South Dakota State softball starts their season 4-0 after sweeping the East Texas A&M Leadoff in Commerce, Texas.
Game 1 – Stephen F. Austin
The first game on Friday started strong for the Jackrabbits with three home runs through four innings. The Lumberjacks got on the board in the fifth inning with a pair of runs.
SDSU struck back with an Emma Vike three-run homer, keeping the game out of reach despite a Lumberjack home run late, and winning 9-4.
Mia Jarecki scored three runs and also picked up a pair of singles and two stolen bases. Akayla Barnard pitched for five innings and struck out seven batters while former USD pitcher Madi Mangulis made her first career start for South Dakota State, finishing with two strikeouts of her own.
Game 2 – East Texas A&M
The second game started cold, taking five innings before SDSU got on the board on a Brooke Dumont homer. Another six runs soon followed, then three more in the next inning. SDSU defeated the Lions in a 9-0 shutout after the game was called on the run-ahead rule.
Tayler Baker handled pitching duties for five innings, striking out nine batters. Seven Jackrabbits earned a hit during the game, including Emma Christensen who had a pair of singles and a run.
For the Jacks, Jarecki tallied three hits with five at bats for the game while in the field, Madi Conklin finished with 12 putouts.
Game 3 – Stephen F. Austin
SDSU fell to a 2-0 deficit in the second inning, but stormed back in the third with two RBIs. A pair of RBI singles capped off the Jacks scoring, and while the Lumberjacks attempted a comeback, they could only get an RBI single in the seventh inning, allowing the Jacks to win 6-3.
Mia Jarecki had a productive morning, batting a .750 and hitting a 2 RBI single in the third and an RBI single in the fourth, while also scoring a run off an Abby Gentry double.
“[Jarecki] had just a stellar performance this weekend,” head coach Kristina McSweeney said.“Incredible performance, her on-base percentage, the balls she put in play, the RBIs.”
Game 4 – Texas Southern
SDSU took another victory by the run-ahead rule over the Tigers. After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Jacks led comfortably through the rest of the contest. Alivya Bollen hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning to cap off the scoring at 9-1.
Alli Boyle contributed to most of the scoring with a three RBI double, while three additional Jackrabbits had an RBI single each. Three Jackrabbits spilt pitching duties and allowed only five hits through the course of the game.
SDSU’s last two games of the tournament were canceled Sunday due to weather. They were scheduled to play Texas Southern and East Texas A&M.
“What really stood out to me with this group is how coachable they were,” McSweeney said.“When we were talking about strategy and what we needed to do better, they made adjustments very very quickly.”
The Jacks return to action tomorrow at the Whataburger Invitational in Stephenville, Texas to face off against Akron, Austin Peay, Houston Christian and Tarleton State.
