Completed Event: Softball versus Augustana on October 5, 2025 ,
/
FINAL
Softball
vs Augustana
South Dakota State University Athletics
Tuesday, May 1
Brookings, S.D.
3 p.m.
South Dakota State University
vs
North Dakota
Photo by: Laura Mullen
Nation's longest road trip ends Tuesday
4/30/2018 3:07:00 PM | Softball
| Â GAMES 45-46: South Dakota State (31-13) vs North Dakota (22-24) |
| Â When | Â Tuesday, May 1 | 3 & 5 p.m. | |||
|  Where |  Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | Brookings, S.D. | |||
| Â Live Stats | Â Game 1 | Game 2 | |||
| Â Live Video | Â Jackrabbits All-Access | |||
| Â Game Notes | Â South Dakota State | |||
| Â Social Media | Â Twitter | Facebook | #GRIT | |||
Gameday Outlook
South Dakota State softball will put an end to the nation's longest active road trip this Tuesday against North Dakota with its first home game of the 2018 season. The Jackrabbits host the Fighting Hawks at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in a doubleheader at 3 p.m.
Tuesday's regular season finale will feature pregame Senior Day celebrations for Dana Chavez, Madison Hope, Brittney Morse, Abbey Murphy and Danielle Steffo. Admission is free for both games.
The Jacks (31-13, 10-4 Summit League) completed Summit League play last weekend and sit second in the standings entering the final week of regular season action. SDSUÂ is one of two teams nationally who have not yet played a home game, joining Green Bay, who has played 43 games so far this season and do not have a home contest scheduled.
UND (22-24, 8-7 Big Sky) will wrap up its regular season next weekend at home, but has gone 4-6 in its last 10 games after dropping consecutive series' at Weber State and Sacramento State.
The Jackrabbits are 51-28 all-time against North Dakota and 11-5 at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium against the Fighting Hawks. SDSU is 10-12 in the series since joining The Summit League but dropped both games last year in Grand Forks, North Dakota. UND is set to join The Summit League for the 2019 season.
About the Jacks
South Dakota State has already locked in its best non-conference record at the Division I level and passed the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in its program history last weekend.
The Jackrabbits are hitting .335 as a team (fifth in NCAA Division I) with 79 doubles, 10 triples and 44 home runs. SDSU has scored 309 runs in 44 games with 280 RBIs. The Jacks are third nationally with 1.8 doubles per game and lead all of Division I with 7.02 runs per contest. SDSU is also ninth in on-base (.413) and slugging (.522) percentages.
In the circle, SDSU has put together a 3.98 ERA with 160 strikeouts, allowing 160 earned runs in 281.2 innings pitched.
Individually, Brittney Morse and Abbey Murphy lead the Jacks with .417 averages, both putting together 63-for-151 efforts in the box with 13 doubles apiece. Morse is even alongside Ali Herdliska with 10 home runs on the year and paces The Summit League with 56 RBIs. Murphy has four triples and 19 walks, adding 31 RBIs. Herdliska is hitting .333 with five doubles, working 24 walks while driving in 36 runs.
Julia Andersen (.415) has a team-high 66 hits and 16 two-baggers, blasting three home runs with 35 runs batted in. She is even with Megan Rushing (.340) with 14 walks, and Rushing has nine doubles, five home runs and 28 runs batted in.
Madison Hope (3.67 ERA) is second in The Summit League with 18 wins (six losses) on the year and has four saves. She broke the school's career saves record earlier this season and now has six in a Jackrabbit uniform. Hope has tossed 12 complete games in 34 appearances and leads the team in strikeouts (88) and innings pitched (147) while being named The Summit League's Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Taylor Compton (8-6) has a 4.84 ERA in 25 appearances, tossing 85.1 innings with 44 strikeouts. Olivia Douglas (4.67 ERA) picked up her first collegiate win in March at UMKC in a complete game performance and now has 10 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched. Kendra Conard (2.68 ERA) has made 14 appearances and boasts a 4-0 record over 31.1 innings pitched, striking out 18.
Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
The Jackrabbit softball program clinched their best record in Summit League history last weekend with a series win at Western Illinois. SDSU took two games of a three-game set against the Leathernecks, winning the first and third games in run-rule fashion, 13-3, and dropped the second game of a doubleheader, 4-3.
South Dakota State hit .389 in the series with six doubles, a triple and seven home runs while scoring 29 runs (compared to WIU's 10). The team also drew eight walks. In the circle, SDSU had a 3.71 ERA with eight strikeouts.
Julia Andersen and Ali Herdliska each started all three games with 6-for-11 efforts at the plate. Andersen had two doubles and three RBIs while Herdliska hit three home runs wtih four RBIs. Lyndsey Crist (5-for-10) and Megan Rushing (4-for-8) put together .500 efforts at the plate. Crist hit two home runs and Rushing had a double, a home run, three RBIs and three walks. Brittney Morse had a home run as well with four runs driven in.
Taylor Compton earned the game three win with a team-low 0.72 ERA, starting the second game while allowing one run in 9.2 innings pitched with six strikeouts. Madison Hope (1-1) started games one and three and allowed nine runs (eight earned) over 7.1 innings with two strikeouts.
About the Opponent
North Dakota is hitting .245 as a team this season with 54 doubles, 13 triples and 18 home runs, scoring 172 runs in 46 games with 156 runs batted in. The pitching staff has compiled a 3.51 team ERA with 230 strikeouts in 297 innings pitched, allowing 189 runs (149 earned).
Taylor Nadler is hitting .338 on the season with a team-high 14 doubles, two triples and four home runs with 30 runs batted in. She also leads the team in walks and has 41 putouts on the season without committing an error. Angel Love (.286) is 38-for-133 at the plate with seven doubles, six triples and six home runs. She is second among Fighting Hawks with 24 RBIs and has worked 13 walks. Marina Marzolino has driven in 19 runs this season and has five doubles with 37 hits.
