CONWAY, Ark. — South Dakota State softball went 3-2 in the Michelle Short Classic over the weekend. The Jackrabbits swept Purdue and split a pair of games against Central Arkansas. They lost …
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CONWAY, Ark. — South Dakota State softball went 3-2 in the Michelle Short Classic over the weekend. The Jackrabbits swept Purdue and split a pair of games against Central Arkansas. They lost their lone game against Southern Illinois.
SDSU received a commanding performance from starting pitcher Tori Kniesche en route to a 5-1 win over the Boilermakers.
Kniesche put the Purdue lineup down in order through three innings and recorded seven strikeouts. It took the Boilermakers until the fourth inning to tally their first hit and didn’t get on the scoreboard until the sixth.
South Dakota State had a 2-0 edge after three innings of play. Abby Gentry hit a triple in the second and was plated on a sacrifice fly by Cheyanne Masterson, then in the third Mia Jarecki hit a lead-off triple and was brought in by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Akayla Barnard.
The Jackrabbits pushed the score to 3-0 in the top of the sixth as Lindsey Culver hit a solo home run. Purdue responded in the bottom half of the inning with its first run as a lead-off triple was plated on a sacrifice fly.
Senior outfielder Emma Osmundson added insurance to the Jackrabbit scoreline in the seventh. Jarecki hit a two-out single and Barnard followed with a walk. Osmundson hit both runners in on a two-run double to left-center field to make it a 5-1 score.
Kniesche got into a bit of damage in the seventh hitting a batter with a pitch and giving up a single. However, the senior pitcher struck out two hitters and forced an infield popup to finish the contest with a complete-game performance.
SDSU outhit Purdue 8-3 in the ballgame. Jarecki and Osmundson each had two hits for the Jackrabbits, while Jarecki scored two runs. Kniesche improved to 3-3 on the season in the circle. She gave up just three hits over the course of three innings. Two batters reached base via hit by pitch, but Kniesche matched her season-high strikeout total of 13 in a single game.
The Jackrabbits lost in heart-breaking fashion falling in the bottom of the seventh by a 4-3 margin.
The first inning was an eventful one as SDSU came out of it with a 3-2 advantage. With one out in the top of the first, Barnard made her way all the around the diamond due to a fielding and ensuing throwing error. Osmundson followed her with a single and Culver came up next and belted her second home run of the day.
SDSU starter Shannon Lasey gave up just two infield hits to begin the bottom of the inning, but the runners eventually came around to score on a two-run single to make it 3-2.
The Jackrabbit lineup was held to just one over the next six innings, putting pressure on the SDSU pitching staff. Lasey held up by stranding two runners on base in the second, getting a double play turned behind her in the third and leaving a runner on while striking out two in the fourth.
Following a lead-off double in the bottom of the fifth, SDSU went to the bullpen and reliever Alexa Williams. She got out of the inning by stranding a runner on third as the Jackrabbits remained in front.
Williams didn’t give up a hit in the sixth which led to the seventh. Following a one-out single, the SDSU infield got a fielder’s choice to get the second out of the frame. The Salukis’ Rylie Hamilton came up to bat. Eventually with a runner in scoring position, Hamilton hit a 2-2 pitch over the left-field fence to lead Southern Illinois to a walk-off victory.
SDSU was outhit 6-3 in the game while both teams had two errors. Osmundson had two of the Jackrabbits’ base hits along with Culver’s homer which was her second of the season. Lasey went 4-plus innings in the circle for the Jackrabbits and gave up two runs on four hits. She walked four and struck out three. Williams, who was credited with the loss, pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on two hits.
South Dakota State scored eight consecutive runs en route to its 8-1 victory over Central Arkansas to begin the day.
The Jackrabbit lineup was held in check for the first two innings of the ballgame which saw the Bears jump into an early lead. SDSU Starting pitcher Tori Kniesche hit a batter and walked another to put two UCA runners on base. The Bears’ Lilly Hood hit an RBI double to score one and give UCA another set of runners on second and third with one out. Kniesche got out of the threat by striking a batter out and forcing an infield popup.
