Softball opens 2019 campaign at UNI Dome

GAMES 1-5: South Dakota State (0-0) at UNI Dome Tournament

When	Friday, Feb. 8 \| vs. Saint Louis (10:15 a.m.); vs. Southeast Missouri State (12:30 p.m.) Saturday, Feb. 9 \| vs. Saint Louis (8 a.m.); vs. Drake (10:15 a.m.) Sunday, Feb. 10 \| at Northern Iowa (4:15 p.m.)
Where	UNI Dome \| Cedar Falls, Iowa
Live Video	ESPN3/WatchESPN (Drake and Northern Iowa games only)
Live Stats	UNIPanthers.com (All Games)
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #GRIT

Gameday Outlook
The 2019 Jackrabbit softball season begins this weekend (Feb. 8-10) at the UNI Dome Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Jackrabbits will play five games over the three-day event and are making their fourth-straight appearance at the invitational. SDSU is 8-19 all-time at the UNI Dome Tournament over six previous appearances (2007-09, 2015-17).

SDSU opens the weekend with two games Friday, taking on Saint Louis and Southeast Missouri State at 10:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. Day two of the event features the Jackrabbits in a rematch with Saint Louis at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed by a 10:15 a.m. first pitch against Drake. The Jackrabbits conclude their stay in the dome Sunday at 4:15 p.m. against host Northern Iowa.

The Jackrabbits are 25-24 all-time in season openers and 6-9 at the Division I level (since 2004).

Previewing the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State is coming off a historic season that saw the program reach the postseason for the first time in its Division I history, earning an automatic bid to the 2018 National Invitational Softball Championship, where the team reached the championship round and forced a winner-take-all at the regional in Greeley, Colorado.

The Jackrabbits finished second in the 2018 Summit League standings and broke the 35-win mark for the second time in history and won all four of their three-game Summit League series' a year ago, splitting a two-game, weather-shortened set with NDSU.

SDSU hit .322 as a team last season and set new school records for doubles (94), runs batted in (324) and runs scored (356).

In the circle, the Jackrabbits put together a 3.89 team ERA with 194 strikeouts over 352.2 total innings.

This year's South Dakota State softball program brings a roster of nine seniors, 14 total returners and nine newcomers into the 2019 campaign with high hopes of building on the achievements.

Veteran Presence
With 14 total returners, including nine seniors and 10 upperclassmen, this SDSU team carries a veteran presence into the upcoming campaign.

Julia Andersen was named NFCA All-Midwest Region and All-Summit League First Team a year ago after starting all 55 games and finishing second on the team with a .397 average. She tied the school record for single-season hits (77) and doubles (19) and scored 51 runs.
Allison Beaudry worked through injuries last year but appeared in three games in 2018 with one walk for a .333 on-base percentage.
Taylor Compton started 20 games last year and posted a 9-8 record, tossing 111.2 total innings with a 4.51 ERA.
Kendra Conard went 4-0 last year over 16 relief appearances, throwing 35 innings with a 2.80 ERA.
Lyndsey Crist made 46 appearances in 2018, hitting .264 (28 for 106) with six home runs and a double. A 2016 All-Summit League performer, the Lincoln, Nebraska outfielder has 116 career starts, a .259 career average and 62 free passes over the last three years.
Olivia Douglas appeared in five games and had a 1-1 record, earning her first collegiate victory in a complete-game performance against Kansas City.
Paige Gerdes appeared in 40 games last year after seeing time in 27 games as a freshman. She has six career doubles and two home runs, drawing eight free passes in 89 career at-bats.
Ali Herdliska, a three-time All-Summit League performer and 2018 NFCA All-Midwest Region selection, returns for her senior campaign after hitting .320 with six doubles and a team-best 10 home runs last year. She already set the school record for career walks (80) and is closing in on several more marks.
Baily Janssen started all 55 games at second base last year, hitting .273 with six doubles, one triple and two home runs. She added 10 walks and had 12 multi-hit games.
Mallory McQuistan started 34 games and appeared in 43 a year ago. She hit .255 on the year (24 for 94) with two doubles and six home runs, third-most on the team last year.
Erin Mullen split starts between third base and designated hitter last year over 28 appearances, hitting .315 for the Jackrabbits with a pair of doubles and one home run.
Kerigan Torres was sidelined much of last season due to injury, but in 14 appearances went 3-for-7 at the plate with an RBI and four runs scored.
Yanney Ponce started all 55 games at shortstop in 2018 and hit .246 (31 for 126) with nine doubles. Ponce tallied a .928 fielding percentage for the year with 83 putouts and 85 assists in the field.
Megan Rushing was named to the All-Summit League Second Team in 2018 after starting 47 games (50 appearances) and hitting .317 with 12 doubles. She blasted seven home runs with a .618 slugging percentage and walked 18 times as part of a .415 on-base mark.