Kaylin VanDomelen (2.33 ERA) is 10-13 on the season in 31 appearances, tossing 15 complete games with six saves. She has thrown 165.1 innings and has struck out 166. Hannah Bergh (10-10) holds a 4.45 ERA on the season and has thrown 99 innings with 46 strikeouts.
Summit League Tournament Outlook
After wrapping up league play last weekend with a series win at Western Illinois, South Dakota State is in a holding pattern awaiting its seeding in next week's Summit League Championship in Fargo, North Dakota. WIU and North Dakota State will play a three-game series next weekend with championship implications. View page one of the game notes for additional outlook information.
Morse Continues to Mash
Brittney Morse has elevated her play in Summit League games, hitting .490 in those contests (20-for-40) with six home runs and 28 RBIs.
For the complete season, Morse leads the league in batting average (.417), slugging percentage (.702), total bases (106) and runs batted in (56) and is second in home runs (10), doubles (13) and hits (63). Her RBI total this season also broke the school's single-season mark, previously held by Alyssa D'Agostino (2015). She currently ranks third nationally with 1.27 runs batted in per game and is 13th in total RBIs.
Jackrabbits Rake in Weekly Honors
Four Jackrabbits have combined for five Summit League Player or Pitcher of the Week honors from the league this season.
- Megan Rushing was named Player of the Week April 30. Rushing started all five games for SDSU last week, hitting .571 (8-for-14) with four doubles, two home runs, four walks and 10 runs batted in. The West Des Moines, Iowa native reached safely in every contest and posted three multi-hit performances.
- Brittney Morse was named the Player of the Week April 9. She led the Jackrabbits with a .600 average and .900 slugging percentage, helping SDSU claim its series over rival South Dakota. Morse reached safely in all three games, including two multi-hit and multi-RBI performances. She finished the week with eight runs batted in while hitting her sixth home run of the season.
- Madison Hope was named the Pitcher of the Week March 26 after posting a 2-0 record with a save in three appearances. She started the week with a complete-game win at Iowa Wednesday, striking out five while allowing just one unearned run. She helped the Jacks secure their first sweep of a power five opponent at the Division I level in the doubleheader's finale, pitching the final two innings of a 5-2 win for her second save of the season in shutout fashion. Hope concluded the week with another complete-game victory, tossing all seven innings of a 6-4 win at UMKC on Friday.
- Hope earned Pitcher of the Week honors March 12 after going 5-0 over seven appearances, leading the team with a 1.94 ERA and 36 innings pitched. The senior tallied 21 strikeouts on the week and pitched four complete games, earning a save in the weekend finale against Delaware State. Hope had three games with four or more strikeouts, including six against Quinnipiac Sunday. She did not allow a run against QU or Central Michigan in a pair of Jackrabbit wins.
- Baily Janssen was honored as the Summit League's Softball Player of the Week, released Feb. 26. Janssen hit .500 and slugged 1.000 with a .500 on-base percentage over two starts. The Missouri Valley, Iowa went 3-for-6 at the plate with three RBIs, two walks and an inside-the-park home run.
Miss Consistent
Abbey Murphy, Julia Andersen and Brittney Morse own three of the top four spots in SDSU's Division I history for consecutive games of reaching base safely. Murphy did it in 38 straight games between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, while Andersen is in the midst of a 26-game streak and Morse reached safely in the last 20 consecutive contests this year.
Saving The Day
Madison Hope picked up her sixth career save April 21 at Fort Wayne, breaking the school's career saves mark previously held by Kim Westendorf (2005-07). Hope has four saves this season (also a school record).
Herdliska Chasing Records
In her third season as a Jackrabbit, Ali Herdliska has already moved into the top 10 of several offensive record lists. She is also fourth in defensive chances and putouts, less than 500 from each defensive record.
Quick Hits
- SDSU is off to its best start in program history with a 31-13 mark through 44 contests. The previous best start came in 1996 and 1997, when the team was 30-14 at the same time. Through 46 games in those years, SDSU was 30-16. The best season record in Jackrabbit history was 1996 when the team went 43-22 with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
- South Dakota State has put up four or more runs in an inning 30 times this year, last doing it April 29 when the Jacks scored five runs in the sixth against Western Illinois after scoring six runs in the fourth.
- The Jacks have scored five or more in an inning 17 times this season and have put together a double-digit run inning three times.
- Abbey Murphy became the first Jackrabbit to drive in five runs in a game since Ali Herdliska did it last Feb. 26 against Alabama A&M when Murphy went for five against Austin Peay Feb. 25. Brittney Morse matched her total April 7 against South Dakota when she was 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and a two-RBI single.
- 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. The Jacks matched the 15-run total on March 11 against Delaware State.
- The Jackrabbits racked up 18 hits against Delaware State, one shy of the school's record. The Jacks have tied or surpassed the 15-hit mark four times this season already and have 10 or more hits in 17 games.
- Abbey Murphy has been hit by 18 pitches in her career and is alone in second place at SDSU. She trails only Jessica Markanich (2012-15), who was hit 20 times. Mallory McQuistan (13) is tied for third, Ali Herdliska (12) is fifth and Lyndsey Crist (11th) ranks sixth on the list.
- Julia Andersen (3/30 at Omaha, 4/21 at Fort Wayne) and Brittney Morse (3/24 at UMKC) have tallied four-hit games for the Jackrabbits this season. Andersen also scored four runs at Omaha (3/30) when she had two home runs. That scoring total was matched by Abbey Murphy on April 21 at Fort Wayne.
- 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.
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.
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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