Houston Baptist and Utah Valley swept North Dakota and South Dakota, respectively, but needed extra innings to get the wins in the second games, on Day 2 of the Great West Conference Softball Cluster at Oran Good Park in Farmers Branch, Texas.

HBU defeated the Sioux, 6-3, in game one and 4-3 in game two, while the Wolverines won over South Dakota, by scores of 9-1 and 7-6.

HBU 6, UND 3 (Game 1)

HBU-UND Game 1 Box

HBU's Laine Skelton led off with a double and scored on a Kali Johnson single.  Molly Mlcak singled and Johnson scored on a UND error to give HBU a 2-0 lead to start the game.  UND answered in the bottom of the inning as Casie Hanson walked, stole second and third and scored on a passed ball.

UND's Toni Schutte scored in the fourth and Hanson gave the Sioux a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Kristi Alcorn.  HBU scored four in the sixth to make it 6-3. 

The Huskies had 10 hits on the game, led by Mlcak, who finished 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Johnson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Kristi Alcorn had half of the Sioux's hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The Sioux would finish the game with four hits while walking seven times. Alcorn led the way going 2-for-4 while Hanson scored two of three Sioux runs not getting a hit (0-for-2) but walking twice.

HBU's Kristi Malpass improved to 3-5 as she pitched a complete game, allowing four hits, three runs (one earned) and seven walks while striking out nine. Emma Gronseth pitched 5.1 innings and took the loss, allowing 10 hits, six runs (four earned) and one walk while striking out four. Michelle Frank relieved Gronseth and gave up one walk and struck out one in 1.2 innings.

HBU 4, UND 3 (8 innings-Game 2)

HBU-UND Game 2 Box

In Game 2, UND got out to a 3-1 lead as Lindy Sippola capped off the inning with a two-out RBI double to score Alcorn and Schutte after Hanson had already scored.  Hanson left the game in the fourth after a successful steal which resulted in an injury.  It was her third stolen base of the day.

HBU cut the Sioux lead to 3-2 on a Mlcak homer in the bottom of the fourth. 

HBU tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as Mlcak was hit by a pitch and was later scored on a grounder by Southerland. In the botton of the eighth, Mlcak again struck the long ball and ended the game on a walk-off homerun.

Mlcak led the Huskies (10-16), going 2-for-3 with, two homeruns, three runs scored and two RBI.  Johnson and Southerland each had one RBI.  Toni Schutte led UND with two hits in four at-bats with one run scored and one RBI.

Jammie Weidert, who came in in relief in the top of the first, earned the win, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out eight. Erica Younan took the loss for the Sioux (6-24), pitching a complete game and allowing five hits, four runs and five walks while striking out three.

UVU 9, USD 1 (Game 1)

UVU-USD Game 1 Box

Shaylyn Varney belted two homers and drove in four runs as the Wolverines picked up the eight-run victory in Game 1. 

Varney hit her first homer of the game in the Wolverines' five-run second and then led off UVU's two-run third inning with a solo shot, and Cherylyn McGraw immediately followed with a homer.

Varney finished 2-for-3 and two runs scored, while McGraw went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Meghan Woodworth, Charlee Cisneros, and Gardner all drove in runs.

UVU freshman Heather Bacon allowed just one run on two hits while striking out six and walking just two. The only run she allowed was a homer in the top of the third.

UVU 7, USD 6 (8 innings-Game 2)

UVU-USD Game 2 Box

In Game 2, Megan Gardner drove home Mandy Tapia, who walked to open the eighth, to post the extra-inning victory.

The Coyote's Callie Roan led off the fourth inning with a solo homerun before UVU scored twice in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead.  USD (5-19) scored five runs in the final two innings to force extra innings before Gardner won it for the Wolverines (9-14) with an RBI groundout.

The Coyotes' Callie Roan led off the fourth inning with a solo homerun and Alexa Rudeen singled to score Michelle Jones and Lexie Eversley to tie the game at 6-6.

McGraw finished 3-for-3 for the Wolverines, while Gardner went 1-for-4, but drove in a team-high three runs. Amber Sackett finished with two hits. Woodworth, Cisneros, Amanda Perez and Jessica Anderson also drove in runs in the win.

Rudeen finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Roan finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Fricke and Johnson had the other USD hits, while Fricke and Denney each had RBI.

Mel Johnson suffered the loss, allowing just three earned runs in eight innings. She struck out four and walked eight.
 
Bacon allowed six runs (five earned) in 6.1 innings before giving way to Kyli Flanary, who pitched the final 1.2 innings to earn her fourth win of the season.