Jacks softball splits in Colorado

Saturday, March 6

Fort Collins, Colo.

3 p.m. MT

South Dakota State University

Utah Valley

3/7/2010 2:00:00 AM | Softball

By: SDSU Sports Info

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The South Dakota State softball team split a pair of games on Saturday at the Colorado State Classic in Fort Collins, Colo., falling to Utah State 7-2 in the opener before downing Utah Valley 6-5 in the final game of the day.

The Jackrabbits end the day with a 5-11 record entering a doubleheader with the host Rams on Sunday.

Kelsey Lunn led the Jacks on Saturday with a 3-for-4 day in the two games with three RBI and a pair of walks. Tina Winter and Ashley Durazo both went 2-for-6 on the day, with Durazo adding an RBI.

SDSU fell behind 2-0 in the second inning in the opener against the Aggies, but came back with two runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Winter opened the inning with a single through the left side and then scored on a Durazo triple to get the Jacks on the board. Lunn singled home Durazo in the next at bat to tie the game at 2-all, but the rally ended there, and the Aggies countered with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to seal the win.

Kori Seidlitz got the start and pitched four innings, giving up all seven runs on 10 hits in a losing effort to fall to 3-6 on the season.

The Jacks scored three early runs in the second game of the day against Utah Valley, only to see the Wolverines come back to tie the game at 3-3 with a run in the sixth.

SDSU bounced back in the in the sixth, starting with an infield single by Devon Reick. Pam Nicholson moved Reick to second with a sacrifice bunt, setting up Lunn, who delivered with an RBI single to centerfield that scoed Reick from second to put the Jacks back on top 4-3. That brought up Dani Broshar, who went opposite field with a homerun to right center field to put the Jacks up 6-3.

Things got dicey in the top of the seventh when Utah Valley scored two runs, but Nicholson pitched out of a jam and left the bases full of Wolverines when she struck out the final batter of the game to give the Jacks the win.

Nicholson gave up five hits and two runs over three and a third innings pitched, but Seidlitz got the win after pitching the first three and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

The Jackrabbits return to the diamond on Sunday against Colorado State for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. MT.