Upcoming Event: Softball versus Augustana on October 5, 2025 at 1 p.m.
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1 p.m.
Softball
vs Augustana
South Dakota State University Athletics
Sunday, February 25
Conway, Ark. - Fieldhouse Field
8 a.m.
South Dakota State University
vs
Stephen F. Austin
Photo by: Laura Mullen
Softball travels South for six games
2/22/2018 11:57:00 AM | Softball
| Â GAMES 6-11: South Dakota State (2-3) at UCA Invitational; Kansas Jayhawks (8-2) |
|  When |  Sunday, Feb. 25* | vs. Stephen F. Austin (8 a.m.); vs. Austin Peay (10 a.m.)  Monday, Feb. 26^ | vs. Louisiana Monroe (9 a.m.); vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11 a.m.)  Tuesday, Feb. 27~ | at Kansas (1/3 p.m.) |
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|  Where |  Fieldhouse Field* and Farris Field (UCA)^ | Conway, Ark.  Arrocha Ballpark at Rock Chalk Park~ | Lawrence, Kansas |
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| Â Live Video | Â Not Available | |
|  Live Stats |  (Unavailable vs. Stephen F. Austin) | Austin Peay | Louisiana Monroe | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | Kansas | |
| Â Live Audio | Â Kansas | |
| Â Game Notes | Â South Dakota State | |
| Â Social Media | Â Twitter | Facebook | #GRIT | |
Weekend Outlook
After having last week's games canceled due to travel issues, the South Dakota State softball program returns to the field this weekend with a trip south, playing four games at the Central Arkansas Invitational in Conway, Arkansas Sunday and Monday before a Tuesday doubleheader at Kansas.
Sunday's games against Stephen F. Austin and Austin Peay will begin at 8 and 10 a.m., respectively, from Fieldhouse Field. Monday will feature the Jackrabbits against Louisiana Monroe (9 a.m.) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11 a.m.) at Farris Field on UCA's campus.
SDSU will pick up a pair of games on the way back to Brookings Tuesday with a doubleheader against the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kansas. First pitch that day is set for 1 p.m., with the finale to follow at approximately 3 p.m.
Weekend Recap
Jackrabbit softball is off to a 2-3 start on the year after opening the season at the UNI Dome Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Jacks picked up a 5-3 win over UMKC in the season opener and closed the event with a thrilling 19-12 comeback win over Green Bay in which the Jackrabbits scored 15 unanswered runs over the final two frames. SDSU also faced Southeast Missouri State, Northern Iowa and Drake at the event, dropping a pair of three-run losses to the Redhawks and Panthers. SDSU will see the Bulldogs again later this season at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.
As a team, South Dakota State hit .274 on opening weekend with 10 doubles, two triples and four home runs. In the circle, the Jackrabbits have a 7.31 team ERA with 17 strikeouts.
Individually, Abbey Murphy paced the Jacks with a .529 average on the weekend, racking up nine hits (including two doubles and a triple) while driving in four. Julia Andersen (.368) was second on the team with seven hits for the weekend as the outfielder had three doubles and drove in five. Mallory McQuistan, who hit two home runs, was the team leader in RBIs with six. Ali Herdliska and Brittney Morse each had two doubles and a home run as well, with Herdliska picking up five RBIs.
In the circle, Madison Hope (2-0) won both games for the Jackrabbits and tossed 12.0 innings, striking out six with eight runs (seven earned) allowed. Kendra Conard made two appearances and allowed just two earned runs, striking out four. Taylor Compton three a team-high 14.0 frames and led the team with seven strikeouts. Her in collegiate debut against UMKC, she tossed 1.1 innings and did not allow a baserunner for the save.
Opponent Outlook
- Stephen F. Austin (6-4) went 3-2 at last weekend's Lady Demon Classic in Natchitoches, Louisiana, taking down Memphis (twice) and Jackson State with two losses to host Northwestern State. The Ladyjacks are hitting .256 as a team, led by Bryana Novegil's 14-for-24 (.583) effort at the plate. Taylor Fraccastoro (.323) is second on the team with 10 hits, and leads the squad with three doubles, two triples and two home runs (even with Amber Landry). In the circle, Autumn Anderson (1-0, 1.27 ERA) and Makayla Sikes (3-3, 1.52 ERA) lead the pitching staff that has struck out 44 and has a combined 2.73 ERA.
