Schedule adjusted for Summit League opener

GAMES 29-31: South Dakota State (21-7) at Omaha (2-23)

When	Friday, March 22 \| 1 & 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23 \| 11 a.m.
Where	Westgate Field \| Omaha, Nebraska
Live Video	Unavailable
Live Stats	OMavs.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #GRIT

Game Day Outlook
South Dakota State turns its attention to Summit League play this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, though the schedule will be adjusted due to forecasted weather. The three-game series will shift to Friday and Saturday at Westgate Field, instead of Saturday and Sunday at Westside. First pitch in Friday's doubleheader is set for 1 p.m., and Saturday's single-game will begin at 11 a.m.

SDSU trails Omaha in the overall series, 23-66-1, but picked up three wins against the Mavericks last season, including a dramatic 4-3 victory in last year's Summit League Tournament that sent the Jacks to the title game.

Recapping the Week
The Jackrabbits went 2-2 over a two-game stay in Kansas City, splitting games against Creighton and Kansas City at the Urban Youth Complex. SDSU shutout Creighton in game one of the weekend, 5-0, before suffering a 6-4 setback to the Kangaroos. The Jacks then dropped a 1-0 pitcher's duel against Creighton Sunday, but capped the weekend with a 10-8 extra-innings win over Kansas City.

Taylor Compton and Kendra Conard picked up wins for the Jackrabbits, posting 2.10 and 2.33 ERAs over two appearances each. Conard tossed all seven innings in the shutout against Creighton, scattering three hits and six walks in the appearance with two strikeouts. She finished the week with four total strikeouts and allowed four runs (three earned). Compton's win came in relief against Kansas City Sunday, as she tossed the final 2.2 innings without allowing a baserunner. Olivia Douglas (1.17 ERA) took the loss against Kansas City in the 1-0 contest, but allowed only one run and struck out one. Emma Hardin (3.1 innings) and Morgan DeMarais (two innings) also appeared in the circle.

The Jackrabbit offense was held at bay for much of the weekend, though Yanney Ponce led the way with four hits and Lyndsey Crist, Kerigan Torres and Peyton Daugherty each had three. Crist notched a double and a triple, and Megan Rushing, Julia Andersen and Mallory McQuistan also had doubles. Crist drove in a team-high four, while Ali Herdliska drew five walks.

Scouting the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State sits at 21-7 on the season, continuing its best start at the Division I level, are one-game off the best start-ever, as the 1996 team went 22-6 through its first 28 games. The Jacks reached the 20-win mark on March 16, marking the earliest they've done it (date-wise) in program history.

Ali Herdliska leads the Jackrabbits with a slash line of .392/.709/.534, pacing the Summit League in all three categories while posting a 1.243 OPS. The senior has 31 hits in 79 at-bats, hitting six home runs, five doubles and a triple with 24 walks. She has driven in 27 and scored 17 runs.

Julia Andersen (.318) has a team-high eight doubles as part of her 28 hits, with two triples and four home runs. She sits second among Jacks with 23 runs batted in with a .591 slugging mark.

Yanney Ponce (.302) is the other Jackrabbit above .300, racking up 26 hits with two doubles, a pair of triples and a home run. Ponce has driven in 16 and earned seven walks.

Lyndsey Crist (.281) had four doubles, four triples and 19 runs batted in, while Peyton Daugherty is up to 22 hits for the year with three doubles and 11 walks, just ahead of Crist's 10 free passes.

In the circle, Kendra Conard is off to a 7-0 start with a 1.60 ERA. She has tossed three complete games and thrown 39.1 total innings, allowing just nine earned runs with 15 strikeouts.

Morgan DeMarais (2.85 ERA) sits with a 5-2 record over nine appearances, throwing 39.1 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Taylor Compton (5-3) has thrown a team-high 63.1 innings with a 3.76 ERA. She has pitched three complete games and saved four games, leading the team with 32 strikeouts.

Jacks Honored by Summit League
South Dakota State's Julia Andersen and Kendra Conard sweep the Summit League's Player and Pitcher of the Week awards, announced March 11.

Andersen led the Jacks with 13 hits over 10 games, racking up a pair of triples and four home runs. She accounted for 22 of South Dakota State's 55 total runs for the week, driving in 14 and scoring eight. She had a team-best four multi-hit and five multi-RBI contests. Additionally, the outfielder had nine putouts and one assist in the field and swiped two bases.

