Gustavsson’s three-hit day not enough as Mystics fall 9-4 at Dickinson State

GAME TWO

DICKINSON, N.D. - Dickinson State used a pair of middle-inning surges to pull away from Bismarck State for a 9-4 softball win Monday in Dickinson, overcoming an early Mystics lead and a late push sparked by Savannah Gustavsson.

BSC struck first in the top of the first. Gustavsson singled and later came home on Tayler Falcon’s groundout, giving the Mystics a 1-0 edge. The Blue Hawks answered in the bottom of the third, when Celina Wilharm’s sacrifice fly and a run-scoring play from Brooke Lijewski produced two runs and put the home team in front 2-1.

The Mystics briefly steadied the game in the fourth, scoring once to trim the margin, but DSU created the separation in the fifth. The Blue Hawks scored four times in the inning, with RBI production from Lijewski, Baylee Berg and Octavia Meyer. Some of the damage came after a BSC error, and the lead grew to 6-2.

Bismarck State answered with its best swing of the afternoon in the sixth. Gustavsson homered for a two-run shot, cutting the deficit to 6-4 and giving the Mystics a chance to climb back into the game. Gustavsson finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and was the top offensive performer for Bismarck State. Grace Grimm added two hits, both doubles, and scored twice as the Mystics totaled nine hits.

Dickinson State did not let the momentum swing last. In the bottom of the sixth, Kiley Hubby delivered a two-run single and the Blue Hawks added another run to extend the advantage to 9-4. Hubby finished with three RBIs, while Lijewski went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Ava Jahner went the distance for Dickinson State, throwing a complete game on 129 pitches. She allowed nine hits and four runs while striking out five. Bismarck State’s pitching staff worked six innings and allowed 10 hits and nine runs. The Mystics left eight runners on base, while Dickinson State stranded four.