SDSU tied the score in the top of the third on an RBI single by Mia Jarecki that scored pinch runner Kaylee Kardash. The Jackrabbits tallied another four runs in the fourth. With one out Emma Osmundson singled and Lindsey Culver drew a walk. Jocelyn Carrillo came up to the plate and belted a home run to push SDSU into the lead. The Jackrabbits weren’t done as Abby Gentry followed with a walk. After advancing to second on a flyout off the bat of Brooke Dumont, Rozelyn Carrillo hit a single through the left side to score pinch runner Emma Christensen.
Kniesche coasted through the next three innings in the circle as she didn’t allow a hit during the stretch.
The Jackrabbits added two more runs in the seventh. Akayla Barnard and Osmundson hit back-to-back singles. The two scored on a single by Jocelyn Carrillo to extend the margin to 8-1.
The Bears were able to hit a double in the seventh, but Kniesche struck out two Bears and forced a game-ending infield popout to earn another complete-game performance.
Kniesche improved to 4-3 on the season with her seven-inning effort. She allowed a run on five hits, a walk and a hit batter. She struck out nine batters.
Osmundson had a team-high three hits and three runs scored. Jocelyn Carrillo recorded two hits and four RBIs. The Jackrabbits totaled 10 hits in the matchup.
A day after topping Purdue 5-1, South Dakota State rallied from trailing to the Boilermakers and held on for a 7-6 win.
Both teams had early chances to take an early advantage.
SDSU’s Mia Jarecki hit a lead-off single in the bottom of the first and sat on second with two outs. Lindsey Culver hit a single to left field which Jarecki tried to score on, but the Jackrabbit second basemen was thrown out at home.
Starting pitcher Akayla Barnard cruised through the first before running into a threat in the second. Two singles to begin the frame ended up with runners on second and third for Purdue with one out. Barnard forced a Boilermaker fielder’s choice which resulted in a tag at the plate by catcher Brooke Dumont on a throw from Rozelyn Carrillo to keep the game scoreless.
Purdue took the first lead of the day in the third. The Boilermakers. Two singles and two doubles led to two Purdue runs to give the Big Ten foes the early advantage.
South Dakota State broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth.
Emma Osmundson led the inning off with a solo home run to make it a 2-1 score. Culver hit a single, Jocelyn Carrillo walked and a Dumont single scored another run to tie it at 2-2. Rozelyn Carrillo then crushed a three-run home run to put the Jackrabbits on top, 5-2. Alexa Williams and Barnard each singled before the Boilermakers were able to escape the inning.
SDSU went to Williams in the circle and she kept the Boilermakers at bay as they scored one run over the next two innings. Ahead 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Williams and Barnard hit back-to-back solo home runs to extend the SDSU lead to 7-3.
The Jackrabbits had to work through a threat in the seventh to close out a victory. Purdue earned a walk and single to put two runners on, then a three-run home run cut the deficit to 7-6. SDSU pitcher Shannon Lasey ended the matchup by forcing an infield pop-up and striking out a batter.
Barnard, Williams Osmundson and Culver each had multi-hit performances as the Jackrabbits recorded 12 hits. Seven different Jackrabbits scored runs.
Barnard earned her second win in the circle during her college career. She allowed six hits and two runs in four innings of work. Williams struck out four hitters in two innings.
South Dakota State narrowly came back in the seventh inning against host Central Arkansas on Sunday, Feb. 25, but fell 6-4 to the Bears at Farris Field.
The Jackrabbits scored the game’s first three runs. A Jocelyn Carrillo RBI single in the first made it 1-0 for South Dakota State, then Lindsey Culver hit a two-run single in the top of the third to extend the lead to 3-0.
Central Arkansas responded in the third. Two walks, two singles and an RBI groundout tied the game at 3-3. The Bears went ahead 6-3 in the fifth thanks to another three-run inning. This time UCA jumped in front off of two hits, three walks and an error.
Following a scoreless sixth inning, the Jackrabbits came up to bat in the top of the seventh.
Alexa Williams led off the frame with a solo home run to cut the score to 6-4. Brooke Dumont came up next and walked. After recording an out, consecutive singles by Rozelyn Carrillo and Mia Jarecki loaded the bases. SDSU was unable to plate any runners from there. Akayla Barnard hit an infield popup and Emma Osmundson flied out to left field to end the contest.
South Dakota State dropped to 8-7 overall in the defeat and 3-2 in the Michelle Short Memorial Classic. The Bears improved to 4-10.
