Senior center fielder Avery Wukawitz hit a walk-off double to bring graduate student shortstop Laken Lienhard home to score the winning run to beat North Dakota 2-1 after 14 innings Friday afternoon.
Friday’s 14-inning battle marks the UST’s longest game this spring. St. Thomas coach Jennifer Trotter said the team usually relies on their dominant hitting, so having a game go to extra innings is good preparation for the Summit League Championship games next weekend. The Tommies are currently ranked second in the conference, and UND sits at the bottom in seventh.
If rankings stay the same, UST will face the winner of North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State on Thursday, May 7 in the second round of the conference tournament.
“We needed a game to prove to ourselves that we could pitch the ball really well and we could play really good defense to let our bats come along, versus the other way around,” Trotter said.
Sophomore pitcher Ava Kleinfeldt stood in the circle for the Tommies for the first 12 innings of the game. Kleinfeldt recorded seven strikeouts, just one below her season high.
Midway through the 12th inning, senior pitcher Ella Cook took over for Kleinfeldt and notched two more strikeouts in the final two innings.
“Our pitchers were fabulous. We just relied on them. We knew that they were going to do their job, and we were able to defend the way we did,” Wukawitz said. “Those things really give us confidence when we can see that they just own the circle.”
Offensively, both teams remained quiet for most of the game. In the third inning, North Dakota sophomore Makenna Alexander grounded out to Kleinfeldt but was able to bring in first-year Aleksia Severson for an RBI, making the score 1-0.
The Tommies responded in the fifth inning when sophomore left fielder Zoe Trotter singled to right field and then stole second base a few pitches later. When it was Lienhard’s turn to bat, she smacked a single to center field, allowing Trotter to tie the game at 1-1.
From the fifth inning onward, neither team could score runs. UND came close to victory when they loaded the bases in the 12th, but Cook struck out Severson to end UND’s 12th inning hopes.
When the 14th inning began, a cloud shrouded the entire sun, stealing all of the afternoon’s warmth. Fans zipped up their jackets and were huddling close in the stands.
Cook and the Tommies make quick work of the top of the inning: striking out the first batter, catching the second batter’s fly ball in center field and throwing the third batter out at first base.
When the Tommies were gearing up to bat, Trotter and her coaching staff told the team to stay calm.
“I told them not to change anything, don’t start to reach, like, reset. They just had to reset their focus,” Trotter said.
After senior infielder Ruby Moore struck out swinging, Lienhard stepped up to the plate and fired a double to right field on UND junior Tegan Livesay’s first pitch of the at bat.
Wukawitz then finished the game by ripping another double to center field, bringing Lienhard home for the 2-1 UST victory.
“I think for us going into postseason with a walk off win in extras, it just shows that we can fight until whenever we need to, to pull off a win,” Wukawitz said. “That was a huge momentum builder for us and a confidence builder that we can accomplish things.”
The Tommies will face UND for the final game of the series Saturday afternoon on South Field. Trotter wants the team to use its final regular season game to build as much momentum as possible ahead of postseason play in the Summit League Championship games next weekend.
“I think we’re in as good of a place we can be going into the conference tournament. I think the team is confident. I think they feel good. As a coaching staff, we know who we are, and we know we are capable of winning tough games,” Trotter said.
Owen Bell can be reached at bell9606@stthomas.edu.
