Softball defeats Creighton, falls to UMKC

Saturday, March 16

Kansas City, Mo.

noon

South Dakota State University

20-5

Creighton

7-9

South Dakota State

Creighton

Photo by: Laura Mullen

3/16/2019 8:39:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

KANSAS CITY -- The Jackrabbit softball team opened its weekend stay at the Urban Youth Academy with a 5-0 victory over Creighton Saturday, but fell in the day's finale to Kansas City, 6-4.

South Dakota State is now 20-6 on the season.

South Dakota State 5, Creighton 0
Kendra Conard improved to 6-0 on the season with a complete game victory, scattering three hits and six walks over seven shutout frames. Conard struck out two and rolled up 13 ground outs for the defense.

Yanney Ponce was 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI, while Mallory McQuistan and Megan Rushing each had a hit and drove in a run for the Jacks.

SDSU built a 1-0 lead in the first after a two-out Creighton error allowed Julia Andersen (who reached on a fielder's choice) to score, and added four more in the fifth to pull away.

Ali Herdliska walked to start the fifth and wheeled around to score when McQuistan followed with a double. Rushing's single allowed Allison Yoder, who pinch-ran for McQuistan, to dash home as an error on the play sent Rushing to third.

Allison Beaudry was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, and after she stole second Ponce followed with an RBI single. One more came in for SDSU in the inning on a wild pitch, giving the Jacks the five-run advantage.

Creighton threatened with runners throughout the contest, but a pair of double plays helped the Jacks stave off any Bluejay rallies, including a seventh-inning, 1-6-3, putout to end the game.

Kansas City 6, South Dakota State 4
Morgan DeMarais (5-2) started and threw into the third, allowing four runs on six hits. Taylor Compton pitched the final four innings in relief, giving up two runs on five hits with a strikeout. Neither Jackrabbit pitcher walked a batter.

Lyndsey Crist went 2-for-3 on the afternoon with a double and two runs scored, adding an RBI alongside McQuistan, Ponce and Kendra Torres, who also had a pair of hits.

Knotted up at zero through one, the Jacks opened the scoring in the second with back-to-back doubles from Rushing and Crist. SDSU added one more when Torres singled Crist home, and though the Jacks loaded the bases with two outs, the Kangaroos got out of the inning without further damage.

Kansas City got one back in the bottom of the inning, but SDSU countered with a run of its own in the third. Crist was hit by a two-out pitch before stealing second, and shortly after came around to score as Ponce singled to center.

The two-run lead disappeared in the bottom of the inning, however, as the 'Roos struck for five behind seven hits, including a three-run home run.

The Jackrabbit put together a rally in the seventh behind Andersen's leadoff double, but one run was all SDSU got in the inning as the Kangaroos held on for the win.

Game Notes

SDSU now has six shutouts on the season.
Ali Herdliska became the first Jackrabbit to record 100 career walks in the first inning against Creighton. She is now tied for fifth in Summit League history for free passes. The league record is 118, held by DePaul's Missy Nowak.
Lyndsey Crist has been hit by 16 pitches in her career, the third-most in Jackrabbit history.
The Jackrabbits reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in the Division I era, and the fourth time under head coach Krista Wood.

Up Next
South Dakota State wraps up its weekend stay at the Urban Youth Academy Sunday with two more games. The Jackrabbits face Creighton at 11 a.m. before taking on Kansas City at 1:30 p.m.