Softball splits on opening day

Friday, February 8

Cedar Falls, Iowa

10:15 a.m.

South Dakota State University

1-0

Saint Louis

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
South Dakota State	0	0	0	5	0	1	0	6	12	0
Saint Louis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1

Photo by: Laura Mullen

2/8/2019 1:08:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- South Dakota State softball earned a split on opening day of the 2019 season. The Jackrabbits began the UNI Dome Tournament with a 6-0 victory over Saint Louis Friday before suffering a 7-3 setback against Southeast Missouri.

FINAL | Jacks win! South Dakota State opens the 2019 season with a 6-0 victory over Saint Louis! #GRIT #GoJacks pic.twitter.com/ty4nKcwMnR
— Jackrabbit Softball (@GoJacksSB) February 8, 2019

South Dakota State 6, Saint Louis 0
Taylor Compton (1-0) struck out six in a complete-game performance, taking a no-hit bid late into the sixth inning. She allowed just two hits and two walks, and faced three over the minimum for her second-career shutout.

Yanney Ponce was 3-of-4 on the day with an RBI and two runs scored.

Julia Andersen (double) and Ali Herdliska (walk) each had two hits and an RBI, while Allison Beaudry drove in two and finished 1-for-3 with a double. Megan Rushing had a double as well.

Six other Jackrabbits tallied hits in the game, including Mallory McQuistan, who also threw a runner out from behind the plate to end the second.

South Dakota State put a Jackrabbit on base in each inning, and defensively had five three-up, three-down frames.

The Jackrabbits threatened early, putting runners on in the first three frames, but were unable to break through until the top of the fourth. Herdliska started the inning with a single to left and moved to third as Rushing roped a 0-2 pitch into right for a ground-rule double.

After two quick outs put SDSU's scoring chances in jeopardy, Beaudry sent the first pitch she saw into left center for a ground-rule double, pushing two Jackrabbits across the plate on her first career hit.

Ahead 2-0, State kept the offense moving with an infield single from Baily Janssen, and with runners on the corners a double-steal attempt saw Beaudry come home after a Saint Louis throwing error. A Ponce single in the next at-bat plated the Jackrabbits' fourth run of the inning, and Andersen capped the scoring with her 30th career two-bagger, driving Ponce across for the fifth score of the day.

South Dakota State added one more in the sixth behind another two-out rally. Ponce tallied her third hit of the game on single up the middle, and came around to score after an Andersen single and back-to-back walks from Allison Yoder and Herdliska.

Saint Louis ended the Jackrabbits' no-hitter with a pair of singles in the sixth, but State shut down the Billiken offense the rest of the way to close out the win.

FINAL | Jackrabbits battle, but drop a 7-3 contest to Southeast Missouri in game two of the UNI Dome Tournament. SDSU is now 1-1 on the year #GoJacks #GRIT pic.twitter.com/W6iM1xqTgi
— Jackrabbit Softball (@GoJacksSB) February 8, 2019

Southeast Missouri 7, South Dakota State 3
Emma Hardin (0-1) started and threw an inning and two-thirds before Kendra Conard entered in the second. Hardin was tagged for five runs on six hits, while Conard threw 1.2 innings and gave up a pair of runs on three hits.

Morgan DeMarais threw the final 3.2 frames in shutout fashion, working around three hits and a walk while recording her first-career strikeout.

Herdliska led the Jackrabbit offense with a 2-for-4 effort, hitting a two-run home run and driving in a third run with a single.

Rushing went 2-for-4 as well for her 12th-career multi-hit game.

The Jackrabbits started fast, jumping out to a 2-0 lead off the bat of Herdliska in the first inning. Peyton Daugherty drew a one-out walk to send Herdliska to the plate, and the senior blasted a 1-0 pitch over the center field fence for her first home run of the year.

That lead was short-lived, however, as SEMO bounced back with a five-spot in the top of the second to go up three, 5-2. The Redhawks added another run with a two-out triple in the third, and pushed their advantage to 7-2 with a one-out RBI single in the fourth.

SDSU got one back in the sixth after one-out Andersen double set up Herdliska for a RBI opportunity, but that was as close as the Jackrabbits came the rest of the way.

Game Notes

South Dakota State is 26-24 all-time in season openers and 7-9 at the Division I level (since 2004).
The Jackrabbits are now 2-1 against Saint Louis and 0-2 against Southeast Missouri State.
Julia Andersen moved into seventh in SDSU's record books with 31 career doubles, passing teammate Ali Herdliska (30 doubles) in the process.
Ali Herdliska hit her 33rd career home run and is now three away from breaking the Jackrabbit record of 35, held by Devan Larsen (2013-16).
Taylor Compton won her 10th career game as a Jackrabbit.

Up Next
South Dakota State continues its stay at the 2019 UNI Dome Tournament with a pair of games Saturday. The Jackrabbits take on Saint Louis in a rematch of the season-opener at 8 a.m., followed by a 10:15 a.m. first pitch against Drake. Game two on Saturday will air live on ESPN3/WatchESPN.

-GoJacks.com-