HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll Softball team split their series-opening pair against Valley City State on Saturday afternoon, winning the first game 4-3 before falling 10-5 in extra innings of the second game on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.

GAME ONE: Carroll 4, Valley City State 3

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A troublesome second inning forced the Fighting Saints (15-13, 10-8) to play come-from-behind, a game they've grown quite accustomed to, but a big inning of their own in the late stages would propel Carroll to another comeback victory.

Kennedy Venner (Billings, Mont. / SR) was given the ball for the series opener, and put up another great performance. The senior went a full seven innings for the Saints, striking-out eight Viking Batters and allowing just three earned on five hits in her seventh win of the season.

Venner was solid throughout, but Valley City State did manage to get their shots in in the top of the second. The Vikings got a pair of runners on early with both a hit batter and a walk. Katelyn MacNiell drove in the game's first run with an RBI single into center, while Ahleeya Nicola drove in another pair with a double in right to put VCSU on top 3-0.

Carroll had just a pair of hits through the first four innings, but broke through with four runs on four hits in the home half of the fifth.

Madison Walker (Ridgefield, Wash. / JR) got Carroll on the board with an RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to two. Jasmine Barela (Beaverton, Ore. / JR) got a pinch-hit opportunity behind her, and made the most of it. Barela barreled a two RBI double, knotting things up at 3-3. Brooke Thompson (Billings, Mont. / JR), who leads the Saints in nearly every offensive category, delivered the ultimate game-winner, an RBI single into right.

Venner navigated a pair of hits in the top of the seventh, finding a way to strand the pair and lock up the game one win for the Saints.

Madison Walker led the way as the only Saint to record multiple hits in the opener, going 3-3 with one run, one RBI, and a walk.

GAME TWO: Valley City State 10, Carroll 5 (8 Innings)

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The Saints saw a win slip out of their fingers in the second game of the afternoon, as a late inning collapse led to a 10-5 loss in extras.

VCSU got on the board first with an RBI double in the second inning, but Madison Walker would continue her strong day at the plate in the bottom half of the frame, giving the Saints a 3-1 lead with one swing of the bat. Walker cleared the bases with a double into right field, cashing in on a pair of walks and a Riley Simone (Cody, Wyo. / SO) single earlier in the inning.

While the offense slowed a bit as a whole, Walker continued to impress, driving home yet another RBI in the fourth inning on a sharp grounder to short to extend Carroll's lead to 4-1.

The Vikings got one run back in the fifth inning, but McKinley Ermshar (Battleground, Wash. / SO) did well to limit the damage, stranding a pair to keep Carroll in front at 4-2.

Down to their final three outs, the Vikings came up big in the top of the seventh. Two doubles and a single over the first four batters would tie things up at 4-4. The Saints would do their best to close things out in the home half of the frame, but would ultimately wind up stranding a pair of runners as the game rolled into extras.

Things went sideways for the Saints in the eighth inning, as the Vikings batted through the order, putting up six runs on five hits and an error - the backbreaker coming by way of a Madden Bogenreif grand slam.

Walker posted yet another RBI in the bottom of the eighth, bringing her tally to five RBI's while going 2-4 at the plate in the game, but the effort would fall short as Carroll dropped the night cap 10-5.

The Saints and Vikings will wrap up Carroll's final home series of the season tomorrow, with another doubleheader slated for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.