JACKRABBITS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER WITH JAYHAWKS

Sunday, March 12

Lawrence, KS

12 p.m.

South Dakota State University

14-9

Kansas (DH)

12-11

South Dakota State

Kansas

Photo by: Emma Pravecek

3/12/2023 6:24:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Pedersen

LAWRENCE, Kan. – South Dakota State earned a split in a doubleheader with Kansas on Sunday at Arrocha Ballpark to conclude the Jayhawk Invitational. The Jackrabbits were paced by a strong effort in the circle in game one by Tori Kniesche en route to a 2-1 victory, then errors plagued SDSU in game two as Kansas picked up a 5-3 win over the Jacks.

Game 1
Neither team was able to getting anything going at the plate until the fourth inning when South Dakota State struck first.

Alli Boyle began the top of the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Culver. SDSU had runners on first and third with two outs when a throwing error by the Jayhawk catcher moved Allison Yoder to second and brought Emma Christensen, who was pinch running for Boyle, home to give the Jacks a 1-0 edge. SDSU added another run to its tally on an RBI single by Emma Osmundson to give the Jackrabbits a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Kniesche kept Kansas hitless through three innings. The Jayhawks' first hit of the day was a triple with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but a groundout by the next batter got SDSU out of the inning.

The Jayhawks' best opportunity came in the sixth. Two walks and a fielder's choice eventually put runners on the corners with one out. Kniesche was able to get a strikeout, however Aynslee Linduff hit an RBI single to make it 2-1. The Jackrabbit starter was able to get out of the frame by picking up a strikeout on the next batter.

Kansas was able to get a runner on via walk in the seventh but was unable to move any Jayhawks into scoring position.

SDSU recorded just four hits in the 2-1 victory as Osmundson led the way at the plate with two hits. Kniesche improved to 8-2 on the season by pitching seven innings. She gave up three hits and five walks while striking out eight.

Game 2
Three Jackrabbit errors led to three unearned runs for the Jayhawks as the hosts completed a 5-3 win.

Kansas opening the second inning by reaching base on an infield error and eventually took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI single. Four singles in the third inning, all hit with two outs, led to three Jayhawk runs being plated. Two of those were unearned as they jumped out to a 4-0 advantage.

SDSU got on the board in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Jocelyn Carrillo to make it a 4-1 game. The Jackrabbits had bases loaded for two hitters in the inning but came away leaving three runners stranded.

The Jayhawks added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double to extend their lead to 5-1.

The Jackrabbits attempted a comeback bid in the top of the seventh. Alexa Williams and Boyle each got on base with two outs and Culver hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-2. Brooke Dumont came up and followed with an RBI single of her own to make it a 5-3 margin, but a flyout on the next at-bat ended the contest.

Dumont and Mia Jarecki led the Jackrabbits with two hits apiece. Starter Shannon Lasey dropped to 6-4 this season as she gave up four runs, one earned, on five hits. Williams threw two innings of relief and gave up a run on one hit and two walks.

Notes

South Dakota State is now 14-10 overall after the split of the action in Lawrence on Sunday.
The Jackrabbits have added a doubleheader to their current road trip. SDSU will travel to Waco, Texas, and play back-to-back games against nationally-ranked Baylor beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15.

Up Next
South Dakota State heads to Norman, Okla, to face the Sooners on Monday, March 13, at 6 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-