BROOKINGS, S.D. — In its third appearance in the Summit League Softball Championship, South Dakota opened the day with a 9-1 run-rule win over No. 1 seed Omaha to force a winner-takes-all game two. The Mavericks secured their third straight postseason championship with a 4-2 win over the Yotes.
Game 1 – W, 9-1 (5 innings)
Ella McGee kicked things off with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first, her first of three hits in the game one, and would later score on a Delaney White single to left field. For the second time in as many games, Abi Brown left the yard for a three-run home run to put the Yotes up 4-0 early.
The Mavericks got one run back in the second with a solo homer, but that’s all the Mavs would scratch across against Clara Edwards who tossed all 5.0 innings with three strikeouts and just five hits.
For the second inning in the row, the Yotes leadoff hitter started the inning with an extra base hit, this time with a double from Autumn Iversen. McGee notched her second hit of the game with a single up the middle and moved Iversen over to third who touched home plate on a Tatum Villotta single in the next at-bat.
The trend of leadoff hitters with extra base hits continued in the fourth with Brooke Carey bombing her second home run of the season over the left center fence. USD tacked on two more runs with back-to-back RBI singles from Delaney White and Madison Evans to push the Yotes up 8-1.
Edwards made quick work of the Mavs in the fifth with a 1-2-3 frame, and Iversen would walk off the 9-1 run-rule win with an RBI single that scored Carey from third.
McGee went 3-for-3 from the plate with a pair of runs, brown went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Iversen and White each had two hits.
Game 2 – L, 2-4
The Mavs were the first to plate runs in game two with three in the second inning on a two-RBI single and a sac fly.
The Yotes had a chance in the top of the second to do early damage, as they loaded the bases with one out. Omaha, however, was able to force back-to-back outs to hold the Yotes scoreless.
USD was limited to two base runners across the third to sixth innings. Trailing 4-0 in the seventh, Carey opened the top of the frame with a double down the right field line. Sara Iburg cut the deficit in half, 4-2, with her first career home run and brought the top of the order up with just one out. The Mavs forced the next two Coyotes into a groundout and pop out to close out the 4-2 win.
Jones was a perfect 3-for-3 in her final game as a Coyote, while Carey was 2-for-3. Edwards pitched the first 4.0 innings and allowed three runs and eight hits, while McKenna Young tossed the final 2.0 innings and had three strikeouts.
The Yotes had four players represented on the Summit League All-Tournament Team in Clara Edwards, Abi Brown, Rylie Jones and Madison Evans.
The Coyotes advanced to the Summit League Championship game for the third time in program history (2015, 2019) and close out the season with a 32-24 record.