BROOKINGS, S.D. — The South Dakota softball team made it five straight wins with an 8-6 win over Kansas City Wednesday afternoon to advance in the Summit League Tournament.
With the win today, head coach Robert Wagner reached 200 career wins at South Dakota.
After a 1-2-3 first inning from both squads, the Roos found runners in scoring position first in the top of the second. A ground out to shortstop recorded the second out of the inning but would move a pair of Kansas City runners to second and third. Clara Edwards stranded the Roos on base by forcing a groundout to Rylie Jones at shortstop.
Autumn Iversen started the third inning with a leadoff single, her first of two hits in the inning, as the Coyote bats exploded for a six-run frame. Madison Evans reached base safely on an error in the outfield, and the Yotes would use small ball to move them over with a sac bunt from Clara Edwards. The move paid off in the next at-bat as Ella McGee put the ball in play in the infield, and Iversen beat the throw home to score the first run of the day for USD.
Villotta reached on a bunt single to load the bases, and Delaney White and Abi Brown drove in four runs to take a 5-1 lead. White’s single to left-center brought in McGee and Evans, while Brown just missed her fifth homer of the season as she doubled to drive in two on a ball that hit the outfield fence on the fly. The Yotes closed out the six-run inning with Edwards bringing in Brown on a bunt where all runners were called safe.
The Roos, however, would respond in the sixth inning to tie the ball game at 6-6. Miscues hurt the Yotes in the frames with a pair of errors and two passed balls.
After back-to-back outs to start the bottom of the sixth, McGee doubled to left center, which started a string of four straight hits by the Yotes. Villotta legged out an infield single, moving McGee to third in the process, and the Yotes had runners on the corners. White tallied her third hit and third RBI of the day with an infield single. The Yotes would push their lead to two on an infield single from Brown to go into the seventh frame with an 8-6 edge.
McKenna Young put the Roos down in order with three fly outs to close out the 8-6 win.
White, Villota, Brown and Iversen all tallied two or more hits, while White and Brown each drove in three runs. Edwards started in the circle for the Yotes and went 3.0 innings with five hits, one earned run and two strikeouts. Young earns the win after throwing the final 4.0 innings. She allowed two hits, three earned runs and had one punchout.
The Yotes return to action tomorrow to face the No. 2 seeded South Dakota State at 1:30 p.m. at Jerald T. Moriarty Field in Brookings, South Dakota.