The Jackrabbit softball team played in the Velvet Milkman Classic in Kentucky over the weekend.

The Jackrabbits went 3-1 in the Classic to move to 12-4 on the season.

GREEN BAY

On Friday, Feb. 20, the Jacks won 16-7 in six innings over Green Bay Phoenix.

The Phoenix got off to a fast start over SDSU, taking a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Junior Abby Gentry put the Jacks on the board in the second with a solo homerun in the second. Freshman Bria Riebel got to second base after an error, driving in a run and putting up the second run of the day for the Jacks.

With two on, senior Emma Vike stepped up to the plate and went yard, putting the Jacks on top 5-4 with a three-run shot.

SDSU added another run on at the top of the third when Vike hit a double, bringing Alivya Bollen in to score, extending the Jackrabbit lead to 6-4.

Both teams put up three runs in the fourth inning and the Jacks went into the fifth leading 9-7.

In the fifth and sixth innings the Jacks outscored the Phoenix 7-0, winning 16-7.

MURRAY STATE

A few hours after the Green Bay win, the Jacks took their first loss in three games with a 9-1 defeat at the hands of Murray State.

The Racers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Amanda Vacanti responded with an RBI single that brought Riebel in to score.

This was the Jack’s first and last score of the game as Murray State outscored them 7-0 in the last three innings, with two runs in the bottom of the second and five in the fifth.

GREEN BAY

On Saturday, Feb. 21, SDSU got back on track when they got a 10-2 win over Green Bay. 

Green Bay got on the board first at the top of the second, as they scored two in the inning.

The Jacks responded at the bottom of the inning when Vike hit an RBI single to drive in Ella Berlage and Bollen to tie the game at 2-2.

Later in the inning, Vacanti came up to bat and hit an RBI double that brought Vike and Riebel in to put the Jacks up 4-2.

Gentry came up next and hit a two-run homer to put the score at 6-2.

The third inning would be scoreless for both teams and Green Bay continued that at the top of the fourth but SDSU wouldn’t follow suit.

SDSU scored four runs in the fourth, including back-to-back home runs from Vacanti and Gentry, then a Riebel RBI single to take a 10-2 lead.

At the top of the fifth, junior pitcher Akayla Barnard closed out the inning, not letting up a run and giving SDSU a 10-2 win.

IU INDY

The Jackrabbits closed out their doubleheader with a 7-5 win over the IU Indy Jaguars.

The Jacks took a 1-0 lead at the top of the first after a Vacanti sacrifice fly that brought Vike in to score.

The Jaguars responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to tie the score back up.

The second was scoreless for both teams, but at the top of the third, Vacanti hit a two-run shot to take the lead, 3-1.

The lead didn’t last long as IU Indy scored three in the bottom of the third. 

The Jacks scored two runs in the fifth and sixth innings while holding the Jaguars scoreless. The seventh inning didn’t see a score from either team, giving SDSU a 7-5 win.

The Jacks will now compete in five games against four different teams in two different cities starting Friday, Feb. 27 and ending Sunday, March 1.

“We’re going to have our hands full this weekend, that’s for sure,” head coach Kristina McSweeney said when talking about the upcoming schedule. “This is a good chance for us to work how we’re going to do against top caliber competition. Are we going to be  able to be successful against that competition and if we’re not successful how do we figure out ways to get to the point where we could be successful? So I’m looking forward to putting our best foot forward and looking forward to playing some of the best teams in the country and hoping that our Jackrabbits rise to the challenge.”

TULSA

The Jacks will play Tulsa twice. The first game will open the tournament on Friday, Feb. 27 at noon. The second game will be the following day at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tulsa currently sits at 5-9 and when they host SDSU, it will be the first home game for them all season.

Senior infielder Maci Cole is a player to watch as she leads the Hurricanes in slugging percentage and home runs. Cole’s slugging percentage is .604 and she has three home runs on the year.

Sophomore Amber Turner is another key player, as she has the most RBIs on the team with 10.

NEBRASKA

After SDSU’s first matchup with the Hurricanes, they will face Nebraska at 12:30 p.m. in Tulsa.

Top 10-ranked Nebraska is currently 11-4 and sits on a seven-game win streak. They will face Oklahoma State before they play SDSU.

In the Huskers seven game winning streak, they have allowed just five runs total, which included four games where they held their opponent scoreless.

Senior Jordy Frahm is a two-way star for the team, as not only does she pitch, but she also hits. On the season, Frahm has tallied six home runs and 16 RBIs. When it comes to pitching, Frahm has pitched 43 innings and allowed 43 hits while having an ERA of 1.95.

SEMO

The Jacks will stay in Tulsa for their third game of the tournament when they face Southeast Missouri State University at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28.

The Redhawks haven’t had a great start to the season, as they are 3-10.

Senior Madison Winkler has been the standout for the Redhawks to start the year as she leads the team in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples and home runs.

OKLAHOMA STATE

The Jacks will end their trip to Oklahoma against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls in Stillwater on Sunday, March 1, at noon.

Oklahoma State is currently 11-4 and riding a five-game winning streak. Three of the team’s 11 wins on the year have come against ranked opponents.

Senior Claire Timm will be a name to watch as she leads the Cowgirls in hits with 16 and is second on the team with a batting average of .485.

Another player to look out for is freshman Jayelle Austin, who leads the team with four home runs.

After the trip to Oklahoma, SDSU will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the Cornhuskers on March 5 for a doubleheader.

The first time you can see the Jackrabbits at home will be March 27 when the Jacks host the UND Fighting Hawks.

To read the full softball story with a recap of the Velvet Milkman Classic from Feb. 20-21, visit sdsucollegian.com.