| Week 11: South Dakota State (21-20, 6-3) vs. North Dakota State (16-24, 3-6) | |
| When | Friday, April 18 (2 p.m.) – Saturday, April 19 (1 p.m. DH) |
| Location | Brookings, S.D. (Jerald T. Moriarty Field) |
| Stream | Summit League Network |
| Live Stats | GoJacksLive.com |
| South Dakota State | Home Page | Game Notes |
| NDSU | Home Page |
South Dakota State returns to Jerald T. Moriarty Field for its next Summit League series as the Jackrabbits prepare to take on North Dakota State. SDSU’s and NDSU’s three-game set has already seen a few adjustments due to expected weather. The two sides will play a single game at 2 p.m. on Friday, then close the series with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Jacks most recently fell in two of three games in a series at St. Thomas this past weekend. SDSU fell in a pair of games by 6-0 and 6-2 scores, but initially evened the series behind an 8-2 victory over the Tommies. Three players in Emma Vike, Alivya Bollen and Akayla Barnard had three hits apiece in the game, while two 2 2/3 innings of relief by Tayler Baker and Amanda Vacanti provided the Jacks a win.
SDSU enters the series with a 21-20 overall record and 6-3 mark in Summit League play. NDSU, which is 16-24 and 3-6 in league action, is coming off a doubleheader at Wisconsin on Wednesday that saw the Bison fall 10-2 and 8-0. They are led at the plate by Chloe Woldruff’s .343 batting average. Bella Dean paces NDSU in slugging with six home runs and 26 RBIs. The NDSU pitching staff has combined for a 5.24 ERA this season.
NDSU is SDSU’s second longest rival in terms of games played in an all-time series. The Bison hold a 75-62 edge in the series heading into the weekend. The Jackrabbits have closed in on that edge of late. SDSU has won 15 straight meetings between the two teams dating back to 2021.
Abby Gentry, despite a quiet weekend in St. Paul last weekend, still has strong statistics. The third baseman leads SDSU in home runs (7), RBIs (39), hits (45) and batting average (.398). Her RBI and doubles (14) totals rank atop the Summit League leader board.
Four other Jacks that are currently part of the everyday lineup that hit over .300 include Brooke Dumont (.372), Emma Christensen (.362), Emma Vike (.361) and Mia Jarecki (.320). Dumont and Jarecki have several marks that rank on SDSU’s career top 10 lists.
SDSU’s pitching staff has a combined 4.37 ERA through 263 innings thrown in 41 games. Four pitchers have thrown over 40 innings for the Jackrabbits. Amanda Vacanti leads that group in ERA (3.40) while she’s followed by Akayla Barnard (4.20), Madi Mangulis (4.41) and Tayler Baker (4.41). Through nine conference games the pitching staff has accumulated a 3.56 ERA. Hailey Herman has made three appearances and holds a 1.83 ERA across 7 2/3 innings. Sylvia Shromoff follows her with a 3.15 ERA in 20 innings pitched.
Coverage Information
South Dakota State’s series versus North Dakota State will be streamed on The Summit League Network Powered by Midco Sports. Fans can watch on summitleaguenetwork.tv or on The Midco Sports Plus app with a subscription. Live stats for all games the Jackrabbits play in are available on the South Dakota State schedule page. For more information about Jackrabbit softball, you can follow the team social media accounts (@GoJacksSB) or visit the team page at GoJacks.com.