BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State used a strong effort in the circle from Tori Kniesche, along with a six-run third inning at the plate, to claim a 7-0 victory over South Dakota in its opening game of the 2024 Summit League Softball Championship Thursday at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.
The Coyotes had an early opportunity to strike first on the scoreboard. A two-out hit by pitch in the top of the second was followed up by a single to put two USD runners on base. Jackrabbit starting pitcher Tori Kniesche was able to get a strikeout on the next batter to escape the frame without any damage.
SDSU got its first runner on base in the second before breaking the game open in the third.
Madi Conklin began the bottom of the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cheyanne Masterson that saw the senior third baseman reach base due to a throwing error. Mia Jarecki walked, loading the bases for the Jackrabbits with no outs.
Emma Osmundson singled up the middle and plated two runs to give the Jackrabbits the lead. Lindsey Culver came up next and hit a two-run double off the center-field wall to score another two runs and make it a 4-0 ballgame. After a flyout that advanced Culver to third base, Brooke Dumont brought her in thanks to a squeeze bunt to extend the advantage to 5-0. Jocelyn Carrillo put a cap on the SDSU scoring in the sixth with a solo home run and gave the Jacks a 6-0 edge heading to the fourth inning.
After a quiet fourth inning, South Dakota got its second hit of the day in the top of the fifth. However, the Yotes would leave the runner stranded. The Jackrabbits added a run in the bottom of the frame as a Rozelyn Carrillo double was followed by an RBI single off the bat of Dumont to make it 7-0.
The seven runs served as plenty of insurance for Kniesche. She sent the Coyotes down in order in the sixth and seventh innings to earn a complete-game shutout.
SDSU finished the victory off by making the most of six hits on the day. Six different Jackrabbits accounted for hits while Osmundson, Culver and Dumont had two RBIs apiece. Kniesche allowed just two hits and struck out six batters in the shutout.
Notes
- South Dakota State is now 32-20 overall on the season while South Dakota fell to 23-29.
- The Jackrabbits advanced to the winner’s bracket with the victory. The Coyotes will play in an elimination game this evening.
- Kniesche improved to 16-6 on the season with the victory. The Jackrabbit record holder in strikeouts surpassed a career milestone by crossing over 900 strikeouts in her collegiate tenure.
Up Next
SDSU will play for a chance to advance to The Summit League tournament title game. The Jackrabbits await the winner of Kansas City versus Omaha, which is in the midst of extra innings, in the winner’s bracket game. The Jacks will play the winner of the extra innings affair in a meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.