ABERDEEN, S.D. — What a difference a year has made for the Minnesota State Moorhead softball team, at least so far.
The Dragons defeated Doane 9-4 and Jamestown 11-8 on Saturday to sweep all four of their weekend games at Presentation Dome Tournament No. 2. The Dragons won all four of their games last week at the first Dome Tournament.
MSUM has opened the season with eight-straight wins, which matches the Dragons' entire win total from 2022 when they finished 8-36 overall.
In their first eight games in 2022, the Dragons were 2-6 and scored 12 runs while allowing 45. This year, they have scored 88 runs in their eight wins while giving up 26 runs. They have allowed three or fewer runs in five of their games and have won four by the mercy rule.
Against Jamestown, MSUM's Lizzy Davis singled in a run in the first and the Dragons scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning, with Teagan Pranchke singling in two runs and Davis, Mack Gallagher and Reece Dahl also driving in runs for a 6-1 lead.
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Jamestown tightened things up with three runs in the top of the third but Gallagher responded with a grand slam in the home half of the inning. Evey Evans doubled in another run in the fifth. Jamestown scored four runs in the seventh but the rally fell short.
Pranchke was 3-for-3 with two runs batted in and Evans was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Avery Steffen, Annika Norman and Azalya Lopez all had two hits.
Against Doane, the Dragons trailed 2-1 through five innings but broke through with five runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh. Avery Steffen, who was 3-for-3, hit a two-run home run in the sixth and a three-run homer in the seventh.
Norman was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Jordey Brown-Smith was 2-for-4.
The Dragons play next at the 2023 Dome Invitational in Rosemount, Ill. Their five-game tournament schedule begins Thursday, Feb. 23, against Ursuline (1:30 p.m.) and Ferris State (8 p.m.)
