SIOUX FALLS — South Dakota State's Tayler Baker was honored for her performance in the circle during the Jackrabbits' recent weekend series at North Dakota, as she was selected as the Kwik Star Summit League Softball Peak Pitcher of the Week the conference office announced on Monday. 
 
The Jacks completed a three-game sweep over the Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks at North Dakota's Albrecht Field on Saturday. Baker was stellar across a pair of starts as she registered a 2-0 record versus UND. 
 

The freshman pitched the second game of a doubleheader on Friday. Baker kept the Fighting Hawks hitless in her first four innings of work. She wound up giving up just two hits and two walks across seven innings. Baker also allowed one earned run while she struck out eight batters. 
 
She closed out the series with another complete-game effort in a 2-1 win for the Jackrabbits on Saturday. Aside from a solo home run given up in the second inning, Baker didn't allow any other UND runner to reach third base over seven innings of work. She closed out another complete game by giving up one run on three hits. Baker struck out eight batters while walking one.
 
The Madison, Wis., native pitched a combined 14 innings and allowed two runs on five hits. Baker struck out 16 batters while walking three. 
 
South Dakota State begins its appearance at the 2025 Summit League Softball Championship on Thursday. The Jackrabbits are slated to play at 1:30 p.m. as they await the winner of the opening-round game between No. 3 South Dakota and No. 6 Kansas City.