After going 14-1 in its last 15 games, the South Dakota State softball team will hit the road to play at the Creighton Tournament in Kansas City Missouri.

It’ll be a three team tournament, with the Creighton Bluejays and the University of Missouri–Kansas City Kangaroos. The Jackrabbits will face both the Bluejays and the Roos twice within two days.

Creighton

The Bluejays currently sit just below the .500 mark with a 6-7 record, and are coming off of a 2-1 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis, Feb. 24.

Before that, the Bluejays dropped two straight wins to both Southern Illinois and Evansville.

“They have three good pitchers … Their pitching staff is pretty solid in that category,” head coach Krista Wood said. “We are going to have be prepared for all three of their pitchers. ”

Offensively, the Bluejays don’t have much power in their lineup and have combined for three home runs in 319 plate appearances.

As a team, the Bluejays are hitting .266, while holding opponents to a batting average of .251.

“As for offense, looking at their hitters, I mean there isn’t really anybody that stands out with a lot of power,” Wood said. “To me, it looks like they are a base hitting team.”

For the Jackrabbits to find success, the plan is simple: limit their strengths.

“I think the biggest thing for us to beat them is to get something going on offense, and then pitch and play defense to hold the score down.

University of Missouri–Kansas City

It’s been a different tale for the Roos of UMKC.

A good start for the Roos have them at a 15-7 record, including a win 5-4 win over the Kansas Jayhawks in their last game.

It’s a team effort for the Roos, who are batting at a .295 clip and have 16 home runs. Paired with 108 RBIs, UMKC has combined for 127 runs through 22 games.

“They have improved since last year. They are a scrappy team. So we definitely need to make sure we are on our toes and those are the types of games where you have to make sure you play all seven innings.” Wood said.

South Dakota State will first face off with Creighton at noon on March 16, then will face UMKC at 5 p.m.