Softball readies for NDSU; schedule adjusted

GAMES 36-38: South Dakota State (25-10, 4-2) at North Dakota State (28-11, 6-0)

When	Sunday, April 14 \| 1 & 3 pm. Monday, April 15 \| noon * Please note schedule adjustments from prior release
Where	Tharaldson Park \| Fargo, N.D.
Live Video	Bison All-Access
Live Audio	Bison All-Access
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #GRIT

Game Day Outlook
South Dakota State's series with North Dakota State has been shifted one day due to a snow storm blanketing the region. The Jackrabbits and Bison will now play a doubleheader Sunday at 1 p.m. and wrap up their stay in Fargo, North Dakota with a noon contest Monday from Tharaldson Park.

SDSU trails NDSU in the all-time series, 71-46, but last year split a weather-shortened series with the Bison in Sioux Falls, including an 11-3, run-rule victory.

Recapping the Week
The Jackrabbits dropped its weekend series with Western Illinois, 2-1, with one game played Sunday in Sioux Falls (L, 7-2) and two in Brookings Monday (W, 7-2; L, 5-3).

The Jacks hit .289 as a team with four home runs and four doubles over the three games, though saw their high walks rate fall off with just two free passes as a team.

Megan Rushing (.556) and Mallory McQuistan (.455) led the offense with five hits apiece, while Mallory McQuistan was 4-for-8 with two home runs and three RBIs. Baily Janssen added three hits and drove in three, while Julia Andersen had a double and a home run.

SDSU's pitchers struck out 21 Leatherneck batters, and had a 4.33 ERA, allowing 14 runs (13 earned) over 21 innings.

Kendra Conard (1.00 ERA) earned the Jacks' lone win in the three game set, tossing all seven innings of Monday's first game with a career-high nine strikeouts and two runs (one earned) allowed. Morgan DeMarais (2.52 ERA) threw a team-high 8.1 innings in the series over two appearances, picking up five strikeouts. Olivia Douglas, Emma Hardin and Taylor Compton also threw in the series.

Scouting the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State sits at 25-10 on the season and is looking to reset after dropping three of four games last week. SDSU is in the midst of its best season in its Division I history, continuing the momentum from a 2018 campaign that saw the program finish 37-18 with a postseason trip. The Jacks reached the 20-win mark on March 16, marking the earliest they've done it (date-wise) in program history.

The Jackrabbit offense is hitting .291 on the year with 211 total runs, outscoring opponents by 2.45 runs per game. The Jacks have 58 doubles, 31 home runs and nine triples while drawing 137 walks overall.

Ali Herdliska leads SDSU with a slash line of .388/.531/.765, pacing the Summit League in on-base percentage while posting a 1.296 OPS. The senior has a team-high 38 hits in 98 at-bats, hitting 10 home runs, five doubles and a triple with 30 walks. She has driven in 34 and scored 23 times.

Yanney Ponce has been hot of late, tallying three multi-hit performances in the last six games to raise her average to .312, sitting second alongside Julia Andersen in team hits (34). Ponce has five doubles, a pair of home runs and eight walks with 21 RBIs, while Andersen (.304) leads SDSU in doubles (11) and has five home runs with 26 RBIs.

Baily Janssen is two points shy of a .300 average through 35 starts, racking up 28 hits with three doubles. Mallory McQuistan (three home runs, seven doubles) and Lyndsey Crist (six home runs, four doubles) are among the leaders in power numbers.

The Jackrabbit pitching staff has a 3.39 combined ERA over 231.1 total innings, allowing 125 runs (112 earned) on the season with 111 strikeouts.

Kendra Conard (9-1) has tossed five complete games in 10 starts (13 appearances), striking out 26 with 13 earned runs allowed. Conard has allowed 39 hits, 24 walks and holds a 1.187 WHIP.

Morgan DeMarais (3.14 ERA, 1.49 WHIP) is 6-2 in her freshman campaign, tossing 55.2 innings with 26 strikeouts and only eight walks allowed.

Taylor Compton (6-4, four saves) has transitioned into a relief role midway through the season, holding opponents to a .241 batting average against over 20 appearances (eight starts). Compton's 1.38 WHIP is second-best among Jackrabbits, as she has tossed 72 innings with 36 strikeouts.

Jacks Honored by Summit League
South Dakota State's Julia Andersen and Kendra Conard swept Summit League's Player and Pitcher of the Week awards for the week of 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 Bison
Darren Mueller is in his 18th season leading North Dakota State and holds a 633-345 record on the bench.

The Bison (28-11) carry an 18-game winning streak into the weekend, the longest in its Division I history, and have not lost since a 4-1 setback to Purdue on March 9.

NDSU is hitting .300/.364/.445 as a team, blasting 34 home runs and 41 doubles while scoring 196 total runs (5.02 per game). Katie Shoultz (.427) leads the Bison in hits (47) and stolen bases (20-266), while Stephanie Soriano (.347) is close behind with 42 hits, including four doubles. Maddie Hansen leads the team with eight home runs and eight doubles as part of the 34 hits, as the senior has a slash line of .330/.423/.641 with 18 walks.

KK Leddy has thrown a majority of innings (131.1 of 264) for a four-member pitching staff that has a 2.84 combined ERA. Leddy has struck out 134 batters on the year and is 15-6 with a 2.24 ERA. Paige Vargas (10-4) has tossed 96 frames for NDSU, logging 73 strikeouts with a 3.86 ERA.

Jackrabbit Quick Hits

South Dakota State has shown patience at the plate all season, working 137 total walks through 35 games at a rate of 3.9 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 occurrence of the record and first since the 2014 season. SDSU has stolen two or more bags in seven games this year.
Julia Andersen became the school's all-time leader in doubles (currently with 40) 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 42 career bombs (tied for second in Summit League history). Lyndsey Crist is tied for fourth at SDSU with 20.
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 22 of 35 contests this season, and has broken the 10-run barrier five times.
SDSU has held opponents to three or fewer runs in 19 games, and one or fewer 14 times with six shutouts. The Jacks have allowed five or more in only 12 games.
South Dakota State's 282 team hits has included 98 extra base hits, with 58 doubles, nine triples and 31 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 110 career walks to sit first in the Jackrabbit record books, and second in Summit League history while Lyndsey Crist is second in SDSU history with 77 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 fifth in SDSU history. She is currently sixth 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.

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.

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).

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 105-118 record at South Dakota State and a 375-272 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-

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Players Mentioned

Julia Andersen

Taylor Compton

Kendra Conard

Lyndsey Crist

Morgan DeMarais

Olivia Douglas

Emma Hardin

Ali Herdliska

Madison Hope

Baily Janssen

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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