SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 25 St. Cloud State Softball (46-12, 26-4 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) advanced to its first-ever NSIC Tournament Championship game with a 7-5 victory over Wayne State (42-14, 21-9 NSIC) on Friday afternoon at Bowden Field (Augustana) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The No. 2 seed Huskies defeated the third seeded Wildcats in the semifinals for their 13^th consecutive victory and 46^th win of the season which ties the single season program record.
 
WSC took a 2-0 lead in the first half inning with a pair of RBI-singles, before the Huskies responded in a big way, scoring six two-out runs in the bottom of the third. The first two runs were back-to-back walks with the bases loaded drawn by sophomore infielder Grace Dahmen (Jordan, Minn.) and redshirt sophomore utility Kaylee Collins (Lakeville, Minn.). In the ensuing two at-bats, junior outfielder Hannah Harms (Bartlett, Ill.) hit a two-RBI single and junior outfielder Bree Beck (Lakeville, Minn.) hit a two-RBI double to make it 6-2 after three.
 
The Wildcats cut their deficit to one in the top of the sixth after scoring runs in three consecutive at-bats before SCSU got an insurance run in the home half to make it 7-5. Wayne State went three up, three down in the seventh and the Huskies clinched its first-ever NSIC Tournament Semifinals win.
 
TOP HUSKIES

• Beck - 2-2, 2B, 2 RBIs
• Harms - 1-3, 2 RBIs
• Junior infielder Kennedy Palmer (Ankeny, Iowa) - 1-1
• Collins - 1-2, 2B
• Redshirt junior infielder Grace Frechette (Lakeville, Minn.)  - 1-2
• Senior pitcher Macey Clark (Winneconne, Wis.) - W (22-5), 4 IP, 5 K, 0 BB 

NOTABLES

• SCSU improved to 27-19 all-time against Wayne State, 2-1 against WSC this season and 1-1 against the Wildcats in NSIC Tournament games.
• The Huskies moved to 16-18 (.471) all-time in NSIC Tournament games and picked up first-ever semifinals win and improved to 3-2 in the single elimination format (since 2024).
• SCSU's 46 wins are tied with the 2003 team for the most in a season in program history.
• The Huskies won their 13^th straight game which is tied for the second longest win streak in program history (also done in 1990, 1991 and 2019).
• SCSU improved to 17-5 in neutral site games this season.
• The Huskies allowed 5+ runs for just the sixth time this season.
• Beck hit her fifth double of the season and second of the tournament. It was her second multi hit game and first multi-RBI game of the season. She is on a five game on-base streak.
• Harms recorded her fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
• Palmer is on a six-game hit streak and a six-game on-base streak which are both season bests.
• Collins hit her 11^th double of the season which is tied for the fourth most on the team this season. She is on a nine-game hitting streak and 12-game on-base streak which are both season bests.
• Frechette is on a seven-game on-base streak.
• Clark earned her team-leading 22^nd win of the season and surpassed 170 innings pitched and 150 strikeouts.
• Junior infielder Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) drew a walk to extend her on-base streak to 17 games, which is tied for the longest by any Husky this season.
• Junior catcher/infielder Bethany Weiss (Forest Lake, Minn.) recorded a hit to extend her on-base streak to a season-high 13 games. 

UP NEXT
The Huskies will play in their first-ever NSIC Tournament Championship game against No. 5 seed Augustana (29-26, 19-11 NSIC) at noon on Saturday at Bowden Field. Links to each coverage option can be found on the SCSU Softball game day central or schedule page.
 
NSIC Softball Tournament Homepage