FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – South Dakota State softball saw its offense come alive in the late innings Sunday morning as the Jackrabbits topped Montana, 6-2.

The Jackrabbits are now 8-6 on the year after picking up four wins at the Razorback Invitational.

Morgan DeMarais started and threw into the fifth, giving up two runs on five hits and a pair of walks. Grace Glanzer (7-2) tossed the final nine outs in no-hit fashion, striking out two while facing just one over the minimum.

Cylie Halvorson was 3-for-4 on the day with a double and an RBI, while Olivia Pfiefer and Allison Yoder each had two hits. Yoder, who added a double of her own, matched Kelsey Lenox with two runs batted in as both Jackrabbits hit home runs.

A two-out home run in the top of the first gave Montana an early 1-0 lead, and three innings later the Grizzlies pushed another run in on a double steal to go ahead 2-0.

State loaded the bases with one gone in the fourth, but the Grizzlies got out of the jam after a pitching change with a strikeout and pop up.

The Jackrabbits broke through in the fifth on Yoder’s solo shot, though, and kept the momentum rolling in the sixth with five more runs.

Lindsey Culver reached with a one-single, then wheeled around to score when Yoder sliced a double to the left-center gap. Later in the inning, Pfeifer singled to put runners on the corners for SDSU. Halvorson gave the Jacks their first lead of the day with a two-RBI single in the next at-bat, then came home as Lenox blasted a two-run shot.

Glanzer recorded seven consecutive outs and posted perfect frames in the fifth and sixth innings to end the game.

Saturday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Jackrabbit softball team swept Saturday’s action at the Razorback Invitational. South Dakota State opened the day with a 12-4 run-rule victory over Boston, then kept the offense rolling in a 6-2 victory against Marist in the evening game.

• SDSU 12, Boston 4 (6 inn.)

Grace Glanzer (5-2) struck out six in her second victory of the weekend, scattering seven hits and a pair of walks. She allowed four earned runs (seven total) in the complete-game performance.

Peyton Daugherty (triple), Kelsey Lenox (double), Caelyn Christiancy and Paige Gerdes (home run, double) each had three hits for the Jacks. Allison Yoder and Mia Elliott had two hits apiece, as Elliott, Allison Beaudry and Gerdes all drove in two runs.

As a team, South Dakota State racked up 18 hits (one shy of the school’s single-game record) and had six multi-base hits.

The Jackrabbits manufactured a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a two-out RBI single, then stretched their lead to 4-0 in the third thanks to a pair of extra-base hits in the frame.

Daugherty led off the first with a single, but after a fielder’s choice and passed ball it was Yoder who stood on second in scoring position. Elliott drove the game’s first run in with two outs, sending a 2-1 pitch into the grass for the RBI single.

Daugherty tallied her second hit of the day in the leadoff spot of the third, lacing a triple to the left-center gap. Two batters later, Lenox placed an RBI single to left, and after a fielder’s choice (Elliott) and a Terrier error (Christiancy), the Jackrabbits sat with two runners on with two outs. Beaudry doubled SDSU’s lead in the next at-bat, ripping a two-RBI two-bagger to center field.

Gerdes opened the fourth with her first home run of the season to put the Jacks ahead five, and later in the inning Daugherty, Yoder (RBI), Lenox, Elliott (RBI) and Christiancy (RBI) string together consecutive singles as SDSU’s lead hit run-rule territory.

The Terriers, however, did not go quietly as they pulled together a two-out rally in the fifth, pushing four runs across after a pair of singles, a double and a Jackrabbit error.

Ahead 8-4 at that point, SDSU regained a five-run (9-4) advantage after fifth-inning doubles from Gerdes and Callie Wethor then ended the game in the bottom of the sixth with another three runs.

Yoder (single) and Lenox (double) opened the sixth with back-to-back hits, and with one gone Yoder came home on Christiancy’s RBI single. Beaudry followed with a five-pitch walk to load the bases, and Gerdes made it 11-4 with her third hit of the game. SDSU won it two at-bats later when Chiara Bassi worked a bases-loaded RBI walk.

• SDSU 6, Marist 2

Glanzer (6-2) logged her second complete-game win of the day, allowing just one earned run on seven hits and two walks while striking out five.

Lenox, Elliott and Beaudry racked up two hits each in the win, as Lenox drove in four on the afternoon with a two-run home run and a two-RBI single. Elliott and Culver added RBIs, while Beaudry’s two hits were each two-baggers.

Marist struck early with a two-run, two-out rally in the top of the first, but the Jacks responded with a two-run Lenox home run in the bottom of the inning to draw even.

SDSU went in front for the first time on another Lenox hit in the second inning. Beaudry started the frame with a double to left center, and the Jackrabbits loaded the bases when Bassi reached on an error and Daugherty walked. Lenox came to bat later in the inning, sending a 1-1 pitch to left as two runs came in and State grabbed a 4-2 lead.

Beaudry racked up her second double with two outs in the third, then came around to score as Lindsey Culver singled to center field.

Ahead 5-2, the Jackrabbits added one more in the sixth as Elliott’s two-out single plated Bassi, who reached safely on Marist’s third error of the game.

Marist loaded the bases in the seventh in a final comeback attempt, but the Jacks got out of the jam and closed the victory with a double play.

Up Next

South Dakota State is off until March 6 when it opens a weeklong trip in Madeira, Florida, for neutral site contests and THE Spring Games.