Softball wins two Sunday

Sunday, February 25

Conway, Ark. - Fieldhouse Field

8 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Laura Mullen

2/25/2018 3:06:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CONWAY, Ark. – The Jackrabbit softball program swept a pair of games on day one of the UCA Invitational Sunday to improve to 4-3 on the season. South Dakota State took down Stephen F. Austin, 7-2, in the first game before run-ruling Austin Peay in six innings, 12-4 in the day's finale.

South Dakota State 7, Stephen F. Austin 2
The Jackrabbits used a six-run fifth inning to defeat the Ladyjacks, opening the weekend with a 7-2 win.

Julia Andersen and Brittney Morse (one RBI) each went 2-for-3 for SDSU, while Baily Janssen drove in three with an inside-the-park home run and Abbey Murphy had a pair of RBIs.

Mallory McQuistan blasted her third home run of the season in the win.

Madison Hope started and threw into the fifth, exiting after allowing two runs on five hits and a trio of walks. Taylor Compton (1-3) earned her first collegiate win in relief, tossing three shutout frames with just two hits allowed.

Scoreless through one and a half, the Jacks took a 1-0 lead in the second on McQuistan's solo home run to lead off the inning. Stephen F. Austin, however, responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third to take the lead.

Still down 2-1 after four innings, the Jackrabbit offense roared to life in the fifth to go back on top, scoring six runs on four hits.

With one gone in the inning, Yanney Ponce ripped a double to right center before Andersen drew a walk, and Murphy brought the pair home with a double of her one. Later in the inning, Morse singled to plate Murphy from second, and after McQuistan drew a two-out walk Janssen sent a 2-2 pitch past the Ladyjack defense, racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

Up 7-2 at that point, State worked around SFA runners in the final two innings to close out the win.

South Dakota State 12, Austin Peay 4 (Six innings)
The Jackrabbits used a pair of big innings and a barrage of 16 hits to defeat Austin Peay in six innings, 12-4.

Megan Rushing was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs, a walk and a triple.

Abbey Murphy drove in five runs with a pair of doubles, while Julia Andersen (triple) and Brittney Morse (double) each added two RBIs.

Overall, six Jackrabbits had multi-hit performances.

Taylor Compton (2-3) picked up her second win of the day, starting and throwing four innings with four runs allowed (three earned) and two strikeouts. Madison Hope threw the final two innings and did not allow a run. She had one strikeout.

State fell behind 2-0 in the first but answered with a four-spot top of the second to take the lead for good. Lyndsey Crist started the inning with a single, and after moving to second on a sacrifice bunt wheeled around to score when Rushing singled to center and took second on the throw.

Ponce moved Rushing to third in the next at-bat, and with two outs slid up to second on a wild pitch during Murphy's at-bat. Murphy plated two runners with a single to left center, and after moving to second on a passed ball scored the final run of the inning when Herdliska took a 1-1 pitch up the middle.

SDSU tacked on another in the third behind an RBI triple from Rushing (scoring Janssen) to take a 5-2 lead, but saw the advantage cut to one (5-4) when Austin Peay pushed two of its own across in the bottom of the inning.

The Jacks added an insurance run in the fourth when Morse doubled home McQuistan before breaking out for five runs in the top of the fifth.

Janssen (single), Rushing (walk) and Ponce (hit-by-pitch) loaded the bases to open the inning, and after Andersen brought home a run with a full-count walk, Murphy emptied the bases with a double to right center to make it 11-4. Later in the inning, Morse followed with a double of her own to score Murphy and put the Jacks up seven.

SDSU closed the scoring in the sixth to put the game in run-rule territory and held the Governors scoreless in the bottom half for the win. With one out, Paige Gerdes reached on a pinch-hit fielder's choice and raced around to score as Andersen notched her first triple of the season.

APSU got two runners in the bottom of the sixth with two outs were unable to extend the game as Hope induced a ground ball for the final out.

Game Notes

South Dakota State has now scored first in five of seven games this season.
Mallory McQuistan leads the team with three home runs.
Abbey Murphy was the first Jackrabbit to drive in five runs in a game since Ali Herdliska did it last Feb. 26 against Alabama A&M.
State broke the 15-hit mark in a game for the first time since Feb. 17, 2017 when the team had 15 against South Carolina State.

Up Next
South Dakota State wraps up its stay at the UCA Invitational Monday with a pair of games. The Jackrabbits will take on Louisiana Monroe at 9 a.m. and Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 11 a.m. Both games are on UCA's campus and will have live stats provided.

-GoJacks.com-