VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State softball team picked up a pair of wins over Dakota State Saturday, outscoring the Trojans 20-2 in just 10 innings on the day.
 
VCSU defeated Dakota State 9-1 in five innings to start the day and then took the series finale 11-1, also in five innings. Sierra Crocker paced the Vikings at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a home run and two doubles, scoring three runs, and driving in four on the day. Crocker also set a new school record Saturday with 57 doubles in her Viking career, surpassing Joelle Aiello (2018-22).
 
VCSU expands its win streak to 12 straight games, and improves to 20-15 overall and 12-3 in the North Star. Dakota State drops to 5-20 on the season and 2-10 in the conference.
 
The VCSU softball team followed Saturday’s doubleheader with a short ceremony recognizing its three graduating seniors, Sierra Crocker, Joelle Lamontagne and Saige Forseth.
 
UP NEXT: VCSU travels to the University of Jamestown for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 9. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
 
VCSU 9, Dakota State 1 (5 innings)
VCSU’s defense allowed one Dakota State run in the first inning Saturday, but the offense took over from there and figured out a way to rout the Trojans 9-1 in just five innings.
 
The Vikings led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back home runs from Ashlyn Diemert and Kennadi Stone to take over the lead. Crocker continued the Viking rally with a double, and was driven home on an infield single by Makenzee Stone.
 
VCSU capitalized on a pair of Trojan errors in the second inning and added four runs to lead 7-1. Crocker later hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to take the 9-1 victory.
 
Joelle Lamontagne got the win after starting in the circle and working all 5 innings. She allowed one run on four hits while walking two and striking out four.
 
Crocker finished the game going 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, a double, three runs scored and two RBIs. Kennadi Stone and Makenzee Stone each added two hits, while Kennadi scored three and Makenzee drove in two. Ellie Braaten and Maerin Dartnell each added a double for the Vikings.
 
Delaney Barrett got the loss for Dakota State after starting in the circle and pitching 2 complete innings. She allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out three. Jada Brown pitched 2 innings in relief and allowed four runs on five hits, walked two and struck out one.
 
Hannah McFarland totaled two hits and Mackenzie Sims scored Dakota State’s only run of the game.
 
VCSU 11, Dakota State 1 (5 innings)
The next game started similar to the first, with Dakota State scoring McFarland on Michelle Evdos’ single in the first inning to hold a 1-0 early lead. That’s all the Vikings would allow though, and the VCSU offense powered 11 runs on 12 hits over the next four innings.
 
The Vikings scored with five runs in the second inning – including two runs on Sierra Crocker’s record-breaking double – to take a 5-1 advantage. VCSU added another run in the third inning on an RBI triple from Alyssa DePoorter, scoring Maddy Zander.
 
VCSU then scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, including a pair of runs on a double from Logan Gronberg and two more on a single from DePoorter.
 
Gronberg was 3-for-3 at the plate while DePoorter and Makenzee Stone each went 2-for-3 for the Vikings. DePoorter drove in three runs while Gronberg and Crocker each drove in two. Nine different Vikings scored at least a run in the game.
 
Zander got the win after starting in the circle and working 4 innings. She allowed just one run on two hits and struck out six batters. Rhyan Sigmeth pitched 1 inning in relief and did not allow a single hit. She walked one and struck out one.
 
McFarland and Evdos each had a hit for the Trojans, and Evdos drove in McFarland for Dakota State’s lone run in the game.
 
Maycee Bricker got the loss after starting in the circle and pitching 3 and 2/3 innings. She allowed 11 runs on 11 hits, walked one and struck out three. Analicia Burgos pitched 1/3 of an inning in relief and allowed one hit.