MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University softball trailed early on in both games of its home and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opening double header.

Game 1 was shortened due to the 8-run rule, but MSU make a push in game 2.

Rachel Burdette (Jr., UTL, Temecula, Calif.) hit a 3-run home run to extend the game and Alyssa Cornejo (Jr., P/UTL, Riverside, Calif.) whacked a solo home run, but it was not enough as Augustana University swept the Beavers 8-0 (5) and 10-6 Thursday at Herb Parker Stadium.

"The more the day went on, the better we got, but you just can't get down like that," MSU head coach Bill Triplett said. "I thought we were much more patient in game 2 and got our pitch to hit."

The Beavers (11-9 overall, 0-2 NSIC) spotted Augie early leads in both games. In the first game, the Vikings (16-10, 3-1) scored four in the first and four more in the third for their eight runs. In game 2, Augie plated three in the first, four in the second and one in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.

"We can't spot other teams leads like that," Triplett said. "We have to pitch better in the first inning and give our offense a chance to get a lead. We also have to know that there are a lot of out the rest of the way and we can get runs like that too. We did that some in the second game and clawed our way back.

In game 2, the Beavers trailed 10-1 entering the bottom of the fifth. Burdette made sure it didn't end in the mercy rule with her second home run on the season and second in three games as she swatted a three-run shot to left-center field. MSU scored one on Cornejo's solo shot in the sixth and added another on a bases loaded, hit by pitch in the seventh, but stranded five runners in the last two innings.

Burdette was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Cornejo and Jordan Grant (Jr., CF, Adelanto, Calif.) also collected two hits apiece for the Beavers.

Jen Spencer worked 4 2/3 innings in the loss, while Clarissa Ramirez (Jr., P/UTL, Tucson, Ariz.) tossed 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball. In fact, Ramirez worked 4 1/3 innings over two games in relief and allowed a single hit in both for a solid day in the circle.

"She was our best pitcher today," Triplett said of Ramirez. "We aren't afraid to have her pitch against anyone and our defense is pretty good with (Cornejo) at third. We will need Clarissa to pitch like that the rest of the way for us."

MSU had a slow start in game 1, partly due to the early Augie runs, Vikings starter Carley Pickett and a lack of energy to open the game.

"It really looked like it," Triplett said about a letdown to start the game. "If you talk to our players individually, we were doing our best and were trying their best, but it really appeared that way. It was tough to get down like that."

Pickett threw a complete-game, one-hitter, limiting MSU to just an Ashley Hill (So., 1B, Mesa, Ariz.) single and didn't allow an MSU runner past second to earn the win. Cornejo gave up seven hits and eight runs in just two innings.

The Beavers have decided to not play their games against Wayne State College on Friday, instead opting to go back to the original schedule and will play host to the Wildcats – weather permitting – Saturday at noon and 2 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.