Taylor Smith’s first and second career home runs provided the punch for the Minot State University (MSU)softball team, which completed a doubleheader sweep of future Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) foe Jamestown, inside “The Bubble” on the MSU campus Tuesday night, February 4.

Smith’s first collegiate home run helped the Beavers (5-2 overall) rally late for a 5-4 comeback win over the Jimmies in the opener, then her second career homer added insurance in a 6-2 win in game two.

MSU and Jamestown will renew their head-to-head season series next week as the Beavers play a doubleheader at Jamestown next Wednesday, February 12.

GAME 1 | MSU 5, Jamestown 4

The MSU Beavers rallied to score one in the seventh inning and walked it off on a single off the bat of sophomore Taylor Eatherton to pick up the 5-4 victory over the Jamestown Jimmies on Tuesday.

Senior Jasmine Blizzard (2-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Minot State. The right-hander went 3.2 shutout innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out four.

Trailing 4-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the sixth inning. MSU’s offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a two-run home run off the bat of junior Taylor Smith and a two-run single from senior Hannah Murray.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when MSU walked it off on an RBI single off the bat of Eatherton.

GAME 2 | MSU 6, Jamestown 2

The Lady Beavers took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and never trailed from there on the way to a 6-2 win over the Jamestown Jimmies on Tuesday.

Senior Reegan Floyd (3-0) got the win for MSU. The right-hander went six innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on seven hits, allowing no walks and striking out five. Junior Calley Olson also pitched well, going one shutout inning while allowing one hit.

Trailing 1-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the first inning. Junior Sara Van Wickler came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minot State and get them on the board.

The game remained tied until the very next inning, when the Beavers got going again on offense. Senior Hannah Murray came across to score the lone run of the inning for MSU, which brought the Beavers lead to 2-1.

Jamestown fired back to even the ballgame at two before Minot State reclaimed a 3-2 advantage in the fifth inning. The Beavers scored once on an RBI single off the bat of senior Abby Lohse.

MSU kept the Jimmies scoreless before their offense got things rolling the next inning. The three-run frame for the Beavers was punctuated by a two-run homer from junior Taylor Smith. bringing the score to 6-2 in favor of Minot State. The score remained 6-2 for the rest of the game, as the Beavers coasted to the win.