Softball Downed by Valley City State

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Valley City State used a 4-run first inning and a pair of 3-run frames to pull away from Doane Softball in an 11-3 neutral-site loss on Saturday morning.

Doane (4-5) answered early with two runs in the bottom of the second. Natalie Ascencio started the rally with a double, Evelyn Iniguez followed with a single, and the Tigers plated runs on an Hannah Pack sacrifice fly and an RBI bunt single from Milannie Gonzalez to make it 5-2.

The Tigers added another run in the third after Faith McDonald singled and Lilly Lewis swiped second to get into scoring position. Iniguez later drove in the run on a fielder's choice to trim the deficit to 8-3.

Valley City State (7-4) kept pressure on throughout, scoring three in the third and three more in the fifth to extend the margin. Doane was limited to six hits and left six runners on base, while the Vikings finished with 14 hits and capitalized on two Tiger errors.

Notable Tigers

• N. Ascencio: 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, and a run scored

• F. McDonald: 2-for-3

• M. Gonzalez: RBI single

• E. Iniguez: RBI

• H. Pack: sacrifice fly RBI

In the circle, Trinity Robinson worked 2.2 innings and struck out three, while Bri True and the Doane defense battled through extended innings as Valley City State's lineup produced timely hits.

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