IOWA CITY, Iowa – South Dakota State dropped a pair of games Sunday in its final day at the Hawkeye Invitational. SDSU (13-18) fell to Valparaiso, 3-1, in the first game of the day before losing 5-0 to Iowa.

• Valparaiso 3, SDSU 1

Ashlyn Bender (6-6) started and tossed four innings in the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) with a trio of strikeouts. Madison Hope threw the final three innings in scoreless fashion with two strikeouts.

Five Jackrabbits had hits, led by doubles from Ali Herdliska and Brittney Morse. Paige Gerdes drove in SDSU's lone run with a pinch hit single in the seventh.

Valparaiso took a 1-0 lead in the first and added another two runs in the fourth, limiting the Jackrabbit offensive threats to claim the win.

SDSU had a one-out double from Morse in the second and leadoff singles from Julia Andersen and Danielle Steffo in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, but did not score until the seventh.

Herdliska started the final inning with a double, and with two outs came around to score when Gerdes singled down the left field line. From there, Erin Mullen walked but a strikeout ended the Jackrabbit rally.

• Iowa 5, SDSU 0

Abby Deane (7-10) threw five innings in the loss, striking out four with four runs allowed (one earned). Hope tossed the final frame and allowed one run.

Abbey Murphy was 2 for 3 on the day while Emily Ensrud added a double.

State had leadoff singles in the first three innings, but was unable to capitalize as Iowa jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

The Jackrabbits' best scoring opportunity came in the fifth after loading the bases on a Murphy single, Ensrud double and Andersen hit-by-pitch, but a strikeout and popup ended the threat.

Up Next

SDSU opens Summit League play next weekend, March 25-26, at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

Saturday

• SDSU 4, Creighton 3 (8 inn.)

Deane (6-10) tossed a complete game and tallied nine strikeouts, allowing three runs – two earned – on seven hits.

Morse went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs, while Herdliska went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs. Lyndsey Crist drove in the other Jackrabbit run and Baily Janssen had a double.

Scoreless through three innings, SDSU broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Emily Ensrud and Herdliska reached on infield singles, and with two outs Morse, ripped an two-RBI double to left, scoring Ensrud and Herdliska as the Jacks went up 2-0.

Creighton got one back in the bottom of the fourth behind a solo home run, and tied it at 2 with a run in the bottom of the sixth.

After a scoreless seventh, the teams headed for extras using the international tiebreaker rule.

Dana Chavez was placed on second to start the eighth and moved to third on a passed ball during Andersen's at-bat. Chavez came home when Crist hit a sac fly to left, giving SDSU a one-run lead in the eighth. Ali Herdliska restarted the rally with a single and wheeled around to score when Morse stroked her second double of the night into right field and gave the Jacks an insurance run.

Creighton got one in the bottom of the eighth, but SDSU worked around a two-out double to secure its third extra innings win of the year.

• Iowa 2, SDSU 0

Bender (6-5) took the loss, throwing into the fifth with two runs allowed on five hits. She struck out two before Madison Hope entered and tossed the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit.

Andersen led the Jacks with two hits while Crist had a double.

The Jacks looked to strike first by putting two runners in scoring position in the opening frame with just one out, but a pair of groundouts ended the early chance.

Iowa scored a pair of runs in the second and held on the rest of the way, though the Jacks put threats together in the sixth and seventh.

Andersen singled with two outs in the sixth and moved to second when Crist walked, but another groundout kept the Jacks off the board. In the seventh, SDSU again had runners on second and third after Steffo's walk and Chavez's single, but a comeback wasn't in the cards in the day's finale.