Eitel, Jacks Advance in Summit League Tournament

Thursday, May 7

Fargo, N.D.

12:00 PM

South Dakota State University

No. 4 seed Western Illinois

5/7/2015 3:00:00 PM | Softball

By: SDSU Sports Info

FARGO, N.D. – Elyse Eitel hit two home runs and South Dakota State got two more from Devan Larsen and Cassidy Vlot, as the Jackrabbits beat Western Illinois 7-6 in the first round of The Summit League Championships on Thursday in Fargo, N.D.

The Jacks first-ever win in the event gives them a 23-27 record on the season, and earns them the right to play top-seed North Dakota State on Friday at noon. The Fighting Leathernecks season comes to a close with an 18-23 mark.

The Fighting Leathernecks opened the scoring with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Jackrabbits got it right back in the top of the second with a leadoff home run from Elyse Eitel to tie the game at 1-1.

Still tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the third, Western pushed a run across to take a 2-1 lead, but that lead didn't last long, as SDSU got back-to-back jacks in the top of the fourth off the bats of Devan Larsen and Cassidy Vlot.

Western answered in the bottom of the fourth though, scoring three runs on four hits to retake the lead at 5-3 after four complete innings.

The Jacks came right back though, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth inning on two hits and one Western Illinois error, as KayCee Miller scored from first base on a Dana Chavez sacrifice bunt all the way from first base.

The error allowed Chavez to advance to second base, and then score on a ground rule double from Jessica Markanich to tie the game at 5-5. Markanich advanced to third on an Alyssa D'Agostino fly ball to center field and then scored on Eitel's second home run of the game that put the Jacks up 7-5 through four and a half innings.

A leadoff solo homer from Western in the bottom of the fifth cut the SDSU lead to 7-6 after five complete, but it would get no closer, as Ashlyn Bender surrendered just one hit in three innings of relive to earn the win, which boosts her record to 10-13 on the season.

NOTES: Larsen extended her SDSU single-season home run record to 16, which gives her 23 for her career, two shy of tying Steph Kuhl (25 from 2004-07) for the SDSU career record … also with her home run, Larsen broke the SDSU single-season record for total bases with 105, breaking the mark of 103, set by Ashley Kalina in 2005