KANSAS CITY – The Jackrabbit softball team picked up a pair of victories in a Saturday doubleheader at UMKC, topping the Kangaroos 9-4 and 9-2.
South Dakota State has now won five straight and is 19-9 on the season after racking up six home runs on the day. It marks SDSU’s best start in the Division I era.
The fourth game of the series scheduled for Sunday was canceled due to the weather.
The Jackrabbits now open Summit League play with a three-game set at Omaha. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday at noon and a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.
Game 1
• SDSU 9, UMKC 4
South Dakota State hit four home runs and rolled to a five-run victory in the first game of the day.
Taylor Compton (7-6) picked up the win, tossing into the second inning and allowing two runs on three hits with a strikeout. Kendra Conard pitched the rest of the game, tallying six complete innings with five strikeouts to earn the save. She did not allow a baserunner in the final four innings.
Brittany Morse tallied a hit in all four of her at-bats, racking up a team-high four RBIs behind a two-double performance.
Ali Herdliska was 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, driving in three while scoring three runs of her own.
Lyndsey Crist (2-for-4) and Baily Janssen hit home runs, as well.
Herdliska gave SDSU a 1-0 lead in the first with her fourth home run of the season, launching a 2-2 pitch over the right-center field wall before the Jacks tacked on another four runs in the second.
Janssen homered to start the second, and after Megan Rushing walked she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Abbey Murphy (walk) and Julia Andersen (singled) reached safely to load the bases, and with two outs in the inning Morse ripped a 2-0 pitch to the left-center gap to empty the bases.
UMKC responded with four runs of its own to keep the score tight in the bottom of the second, but SDSU regained breathing room over the next two innings, starting with Crist’s long ball in the third.
Morse pushed the advantage to 7-4 in the fourth with her second double of the game to score Herdliska, and the Solon, Iowa, native added another pair of runs in the sixth with her second home run of the game, taking an 0-2 pitch over the center field wall to plate Murphy and put SDSU ahead 9-4.
Game 2
• SDSU 9, UMKC 2
Down early, SDSU exploded for nine unanswered down the stretch to pull away and win the day’s finale.
Olivia Douglas (1-0) pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits and four walks while allowing two runs. She struck out four in her first collegiate win.
Crist was 3-for-5 in the game with a pair of RBIs, also scoring two runs.
Mallory McQuistan and Megan Rushing hit home runs in the game, as Rushing had three RBIs and McQuistan drove in two runs.
UMKC led 2-0 through four innings with a run in the first and fourth frames before SDSU responded with a seven-spot in the top of the fifth to take control.
Murphy and Andersen opened the inning with consecutive singles, and after Herdliska moved the pair up 60 feet with a sacrifice bunt, Crist followed with a single through the left side to score both runners.
With a runner on, McQuistan blasted her fourth home run of the season to left center before Janssen drew a full-count free pass and Rushing launched a 1-1 pitch to left for her second home run of the weekend.
Ahead 6-2 at that point, Ponce kept the Jackrabbit offense going with a single before wheeling around the bases as Murphy reached safely on an error.
SDSU added two more in the top of the sixth for good measure, starting the final rally with a pinch-hit single from Danielle Steffo. Crist reached on an error and McQuistan walked to load the bases. With one out, Steffo came home when Chavez lifted a sacrifice fly to left. In the next at-bat, another UMKC error helped Crist dash home for the final run of the day.
Photo from www.gojacks.com.