- Austin Peay (1-3) joins the Jackrabbits in having their early season schedule altered due to weather, and has played just three of their eight originally schedule matchups. The Governors last played Feb. 13 at Alabama A&M, winning 5-3 before game two of the doubleheader was postponed. Austin Peay is hitting .248 as a team and has four players who have started all four games hitting above the .300 mark. Danielle Liermann (.455) and Kacy Acree (.385) are tied for the team lead with five hits each, as Liermann has tallied a double, two home runs and five RBIs. Acree has two doubles and a pair of RBIs while Natalie Shilling (.400) is 4-for-10 at the plate with a pair of walks. Morgan Rackal (.300) rounds out the top hitters and has a team-high four walks with a double, home run and RBI. APU holds a 4.31 team-ERA with Rackal (2.62, 18 strikeouts) throwing 16 of 26 innings thus far.
- Louisiana-Monroe (4-4) went 1-2 at last weekends Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, Arizona with a pair of canceled games. The Warhawks are hitting .288 combined, led by Sydney McKay (.533), who has started all eight games and is 16-for-30 at the plate with five stolen bases and 10 RBIs. Hunter Hogan (.346) has gone 9-for-26 over eight starts and has a double and a home run, driving in three. ULM holds a 4.62 team-ERA and has struck out 20 opponents. Jessie Watts (1-0, 0.88 ERA) has made four appearances and thrown eight innings, striking out seven. Sydney Wader (1-1, 3.73 ERA) and thrown 15 frames and struck out five. Paige Murray (7.60 ERA, 2-2) leads the team with 15.2 innings pitched.
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-3) was 1-1 against Central Baptist College at last weekend's Mustang Meltdown in Conway, Arkansas after two games were canceled at the event. UAPB is hitting .234 as a team, led by Tonnay Hawkins' .444 average (8-for-18). Kayla Ross is hitting just .214, but leads the team with seven RBIs. The Golden Lions have a 7.46 staff ERA, with Juliana Dominguez's 3.38 ERA leading the way. Angelique Ramos (6.61 ERA) and Karia Hall (10.13 ERA) each have eight strikeouts.
- Kansas (8-2) went 4-1 last weekend at the UTSA Softball Tournament in San Antonio, Texas, taking down Prairie View A&M, UTSA and Missouri State (twice) at the event. The Jayhawks are hitting .289 as a team and hold a 3.13 combined ERA. At the plate, Harli Ridling leads KU with a .429 average, driving in six with a pair of doubles and home runs. Tarin Travieso (.385) is second in team RBIs (eight) behind Jessie Roane's nine, as the pair joins Ridling, Becki Monaghan and Shelby Gayre with two runs each. Andie Formby (3-0) and Sarah Miller (3-2) both own a 2.62 ERA in the circle and Formby has struck out 24 to lead the Jayhawks.
Quick Hits
- The Jackrabbits are now 25-24 all-time in season openers and 6-9 at the Division I level (since 2004). State's win over UMKC was its first opening day win since 2015
- SDSU's 19-12 win over Green Bay on Feb. 11 was the first time the Jacks had surpassed the 15-run mark since April 30, 2016 in a 16-2 win over Fort Wayne.
- Mallory McQuistan hit the first home run of the season in the third inning against UMKC, taking a 2-2 pitch over the wall. Megan Rushing had the Jackrabbits first triple of 2018 in the same inning.
- Julia Anderson and Mallory McQuistan both set career highs in runs batted (four) Feb. 11, 2018 against Green Bay.
- Ali Herdliska now has 23 career home runs, two shy of Steph Kuhl for the second spot in the SDSU record books.
- Herdliska moved into the top 10 in career RBIs over the weekend and now ranks eighth in school history with 86 runs driven in. Next up is Elyse Eitel, picked up 89 RBIs between 2012-15.
- Herdliska ranks ninth at SDSU with 55 career walks. She is within 16 free passes of the school record and five shy of the top five.