Conard went 4-0 in the circle last week, posting a 1.05 ERA over 20 total innings. She tossed one complete game and allowed just three runs while walking only two batters. The sophomore threw all seven innings in a 1-0 win over Western Michigan, scattering four hits without a walk while rolling up 16 ground outs for the Jackrabbit defense.

These are the first weekly honors for both Jackrabbits, and the first of the season for South Dakota State.

Scouting the Mavericks
Omaha's Amanda Eberhart is in her first season leading the Mavericks with a 2-23 mark.

The Mavericks have picked up wins over Buffalo and Northwestern State this year, but has dropped its last 12 contests entering Summit League play.

Omaha is hitting .202 as a team with 25 doubles, blasting 10 home runs alongside 47 walks. The pitching staff has a 6.73 ERA, allowing 183 runs (148 earned) over 154 innings, striking out 65.

Emma Dargy (.266) paces the Maverick offense with 17 hits, driving in eight with six doubles, two home runs and 11 walks. Alexa Sedlak (.246) has 15 hits and four doubles, matching Dargy's two home runs. Jamie White is second on the team in hits (16), while her three home runs and nine runs batted in lead the Mavs.

Sydney Hamilton (5.46 ERA) and Ryanne Millington (7.47 ERA) each have 19 appearances in the circle, as Hampton has struck out 35 and allowed 69 runs, with Millington notching 17 strikeouts.

Jackrabbit Quick Hits

South Dakota State has shown patience at the plate all season, working 113 total walks through 28 games at a rate of 4.04 per contest. SDSU started strong with 32 total walks in its season-opening weekend. On Feb. 9 against Drake, the Jacks worked 10 free passes against Drake to match the second-most in a game for South Dakota State. The record of 11 walks has occurred four times in SDSU's history.
SDSU swiped seven bags in a 9-7 win over Colgate (Feb. 15), tying the school's Division I single-game record. It was the sixth occurence of the record and first since the 2014 season.
Julia Andersen became the school's all-time leader in doubles (37) on March 16, breaking a tie with previous record-holder Shelly Brandel, who originally set the record between 1995-98. Ali Herdliska is second all-time with 35 two-baggers.
Ali Herdliska became the school's all-time leader in career home runs with her solo shot in the first inning against Colgate (Feb. 16). She broke a tie with Devan Larsen after drawing even with the top spot on Feb. 15. She now has 38 career bombs.
Taylor Compton took a no-hitter late into the sixth inning of the season opener against Saint Louis, striking out six in the performance and going 5.2 frames before allowing a hit.
The Jackrabbits' offense has scored five or more runs in 19 of 28 contests this season, and has broke the 10-run barrier four times.
SDSU has held opponents to three or fewer runs in 15 games, one or fewer 12 times with six shutouts. The Jacks have allowed five or more in only nine games.
South Dakota State's 171 team hits has included 73 extra base hits, with 43 doubles, eight triples and 22 home runs.
Taylor Compton moved into a tie for first in Jackrabbit history with six career saves, alongside 2018 graduate Madison Hope.
Ali Herdliska has 104 career walks to sit first in the Jackrabbit record books, and fourth in Summit League history while Lyndsey Crist is second in SDSU history with 72 free passes.

Triple Crown Chaser
Jackrabbit senior Ali Herdliska broke the school's career home run, runs batted in and total base records during SDSU's stay in Jacksonville, Florida (Feb. 15-17). Additionally, she already held the program's career walks record and is closing in on doubles and runs scored.

Should Herdliska match her season average in hits from the last two seasons (54 in both), she would end up with 210 total hits as a Jackrabbit, placing her fourth in SDSU history. She is currently seventh on the list.

A look at the latest Jackrabbit records to watch is on page five of the game notes.

2018 Season Recap
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.

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 123-123 record at South Dakota State and a 393-277 mark in her 13th season of overall head coaching experience. She won her 100th game at SDSU during the 2018 National Invitational Softball Championship last year and is 38 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 try out 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-

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

Julia Andersen

Taylor Compton

Kendra Conard

Lyndsey Crist

Peyton Daugherty

Morgan DeMarais

Olivia Douglas

Emma Hardin

Ali Herdliska

Madison Hope

Devan Larsen

Mallory McQuistan

Erin Mullen

Abbey Murphy

Yanney Ponce

Megan Rushing

Danielle Steffo

Kerigan Torres

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.

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