MACOMB, Ill. – South Dakota State softball claimed its weekend series at Western Illinois with a 13-3 run-rule victory in six innings Sunday afternoon.
The Jackrabbits (31-13, 10-4 Summit League) have maintained their best start in program history and have secured their best league winning percentage in program history.
Madison Hope got the start but left in the first after WIU scored three runs (two earned) before Taylor Compton entered in relief. Compton (8-6) threw the final 5.2 innings in shutout fashion for the win, scattering three hits and four walks with four strikeouts.
Ali Herdliska went 3-for-4 on the day with two home runs while Megan Rushing was 3-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in.
Abbey Murphy (two RBIs), Julia Andersen (two doubles) and Brittney Morse had two-hit days for the Jacks.
A trio of one-out hits helped State take a 1-0 lead in the first, as Andersen doubled, took third on a Herdliska single and came home as Morse took a 1-0 pitch through the left side.
WIU answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning before the Jacks got one back in the top of the second to make it a 3-2 game. Rushing started the inning with a single, and after moving to third as Yanney Ponce reached on an error Murphy singled on the first pitch of her at-bat for the RBI.
SDSU regained the lead with a six-run fourth inning and put the game out of reach with another five runs in the sixth.
Janssen (error), Rushing (single) and Ponce (fielder’s choice) reached safely to load the bases with no outs in the fourth before Murphy slipped a 3-2 pitch into right field for her second RBI of the day to tie it, 3-3. From there, Andersen emptied the bases with a double to left center, and after a throw from the catcher trying to catch Andersen at third went errant the fifth run of the frame came home as SDSU went ahead 7-3. In the next at-bat, Herdliska launched her ninth home run of the season over the right-center wall as the Jacks went ahead five.
The sixth inning began with Herdliska’s second home run of the game, and Morse singled to keep the offense going before Dana Chavez walked and Lyndsey Crist loaded the bases by reaching on a Leatherneck error. Paige Gerdes hit a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat for the 10th run of the day before Rushing launched a three-run blast to left field to make it 13-3 in SDSU’s favor.
Looking at their second run-rule victory in as many days, the Jackrabbits saw Western Illinois load the bases in the bottom of the sixth with two outs but got out of the jam and induced a fly ball to end it.
Up Next: South Dakota State will host North Dakota for a Senior Day doubleheader Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
MACOMB, Ill. – South Dakota State softball split a road doubleheader with Western Illinois Saturday at Mary Ellen McKee Stadium, claiming game one 13-3 in five innings before dropping game two, 4-3.
Game 1
• SDSU 13, WIU 3
(Five innings)
Six Jackrabbits had multi-hit games, led by Morse’s 3-for-4 performance that included three RBIs and a home run. Murphy, Andersen, Herdliska, Crist and Baily Janssen all racked up two hits as Herdliska and Crist also netted home runs and Andersen and Janssen drove in three each.
Hope (18-5) pitched a complete game in the win, striking out two while allowing three runs on six hits.
Scoreless through one, State took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second with a patient approach and timely hits. Crist snuck a single through the right side to open the inning before Janssen and Megan Rushing drew walks to load the bases. With one gone in the inning, Murphy hit a bloop single to center to plate Crist and Andersen followed with a single through the right side, as Janssen came home to put SDSU ahead two.
That score held until the fourth, when a two-run Leatherneck home run evened the score, but the Jacks responded quickly with a crooked inning, scoring 11 runs in the fifth to build a 13-2 advantage.
Herdliska and Morse started the rally with back-to-back long balls, and with one out in the frame Crist ripped a ball to the left-center gap that fell between a pair of colliding outfielders. The Lincoln, Nebraska native showed off her wheels on the play, racing around the bases and beating the throw at the plate for an inside-the-park home run.
Later in the inning, State loaded the bases with two outs and scored five more runs a two-run single from Andersen, a one-run single from Herdliska and a bases-clearing two-run double from Morse to the left center gap. Mallory McQuistan and Crist worked consecutive walks to reload the bases again before Janssen emptied them with a triple to right center, launching a 3-2 pitch into the gap to put the Jacks ahead by 11.
In run-rule territory after the big inning, State allowed two runs in the bottom of the fifth but shut down the rally with a game-ending double play to seal the victory.
Game 2
•WIU 4, SDSU 3
Lyndsey Crist was 2-for-3 in the game with a solo home run while Julia Andersen added her 18th multi-hit performance of the season. Paige Gerdes drove in two runs with a double and four other Jackrabbits tallied hits.
Taylor Compton started and threw four complete innings, allowing one run on a pair of hits and four walks while striking out two. Hope (18-6) pitched the final two innings and was tagged for the loss with three runs allowed on six hits and a walk.
WIU took a 1-0 lead early and held the advantage until the fifth, when Crist hit a solo home run to left center to even the score.
The Leathernecks answered SDSU’s rally with three runs in the bottom of the inning while building a 4-1 lead, but the Jacks stayed within striking distance with a pair of scores in the top of the sixth. Andersen and Herdliska reached on back-to-back singles to start the frame, and after a fielder’s choice put Herdliska on second and Danielle Steffo (who pinch-ran for Morse) on first with one gone, Gerdes ripped a 2-2 pitch to left center for a two-run, pinch-hit double to make it 4-3.
Down to its last chance, State put a runner on in the top of the seventh but lined into a double play to end it.
