BROOKINGS – For the second straight season the South Dakota State softball team came up short in the Summit League championship game as the Jackrabbits lost two games to Omaha on Saturday.

The No. 2 seeded Mavericks needed to win both games on Saturday to win the title. They avoided elimination in the first game with a 5-2 win and then came away with a 7-0 victory in the winner take all matchup.

SDSU was in Omaha’s position last year and fell to the Mavericks in the first game of the championship. The Jacks beat the Mavericks 2-1 on Friday.

The Jackrabbits will now await to see if they are invited to play in the National Invitational Softball Championship. SDSU lost in the semifinals in that tournament last season.

Game One

Omaha 5, SDSU 1

A grand slam from Alex Olson in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and the Mavericks hung on in the seventh inning to avoid elimination. 

Omaha got on the board first as Maggie O’Brien hit a solo home run to right center field in the bottom of the first. SDSU then tied the game in the top of the third. Mia Jarecki led off the inning and hit one over the right field wall to make it 1-1 through three innings.

Lynsee Tucker led off the sixth inning with a single. O’Brien followed that with a single of her own and Sammy Schmidt reached base on a bunt to load the bases up. That’s when Olson sent the ball over the right center wall and put the Mavericks in front.

Jarecki came to the plate in the top of the seventh with one out and reached third on an error. She scored on a ground out from Emma Osmundson but the Jacks were unable to score any more runs and that set up a winner take all game.

SDSU had seven hits in the game but left eight runners on base. Lindsey Culver was 2-for-2 and Jarecki and Osmundson were each 2-for-4 with an RBI. Alli Boyle was 1-for-3.

Tori Kniesche pitched the first five innings. She gave up five earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Kamryn Meyer pitched a complete game for the Mavericks and gave up two runs, one earned, on seven hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.

Game Two

Omaha 7, SDSU 0

Shannon Lasey got the start for SDSU and ran into trouble right away. She got the first out and then O’Brien reached on a single. Lasey then walked the next three batters to put the Mavericks up 1-0. Ava Rongisch then hit a bases clearing double to put the Mavericks up 4-0 heading into the second inning.

Kniesche came into the game and the Mavericks extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Tucker singled to lead off the inning and O’Brien followed with a double. Omaha then pushed the lead to 7-0 in the fifth. Rongisch led off the inning with a single and J Johnson was then hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bun from O Aden and Tucker then hit a single and that scored both runners.

SDSU had three hits in the second game. Jarecki and Rozelyn Carrillo were each 1-for-3 and Alli Boyle was 1-for-2.

Lasey pitched two thirds of an inning and gave up four earned runs on two hits with four walks. Akayla Barnard pitched two and a third innings. She gave up one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Kniesche pitched three and two thirds and gave up two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Alexa Williams got the final out for SDSU.

Meyer pitched another complete game for the Mavericks and had four strikeouts. It was her fourth complete game of the tournament and she pitched 35 innings in total. She gave up three earned runs and had 43 walks.