St. Cloud State Softball’s Dream Season Heads To Sioux Falls

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The St. Cloud State University softball team has claimed a share of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season championship. Both the Huskies and Winona State went 26-4 in conference games, splitting their head-to-head match-ups.

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It is the first NSIC championship for St. Cloud State (44-12). The program also won conference titles back when it was in the North Central Conference in 1998, 2003, and 2004.

The Huskies are riding an 11-game win streak.

Senior Pitcher Justyce Porter has tossed a perfect game this year, just the fifth perfect game in program history, and she backed that up with a no-hitter. Porter is just the second Husky to pitch multiple solo no-hitters in a career, and the first to do it in the same season. She says it's been an exciting year.

It's been crazy. It's been an unreal experience.  I couldn't have done it without my teammates or without my coaching staff.  I have appreciated every opportunity that I have gotten.  It's been a lot of fun.

Porter has an overall record of 16- 6. St. Cloud's other senior pitcher, Macey Clark, has an overall record of 20- 5 with 17 complete games to lead the team in both categories.

Another one of the three senior stars on the team is Sydney Roe, who joined the program as a junior college transfer. She says that after the team was picked to finish 5th in the conference in the pre-season poll, they felt like they had something to prove.

We knew coming into this season that we were a team that can't be taken lightly. We knew we had something to prove, and we played like we had nothing to lose. We've always played light and fearless.

Roe is hitting .300 this season with eight home runs and 41 RBIs.

The 44 wins are tied for the second most in a season with the 1999 and 2002 teams.

Next up is the NSIC Conference Tournament this weekend in Sioux Falls. The Huskies have the #2 seed behind #1 Winona State. Their first game is on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals. They'll play the lowest remaining seed that advances from the first round on Wednesday.

Winona is ranked #21 in the nation, and St. Cloud State is receiving votes in the latest NCAA Division II poll. St. Cloud is looking to make its 10th trip to the NCAA tournament and its first since 2019.

Head coach Mitch Roberts is in his fifth season leading the Huskies. He says qualifying for the national tournament would be a great accomplishment, but first, they can't overlook anyone in the upcoming NSIC tournament.

Every single team has a good arm.  Southwest Minnesota State has a kid who we beat 1-0. Sioux Falls has a kid that we beat 1-0, who has over 200 strikeouts.  Wayne State has two arms with a two ERA.  Augustana and Mankato have two of the best offenses in the conference.

St. Cloud State is ranked #7 in the Central Region, as of last week's rankings. The top eight schools qualify for the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. The winner of the NSIC tournament will earn an automatic bid.

The NCAA selection show will be on Monday, May 11th.