Pitching Paces Jacks in SMSU Sweep

Wednesday, April 1

Marshall, Minn.

2:00 PM

South Dakota State University

Southwest Minnesota State

4/1/2015 7:31:00 PM | Softball

By: SDSU Sports Info

MARSHALL, Minn. – Hours after getting back from Kansas City, the South Dakota State softball team returned to action on Wednesday afternoon at Southwest Minnesota State, but showed no signs of fatigue in sweeping the Mustangs. The Jackrabbits won the opener 10-0 in five innings before completing the sweep with a 2-0 win in the nightcap.

SDSU improves to 10-14 on the season with the sweep, while SMSU falls to an even 14-14.

The Jacks struck first with a pair of manufactured runs in the first inning to go up 2-0, and then added single runs in the second and third innings.

Elyse Eitel opened the second inning with a double, and then scored two batters later on a Jessica Markanich single to give SDSU a 3-0 lead, and then used a Mustang error to score one in the third to go up 4-0.

The Jacks broke the game open with three runs in the fourth, capitalizing on a pair of errors, to push the lead to 7-0, and then put the game away with three more in the fifth; using a wild pitch and a Devan Larsen two-RBI single to take a 10-0 lead.

Ashlyn Bender took care of the rest in earning the complete game win. She evened her record at 6-6 after scattering five hits with three strikeouts and no walks in the win.

After a scoreless first inning in Game 2, the Jacks used four hits, with RBI singles from Markanich and KayCee Miller, and a pair of wild pitches to score the only two runs of the game.

Bryana Clark took it from there, tossing a complete game two-hitter, with a career-high seven strikeouts and two walks to improve to 3-7 on the season.

The Jackrabbits return to Summit League play on Friday, when they open their home schedule against Omaha in a doubleheader that starts at noon. The Jacks and Mavericks close the three game series on Saturday at 11 a.m.