New Faces
This year's Jackrabbit squad features nine rookies looking to make an impact in their first season at South Dakota State.

Caelyn Christiancy (Lincoln, Nebraska) was a four-year All-City and All-Conference selection at Lincoln Southwest High School, and last season was named All-State Class A First Team by Lincoln Journal Star with All-State Second Team honors from the Omaha World Herald.
Morgan DeMarais (Buffalo, Minnesota) tallied a 57-14 career record in high school, striking out 481 batters alongside a 2.11 ERA in over 500 innings. She was a three-time all-conference and two-time all-second honoree.
Peyton Daugherty (Ankeny, Iowa) was her high school's career leader in hits (320) and stolen bases (164) and was a four-time All-State selection.
Emma Hardin (Brookings) was a four-time state champion with the South Dakota Renegades club team and played one season of high school ball with the Brookings Bobcats, hitting .348 in the box while striking out 41 in the circle.
Jadelyn Johnson (Battle Ground, Indiana) was a three-time all-conference performer in high school and closed her career with a 2.11 ERA, 28 wins and 305 strikeouts.
Kelsey Lenox (Chesterfield, Missouri) was a two-time All-State performer and three-time First Team All-Conference, District and Regional selection.
Olivia Pfeifer (Hannibal, Missouri) was four-year All-Conference, All-District First Team and All-Region honoree (2014-17) and three-time All-State performer (2015-17). She holds the Missouri state career record for consecutive at-bats without a strikeout (118).
Callie Wethor (Brandon, South Dakota) did not play high school softball, but played club ball with the South Dakota Renegades and won four straight State Championships from 2014-17.
Allison Yoder (Urbandale, Iowa) was a three-time Second Team All-State pick and a First Team All-Conference, All-CIML and Western Iowa Division honoree. She is her high school's all-time leader in doubles (69), RBIs (194) and extra-base hits (69).

Jacks Tabbed Second in Summit League Poll
The Jackrabbit softball program earned three first-place votes and sat second in the 2019 Summit League Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Feb. 1 by the league office.

The Jackrabbits received 33 votes in the poll, just one tally behind North Dakota State, who had 34 points and four first-place votes. Western Illinois sat third in the poll with 25 points, while the next four featured South Dakota (19 points), Omaha (14), North Dakota (11) and Purdue Fort Wayne (nine).

Andersen, Compton Named to League Watch Lists
Julia Andersen and Taylor Compton were announced as a Player and Pitcher to Watch, respectively, by The Summit League for the 2019 season, announced in February alongside the coaches poll.

A 2018 NFCA All-Midwest Region Second Team performer, Andersen is back after starting all 55 games for the Jackrabbits a year ago. She finished second on the team with a .397 average, tying the school's single-season hits (77) and doubles (19) records en route to being named an All-Summit League First Team pick.

Compton started 20 games last year and posted a 9-8 record, tossing 111.2 total innings with a 4.51 ERA. She threw six perfect innings of relief in the National Invitational Softball Championship to help the Jacks reach the title game.

Smarty Jacks
South Dakota State was one of 107 Division I softball programs to earn a spot on the 2018 Easton / National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Academic Teams award list, announced this fall. The rankings recognize the academic prowess of softball teams within the NFCA.

