GRAND FORKS, N.D. The South Dakota State softball team swept North Dakota in its final series of the season over the weekend.
The Jackrabbits completed the regular season 28-24 overall record and a 13-5 record in the Summit League. SDSU finished second in the conference and will be the No. 2 seed in the Summit League Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Brookings.
SDSUs first game will be against either No. 3 South Dakota or No. 6 Kansas City on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 1: SDSU 13, North Dakota 4 (5 inn.)
South Dakota State scored eight runs in the first inning, then tallied another five in the fifth frame, to earn a 13-4 triumph in five innings over UND.
Two straight walks to begin the game led to a Brooke Dumont RBI double, along with RBI singles by Abby Gentry and Alli Boyle, with all three hits in consecutive fashion. Emma Christensen was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Akayla Barnard and Madi Conklin each drew walks to push the Jackrabbit lead to 5-0.
SDSU turned the lineup over resulting in lead-off batter Mia Jarecki hit a two-run double to push the advantage to 7-0. Gentry drew another bases-loaded walk for SDSU before the top of the inning closed with the Jacks in front, 8-0.
North Dakota responded in the second inning with four runs on four hits. That cut the deficit to 8-4 and in the third brought in reliever Madi Mangulis.
The junior pitcher was stellar for the Jackrabbits. Mangulis wound up pitching three shutout innings. She allowed just one hit and two walks to go along with four strikeouts in her appearance in the circle.
SDSU put the finishing touches on the win with its five-run fifth inning at the plate.
Christensen led the frame off with a solo home run, the first homer of her career, to put the Jacks on top 9-4. Barnard and and Jarecki each singled and they scored on a two-run double off the bat of Emma Vike. Another RBI single courtesy of Gentry ended the scoring at 13-4 in favor of the Jackrabbits.
Seven different Jacks combined for 11 hits. Gentry was 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs. Jarecki and Boyle had a pair of hits apiece with Jarecki also scoring two runs.
Game 2: SDSU 3, North Dakota 1
Starting pitcher Tayler Baker tossed one of the best games of her college career to lead State to a 3-1 victory over North Dakota.
The Fighting Hawks got on the board first in the second inning thanks to a hit by pitch, walk and fielding error.
SDSU was thwarted through the first three innings before tying the score in the fourth. Gentry hit a lead-off single in the frame and was moved over in a Boyle sacrifice bunt. Christensen followed with a one-out RBI double to make it a 1-1 score.
Baker produced six strikeouts in her first four innings of work while keeping the Fighting Hawks hitless.
The Jackrabbits took the lead for good in the top of the fifth. A lead-off walk drawn by Caitlyn Wells saw pinch runner Cece Hanson advance to third after a sacrifice bunt and ground out. An RBI double hit by Barnard easily plated Hanson to push the Jacks ahead, 2-1.
Baker, meanwhile, got an out to begin the fifth before UND produced its first single of the affair. Baker quickly got two more outs to move to the sixth. That frame saw the Jacks add a bit of breathing room. A lead-off double by Boyle saw her eventually plated on another RBI by Barnard, this time via single, to make the score 3-1.
SDSUs starter threw another 1-2-3 frame in the sixth before moving to the seventh. Baker allowed one single in the inning, but ended any threat beyond that to earn a complete-game shutout victory.
Baker gave up just two hits and two walks across seven innings. She allowed one earned run while she struck out eight batters. The eight strikeouts were the most for Baker since her career debut in February when she struck out nine. Baker threw her second consecutive complete game as she improved to 9-5 overall on the season.
Saturday
SDSU 2, North Dakota 1
SDSU starting pitcher Tayler Baker was superb for a second consecutive day in the circle. Aside from a solo home run given up in the second inning, Baker didnt allow any other UND runner to reach third base over the course of seven innings thrown.
The Jackrabbits trailed 1-0 through three innings before tying the score in the fourth. Emma Christensen began the frame with a walk and was plated on an RBI double by Madi Conklin.
South Dakota State went up 2-1 in the fifth. Singles by Brooke Dumont and Abby Gentry gave the Jacks an opportunity with runners in scoring position. Quinn Marnocha came on to pinch run and sat on third base with no outs. Alli Boyle narrowly scored her on a sacrifice fly as Marnocha just slid into home plate ahead of the throw.
Baker shut down any opportunity the home side tried to tie the score. She wrapped up her third straight complete-game performance by giving up one run on three hits. Baker struck out eight batters while walking one. She improved to 10-5 on the season in the circle .
SDSU totaled just four hits, but drew 11 walks off North Dakota starter Jackie Albrecht. The Jackrabbits left 11 runners on base.
Leave a Reply