South Dakota State swept Kansas City in a three-game series at the Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings and look forward to their next contests at North Dakota State.
Games One
A doubleheader on Friday saw two tightly contested matches end in Jackrabbit victories.
South Dakota State started scoring off a Kansas City centerfield error with two runs by Lindsey Culver and Mia Jarecki.
A Brooke Dumont single helped put another run on the board for a three-run advantage. Junior outfielder Briona Woods hit one out of the park for the Roos sole run of the game.
Five runs by the Jacks in the bottom of the fifth concluded the scoring, and not another hit was allowed by Tori Kniesche from there, as the Jacks took an 8-1 win. Kniesche struck out 10 players.
Brooke Dumont batted a .750 from the plate while Culver went 2-3. Both Rozelyn Carrillo and Culver earned two runs throughout the game.
Game Two
Part two of the double header was much closer. The first inning was kept scoreless, but a home run by Dumont put the Jacks on the board in the second inning. Scoring resumed in the fifth inning when Kansas City scored one run each off a double and a single, putting them in front.
The Jacks answered accordingly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth with a Rozelyn Carrillo triple and a Dumont single to make it 5-2. Shannon Lasey earned the victory with three strikeouts while allowing six hits and a walk.
Osmundson went .500 from the plate when DH Madi Conklin went 2-3 in the second game of the double header. Both Dumont and Conklin finished with two runs a piece.
“Those first two games were tight,” head coach Kristina McSweeney said. “[It] did not feel like we had control very much at all, but, you know, we found a way to be successful when we needed to.”
Game Three
A windy Saturday didn’t stop the Jackrabbits from completing the sweep.
A run from senior outfielder Abby Husak by fielder’s choice put the Roos up 1-0, but from there it was all Jacks. A Dumont double in the bottom of the first, gave the Jacks a one-run lead, while a Jocelyn Carrillo home run and Emma Osmundson grand slam the next inning ballooned the lead to six. Four more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning concluded the scoring, as the game ended in five innings for the 11-1 victory. This marked the second game in Summit League play for the Jacks in which it ended on the run-rule.
Kniesche earned the victory with eight strikeouts and allowed only four hits and a pair of walks. She along with Dumont were honored on Tuesday by the Summit League for their performances.
Jarecki, Culver, Osmundson and Rozelyn Carrillo earned two runs a piece while Culver batted a perfect game and Jarecki went 2-3.
“[We] played really good softball,” McSweeney said. “I thought, you know, a combination of great pitching, really good defense and stellar offense really helped power us through this weekend.”
The Jacks will head up to North Dakota State for a three game series against the Bison this weekend.