- Herdliska is also fifth in school history with 769 career putouts early in her third year as a Jackrabbit.
- Abbey Murphy has now been hit by 14 pitches in her career and is alone in second place at SDSU. She trails only Jessica Markanich (2012-15), who was hit 20 times.
2018 Season Preview
Fourth-year head coach Krista Wood will lead South Dakota State into the 2018 season. The Jackrabbits went 19-35 last season, making the Summit League Tournament for the fourth year in a row. State had been to the tournament only twice before Wood's arrival.
The Jackrabbits hit .262 as a team last season and finished among the best in the Summit League for triples (second), doubles (third) and home runs (fourth). SDSU returns 14 from last year's roster, including eight position starters and Madison Hope in the circle, who appeared in 31 games for the Jackrabbits and posted a 3.95 ERA. She threw 85 total innings and logged 38 strikeouts.
SDSU closed the season with a 4.04 team ERA, showing continued improvement in the circle over Wood's tenure. In 2014, SDSU had a 6.03 combined ERA and lowered it to 4.31 in 2015. The Jackrabbits struck out 223 as a team and allowed 149 walks while leading the league with only 36 home runs allowed.
Ali Herdliska, an All-Summit League First Team pick and two-time Summit League Player of the Week last year, enters her junior season as already one of the top offensive performers in Jackrabbit history. Through two seasons, Herdliska ranks in the top 10 for career home runs (22), hit by pitches (10) and putouts (738) while holding school single-season records in slugging percentage (.725 in 2016), home runs (16 in 2016), total bases (108 in 2016) and walks (34 in 2016). Her 2017 totals in those categories all rank among the top 10, and her 18 doubles a year ago is the second-most in school history. Herdliska hit .338 a year ago and had two triples, six home runs and 36 RBIs.
Brittney Morse was an All-Summit League pick from a year ago, appearing in 52 games with 56 starts for the Jacks. She hit .247 on the year with nine doubles and a team-best seven home runs. The Houston, Texas native tallied 26 runs batted in and worked seven walks. She look to copy her season debut from a year ago, where she hit .400 (6-for-16) over five starts at the UNI Dome Tournament and blasted four homes en route to earning Summit League Player of the Week honors.
Yanney Ponce started 39 games (with 40 appearances) a year ago and hit .297 with four doubles and a home run. She posted six multi-hit games, and provided a solid glove in the middle infield with 61 putouts and 67 assists, committing only seven errors.
Julia Andersen was one of two Jackrabbits to start all 54 games last year, splitting time between center and right field. Andersen hit .261 at the plate with nine doubles, two home runs and two triples. She racked up 18 RBI and led all outfielders in putouts (78) and assists (six).
Abbey Murphy appeared in 53 games for SDSU last season at second base, but will transition to the outfield for this season. The senior hit .243 last year with a .301 on-base mark, posting four doubles and four home runs. She has been hit by 13 pitches in her career, ranking her second in the Jackrabbit record books.
Mallory McQuistan, Danielle Steffo and Morse shared time behind the plate all season and are back as upperclassman in 2018. McQuistan started 42 games and went 32-for-113 (.283) in the batter's box with six doubles, five home runs and 10 walks. Steffo started 15 games and hit .266 with two doubles and 13 RBIs.
Erin Mullen and Baily Janssen rotated at third base much of last year, and will be two veteran presences in the lineup for 2018. Mullen made 36 appearances last year and scored 12 runs with three doubles, two home runs and a .235 batting average. Janssen logged time in 39 games (33 at third base) and finished with a .220 average, scoring eight runs with four doubles and eight walks.
Lyndsey Crist appeared in 48 games last year and led the team with 23 walks. She finished with a .197 average and had six doubles and three home runs. Her speed on the bases provided a spark as well as the Lincoln, Nebraska native paced the squad with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts. She was a First Team all-league pick in 2016.
Dana Chavez is back for her senior season after appearing in 24 games last year. She hit .200 and had a triple, and this offseason was named as SDSU's February Strength and Conditioning Female Athlete of the Month.
Paige Gerdes is the lone sophomore on the roster but brings experience after logging 27 appearances a year ago. Gerdes hit .208 last year with three doubles and a home run.
