YANKTON -- With Dakota Wesleyan's pitching staff hit hard with injuries, the Tigers got a big day from freshman Brandi Nekrasoff as she pitched back-to-back complete games in DWU's sweep, 2-1 and 3-0, of Mount Marty Wednesday at Riverside Park in Yankton.
Nekrasoff even had one extra inning of work because the first game went into extra innings and ended after eight frames.
DWU head coach Marie McCarthy-Foster said Nekrasoff will have to get used to the extra workload.
"Our other two pitchers might have potentially season ending injuries, so she will have to do this for a while," McCarthy-Foster said. "We are looking for a lot out of her, and she pitched very well."
Nekrasoff pitched 15 innings total and gave up only seven hits, one run and one walk while striking 16 batters.
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Nekrasoff said this is nothing unusual for her.
"I've done this before so this is nothing new for me," she said. "My defense also played great today as well."
In the first game, DWU struck first in the second inning when sophomore Jeannette Mitchell's RBI single to left field scored freshman Nicole Haley. After Mount Marty tied the game, DWU won in the eighth when, with one out, sophomore Elizabeth Stewart hit a walk off homer for the 2-1 win.
"She has been struggling offensively and I am hoping that turns it around for her," McCarthy-Foster said."
Nekrasoff pitched eight innings and gave up three hits and struck out nine batters in the first game.
DWU scored its first run of the second game in the second inning when Nekrasoff's sacrifice fly with two outs scored freshman Jackie Pugliese for the 1-0 lead. The Tigers added two more runs in the second off back to back singles from sophomore Ekekela Watson and Nekrasoff which scored Pugliese and Watson, who stole second while Nekrasoff was up.
Those would be all the runs DWU would need as Nekrasoff only had to deal with a runner at third base once in the ball game.
Nekrasoff led the Tigers both at the plate and on the mound in the second game. She went 1-2 with two RBIs and pitched seven innings and struck out seven batters and gave up four hits.
