Dawn Johnson

The South Dakota State softball team prepared to make a splash in the D-1 Independent Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. The Lady Jacks ended up being wiped out.

The Jacks on April 27 lost their first game against host Kennesaw State 9-1. They finished the first day with a loss against border rival North Dakota State University 4-1.

On April 28 the Jacks played a triple-header. They ended pool play with a highly contested game against Cal State Bakersfield 1-0.

Sophomore pitcher Jenna Marston pitched a shutout, allowing only five hits with five strikeouts. In the top of the fourth inning, with one out, SDSU got on the board when sophomore outfielder Brittany Postma stole second and was then driven in by catcher Dani Broshar for the lead and the game. SDSU was able to keep the Roadrunners’ bats quiet and off the scoreboard with excellent pitching and stellar defense.

Coming off the shut out victory the Jacks were riding momentum into the start of tournament play. Marston again pitched a great outing, but it was not enough as Northern Colorado beat the Jackrabbits 2-0.

On the brink of elimination the Jacks face a familiar foe, Cal-State Bakersfield, in the second game of the day. CSUB offense came alive scoring eight runs on ten hits. The SDSU offense could only manage two runs on four hits with freshman infielder Amanda Fedson and senior infielder Steph Kuhl collecting one RBI each.

“We competed very hard but in fast pitch softball you have to be able to pitch, play defense and hit,”said head coach Shane Bouman. “We couldn’t get all three of those phases going for us at the same time.”

One high point of the weekend was Fedson’s selection to the all-tournament team. Fedson batted .400 and was successful in her two stolen base attempts. Defensively she had four putouts and 15 assists to go along with only two errors.

“Amanda is a great utility player,” said Bouman. “She has done great things all year and we are very excited about her future here at State.”

Although it was a tough weekend for the Jacks down in Georgia, they did manage to break some records. Kuhl’s RBI in the second game versus Cal State was all her own, as she homered for the fifth time this year and 25th of her career, an SDSU record. Brooke Postma also set the single season record for stolen bases at 26 with two steals during the tournament.

The Jacks finished the weekend 1-4 and are 14-32 on the season. They end the season against St. Cloud on Thursday.

Kim Westendorf lost her only decision of the tournament. Marston had one win, along with three losses; she pitched at least three innings and a third in every game of the tournament.