Megan Rushing, a junior transfer from Des Moines Area Community College, brings a fresh face to the infield after earning First Team All-Region honors both years in junior college. Rushing left DMACC as the all-time leader in walks (89) and last year went 46-for-126 (.365) at the plate with 35 RBIs.
The 2018 pitching battery will see the most faces, with freshmen Taylor Compton, Kendra Conard and Olivia Douglas set to make their debuts in the circle this weekend.
Compton (Baxter Springs, Kansas) posted a 0.95 career ERA in high school and left Kansas as the all-time leader in strikeouts (886) and wins (80) while being named All-State four times.
Douglas (Hastings, Nebraska) graduated early and enrolled at SDSU for the spring semester. She was a three-time All-State First Team pick and won 28 games as a season with a 1.50 ERA.
Conard (South Lake Tahoe, California) was a two-time All-State selection in high school. She tallied 187 strikeouts with a 0.84 ERA as a senior in the circle, and at the plate hit .702.
Jacks Picked Fourth in Summit League Poll
South Dakota State was picked fourth in the 2018 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, released early February by the league office. The Jacks earned the No. 6 seed in the 2017 Summit League Championships and carry an experienced lineup into the 2018 season.
State has with 13 returners on the roster, including eight position starters and a starting pitcher. The Jacks will blend 14 upperclassman (five seniors, nine juniors) with a promising group of underclassman.
SDSU received 14 votes in the poll, three behind South Dakota, who had 17 points and one first-place vote. Atop the poll, reigning league champion North Dakota State is first with five first-place votes and 25 points, while Western Illinois garnered 20 tallies for second.
Herdliska Named a Player to Watch
For the second consecutive season, Ali Herdliska was named a Player to Watch for The Summit League, announced preseason alongside the coaches poll.
Herdliska, an All-Summit League performer from 2017, is back for her junior campaign after leading the Jackrabbits with a .338 average last year, starting all 54 games. The infielder racked up 18 doubles, six home runs and 36 RBIs while drawing 18 walks on the season.
Smarty Jacks
South Dakota State was one of 149 Division I softball programs to earn a spot on the 2017 Easton / National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Academic Teams award list. The rankings recognize the academic prowess of softball teams across seven membership divisions within the NFCA.
The Jackrabbits had a 2016-17 team grade point average of 3.016 with 11 team members boasting GPAs above the 3.00 mark.
For the 2017 fall semester, State posted a 3.47 combined GPA with 18 of 20 student-athletes logging a plus-3.0 grade point average.
New Face in the Dugout
While head coach Krista Wood and assistant Shannon Pivovar are in their fourth season leading the Jacks, a new face has joined the coaching ranks for the 2018 season. Kristi Villar was added as an assistant coach of the summer and brings more than nine years of collegiate coaching experience to the program. She spent the last seven years at Northern State, where she won over 160 games while building a program that had previously never won more than 20 games before her arrival. The Oakdale, Minnesota native won 20 or more games four times, and helped the team to its first 30-win season while earning 2015 NSIC Coach of the Year honors.
Prior to NSU, she worked for two seasons (2007-09) as a graduate assistant coach at Southwest Minnesota State, where she helped the Mustangs to consecutive NSIC championships and worked with one All-American, three All-Region players and seven All-NSIC picks.
She played collegiate ball at Augustana (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), where she earned All-North Central Conference honors four times in her career and led the team in hitting as a junior and senior.
Nine Sign NLIs with Jackrabbit Softball
South Dakota State softball coach Krista Wood announced nine additions to the Jackrabbit softball program as part of this week's National Signing Day activities.
Olivia Douglas, part of the group, enrolled early and has joined SDSU for the upcoming season, while the other eight newcomers will come to campus fall 2018. Those signees are Caelyn Christiancy (Lincoln, Nebraska), Peyton Daugherty (Ankeny, Iowa), Morgan DeMarais (Buffalo, Minnesota), Emma Hardin (Brookings, South Dakota), Jadelyn Johnson (Battle Ground, Indiana), Kelsey Lenox (Chesterfield, Missouri), Olivia Pfeifer (Hannibal, Missouri) and Allison Yoder (Urbandale, Iowa).
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