy Hazelton recorded two strikeouts to escape the inning. Both teams were kept scoreless through the first two innings, with pitchers trading strikeouts and limiting baserunners. CSM continued to struggle at the plate, going down in order in the third and fourth innings.

Valley City State broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Kalbus walked, advanced on a wild pitch, and came home on a Kihn RBI single. The Vikings added to their lead in the sixth, using patience and small ball to their advantage. Walks by Kuklinski and Stone, followed by a sacrifice fly from Mieras and an RBI single by Ashlyn Schumache, pushed the lead to 3–0.

CSM finally responded in the top of the seventh. After a walk and a single put runners on. They later scored on an RBI single to bring home the lead baserunner. However, Valley City State closed out the inning without further damage, preserving the two-run victory behind steady pitching and timely hitting.

Hitting, the Vikings were led by Pascale Kihn, going 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Reagan Mieras going 1-for-1. Jenna Decker was 3-for-3 in the match.

UP NEXT: The Vikings will head back to Sioux Center, Iowa, to play four games next weekend. Their first game is set at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, against Morningside University.