Jackrabbits win two Tuesday

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CLEARWATER, Fla. – South Dakota State softball opened its spring break trip with a sweep Tuesday, taking down Penn in extra innings 7-6 before a 9-6 win over Niagara in the second game of the day.

SDSU has won seven of its last nine games and is now 8-5 on the season.

• South Dakota State 7, Penn 6 (9 innings)

Ali Herdliska went 3-for-5 on the day with a trio of runs driven in and a double, while Erin Mullen blasted a solo home run. Abbey Murphy (RBI) and Brittney Morse (two RBIs) both had two hits. Dana Chavez and Yanney Ponce posted doubles in the game.

Madison Hope (4-1) earned the win in relief, tossing the final seven innings with two runs allowed and a pair of strikeouts.

Taylor Compton started the game and exited in the third after allowing four runs on seven hits.

State jumped out to 2-0 lead in the third behind Herdliska’s two-RBI single, plating Chavez and Murphy, who reached earlier in the inning on a double and single, respectively. Penn answered in the bottom of the inning, however, with a grand slam to open a 4-2 lead.

Down two, the Jacks cut the deficit to one (4-3) in the fifth on Morse’s RBI single and tacked on another three in the sixth to regain control, 6-4.

Mullen opened the sixth with a solo home run to center, and with one out in the inning Ponce doubled to restart the offense. Later in the inning with two gone, Murphy singled to push Ponce across, and in the next at-bat Herdliska roped a double into center to score Murphy.

Down to its last chance, Penn rallied for a pair of runs to tie it 6-all and force extras, but in the ninth State took advantage of the international tie-breaker for a final run, scoring Andersen from third after she started the inning on second base, took third on a ground out and dashed home when Morse singled.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 7, PENN 6 (9 INN)

SDSU 002 013 001  –  7  13  0

PENN 004 000 200  –  6  13  1

Taylor Compton, Madison Hope (3) and Mallory McQuistan; Jennifer Brann and Corey Burrough. W – Hope (1-0). L –Brann (0-2). 2B: SDSU, Ali Herdliska, Dana Chavez, Yanney Ponce. HR: SDSU, Erin Mullen; P, Lucy Yang.

• South Dakota State 9, Niagara 4

Julia Andersen went 3-for-5 on the day to lead the Jacks in hits, while Brittney Morse was 2-for-3 with a team-leading four runs batted in.

Megan Rushing went 2-for-3 as well, scoring two runs while driving in a pair of her own.

Madison Hope started and tossed four innings, earning her fifth win of the season. She did not allow a run and struck out four before Taylor Compton entered to throw the fifth. Compton gave up three runs before Kendra Conard finished the game, pitching the final two innings with three runs allowed.

SDSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on a three-run shot by Morse and added another run in the second when Ponce doubled home Rushing.

Ahead four, the Jacks stretched their lead further (5-0) in the fourth when Rushing came home again on a Murphy RBI single before Niagara got three back in their half of the inning.

State pushed its advantage back to four (7-3) with a pair of runs in the fifth, and in the sixth pushed two more across to go up 9-3.

NU scored three more times over the final two innings, but the Jacks held on to complete the sweep.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 9, NIAGARA 6

SDSU 310 122 0  –  9  13  3

NIAGARA 000 301 2  –  6  10  0

Madison Hope, Taylor Compton (5), Kendra Conard and Mallory McQuistan, Brittney Morse (3); Bertran and Funk. W – Hope (5-1). L –Bertran (2-3). 2B: SDSU, Abbey Murphy, Yanney Ponce; P, Orfano. HR: SDSU, Brittney Morse.

Photo from www.gojacks.com.