The Jackrabbits had a 2017-18 team grade point average of 3.478 with 17 team members boasting grand point averages above the 3.00 mark, finishing 39th nationally in team GPA. Julia Andersen, Taylor Compton, Lyndsey Crist, Olivia Douglas, Ali Herdliska, Madison Hope, Mallory McQuistan, Erin Mullen, Abbey Murphy, Danielle Steffo and Kerigan Torres earned 3.50 or above GPAs and were honored as NFCA scholar-athletes in the same release. Herdliska (who was also named to the Academic All-Summit League team in 2017 and 2018), Mullen, Murphy and Steffo are repeat selections from the 2017 team.

SDSU posted a 3.44 team GPA this fall with six student-athletes achieving 4.0 GPAs, nine at or above a 3.7 and 19 with a 3.0 GPA or higher.

A Look in the Dugout
Krista Wood returns for her fifth season as head coach of the Jackrabbits alongside second-year assistant Kristi Villar, rookie assistant Kiki Stokes and volunteer coach Jeff Lewis.

Wood holds a 102-116 record at South Dakota State and a 372-270 mark in 12 seasons of overall head coaching experience. She won her 100th game at SDSU during the 2018 National Invitational Softball Championship last year and is within 41 victories shy of becoming the winningest coach in Jackrabbit softball history.

Villar came to SDSU in the summer of 2017 after seven years as head coach at Northern State University. In her first season as the primary hitting coach for the Jackrabbits, Villar helped the team reset season records in total bases, runs and doubles while tallying the second-highest totals in home runs, at-bats and wins. All told, Villar helped the Jacks raise their team batting average by sixty points (.322) in her first season at State.

Stokes was hired in August of 2018 after a standout career at Nebraska. The former Husker had a career .350 average, was a two-time All-American (2015, 2016) and holds the school record in runs scored (200). From Olathe, Kansas, Stokes was the No. 6 overall pick by the Houston Scrap Yard Dawgs in the 2016 National Pro Fastpitch league and led the team to its first NPF Championship in 2017. She recently completed her third season with the professional franchise.

Jeff Lewis in his second season as volunteer assistant coach for the Jackrabbit softball program, joining them in the fall of 2018. He is a member of the USA Junior Men's National Fastpitch Softball team, competing in the WBSC in 2016 and 2018 and received an invitation to tryout for the USA Men's National Fastpitch Softball team in January 2019.

Six Sign NLIs with Jackrabbit Softball
South Dakota State softball coach Krista Wood announced six signees to the Jackrabbit softball program as part of November's national signing day: Jocelyn Carrillo (Palmdale, California), Lindsey Culver (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Mia Elliot (Des Moines, Iowa), Grace Glanzer (Sioux Falls), Cyle Halvorson (Sioux Falls) and Isabel Martinez (Oak Lawn, Illinois).

All six additions will enroll at SDSU for the 2019-20 school year as incoming freshman and be eligible to play immediately for the Jacks.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Julia Andersen

Allison Beaudry

Caelyn Christiancy

Taylor Compton

Kendra Conard

Lyndsey Crist

Peyton Daugherty

Morgan DeMarais

Olivia Douglas

Paige Gerdes

Emma Hardin

Ali Herdliska

Madison Hope

Baily Janssen

Jadelyn Johnson

Kelsey Lenox

Mallory McQuistan

Erin Mullen

Abbey Murphy

Olivia Pfeifer

Yanney Ponce

Megan Rushing

Danielle Steffo

Kerigan Torres

Callie Wethor

Allison Yoder

Completed Event: Softball versus Augustana on October 5, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Softball versus Minnesota Crookston on September 28, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Softball versus Sioux Falls / Morningside on September 21, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Softball versus SMSU on September 14, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Softball versus #3 South Dakota on May 9, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3 , 8 Inn.

Completed Event: Softball versus #1 Omaha on May 9, 2025 , Loss , 6, to, 8 , 9 Inn.

South Dakota State University Athletics