Softball takes two at USF Invitational

Friday, March 10

Clearwater, Fla.

10:30 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Holy Cross

Photo by: Laura Mullen

3/10/2017 6:34:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- South Dakota State picked up a pair of comeback wins to open its stay at the USF-Under Armour Invitational Friday. The Jackrabbits took down Holy Cross, 7-2, in the opener and rallied through the middle innings to top Villanova, 5-3.

SDSU (10-13) had 15 hits for the day as Abby Deane (3-7) picked up a couple wins as the pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts.

"We're playing with a lot of focus right now and things are starting to roll," head coach Krista Wood said. "We had solid pitching today and our lineup came through with clutch hits. We'll look to continue that the rest of the weekend and beyond."

SDSU 7, Holy Cross 2
Deane threw a complete game and worked around 10 hits, allowing just two runs while striking out eight.

Ali Herdliska went 2 for 3 with four runs batted in, hitting her second home run of the season alongside a double. Erin Mullen had a home run of her own, her first as a Jackrabbit, while Brittney Morse and Emily Ensrud (who scored two runs) added doubles. Julia Andersen went 2 for 4 at the plate.

Down 2-0 after the top of the third, the Jacks struck back immediately with a pair in the bottom half of the inning.

Mullen led off the inning with a solo shot over the left field wall and Ensrud continued the rally with a double in the next at-bat. From there, an Andersen sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third and before a walk and catcher interference loaded the bases. Morse's hard grounder scored Ensrud when a throw to the plate was dropped by the catcher.

Tied 2-all, SDSU put up a four-spot in the fourth to take the lead for good with a two-out rally. With one down, Ensrud reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second when Andersen singled. From there, Lyndsey Crist hit a ground ball to the shortstop, but reached safely when an errant throw allowed Ensrud to score as Andersen took third and Crist second. In the next at bat, Herdliska launched a 3-2 pitch over the center field wall for three more Jackrabbit runs.

The final run for SDSU came in the sixth when Herdliska doubled to plate Ensrud after her lead-off walk.

SDSU 5, Villanova 3
Ashlyn Bender started and tossed 3.1 frames, allowing three runs with three strikeouts. Deane finished out the contest in scorelss fashion to earn the win, fanning three.

Eight Jackrabbits had singles in the game as Crist, Herdliska, Morse, Mallory McQuistan and Janssen batted runs in.

Villanova scored one in the first but SDSU matched the effort to leave the teams tied after one. SDSU's run came on Morse's RBI single into right, scoring Crist, who singled with one out and mvoed to second after Herdliska was hit by a pitch.

The WIldcats struck back with another run in the second, but SDSU manufactured three more in the fourth to go on top by two (4-2). Ensrud singled to start the rally, moving to second on Andersen's sacrifice bunt. Later in the inning, with two gone, Ensrud scored on Herdliska's single to right.

After Morse was hit by a pitch to push Herdliska to second, the Jackrabbit first baseman wheeled around to score when McQuistan stroked the first pitch she saw through the left side. Alexis Ray, who pinch ran for Morse, took third on McQuistan's single, and scored a run of her own when Janssen came through with an RBI hit.

Villanova got one back in the fourth, but the Jacks regain their insurance run in the bottom of the inning before hanging on for the win. Abbey Murphy started the frame, moving to second on Ensrud's sacrifice bunt and third on Andersen's single. Murphy scored in the next at-bat as Crist's foul out was deep enough to go as a sacrifice.

Up Next
South Dakota State continues the weekend with two games Saturday, taking on Central Connecticut State at 8:15 a.m. CT and Canisius at 10:30 CT.