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South Dakota State University Athletics
JACKRABBITS SWEEP SUMMIT MONTHLY AWARDS
5/8/2023 4:05:00 PM | Baseball, Softball
SIOUX FALLS — Two South Dakota State student-athletes who excelled on their respective diamonds were honored Monday as TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performers of the Month for April. Softball pitcher Tori Kniesche was honored on the women's side, while baseball player Ryan McDonald received the men's award.
Kniesche was dominant in the circle for the Jackrabbit softball team over the course of April. The junior from Wayne, Nebraska, made 11 appearances for league-champion SDSU and captured a 10-0 record. She started nine contests and threw eight complete games while registering seven shutouts. She also earned a save. Kniesche threw 71 2/3 innings, which included a career- and program-record 14-inning effort in a 1-0 victory over Omaha on April 8. She allowed just one unearned run in that stretch and struck out 112 batters while walking 34.
The right-hander finished the regular season with a 21-4 record and a 1.43 ERA. She has thrown 84 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, with the last coming on March 19 in non-conference play.
In addition, Kniesche was honored Monday as the TicketSmarter Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season and 14th time in her career. In her lone outing of last week, Kniesche hurled the first perfect game in program history, retiring all 15 South Dakota batters she faced in an 8-0 Jackrabbit victory on May 5.
Top-seeded South Dakota State begins its appearance at the 2023 Summit League Softball Championship at 11 a.m. on Thursday in Brookings. The Jackrabbits await the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 seeded game between South Dakota and North Dakota.
McDonald, meanwhile, excelled at the plate for a Jackrabbit baseball team that put together an 11-game winning streak in April. In 15 games during the month, the senior catcher batted .479 (23-for-48) with a 1.167 slugging percentage as he tallied five doubles, two triples and eight home runs. In addition, McDonald posted a .653 on-base percentage, drove in 19 runs and scored 21 times.
The Prior Lake, Minnesota, native ended the month leading all NCAA Division I players with a .943 slugging percentage. His 17 home runs are tied for third-most in a season by a Jackrabbit player.
SDSU currently stands third in the Summit League baseball regular season race and will attempt to lock up a berth in the four-team conference tournament when it hosts Northern Colorado in a three-game series Friday-Sunday at Erv Huether Field.
Kniesche was dominant in the circle for the Jackrabbit softball team over the course of April. The junior from Wayne, Nebraska, made 11 appearances for league-champion SDSU and captured a 10-0 record. She started nine contests and threw eight complete games while registering seven shutouts. She also earned a save. Kniesche threw 71 2/3 innings, which included a career- and program-record 14-inning effort in a 1-0 victory over Omaha on April 8. She allowed just one unearned run in that stretch and struck out 112 batters while walking 34.
The right-hander finished the regular season with a 21-4 record and a 1.43 ERA. She has thrown 84 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, with the last coming on March 19 in non-conference play.
In addition, Kniesche was honored Monday as the TicketSmarter Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season and 14th time in her career. In her lone outing of last week, Kniesche hurled the first perfect game in program history, retiring all 15 South Dakota batters she faced in an 8-0 Jackrabbit victory on May 5.
Top-seeded South Dakota State begins its appearance at the 2023 Summit League Softball Championship at 11 a.m. on Thursday in Brookings. The Jackrabbits await the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 seeded game between South Dakota and North Dakota.
McDonald, meanwhile, excelled at the plate for a Jackrabbit baseball team that put together an 11-game winning streak in April. In 15 games during the month, the senior catcher batted .479 (23-for-48) with a 1.167 slugging percentage as he tallied five doubles, two triples and eight home runs. In addition, McDonald posted a .653 on-base percentage, drove in 19 runs and scored 21 times.
The Prior Lake, Minnesota, native ended the month leading all NCAA Division I players with a .943 slugging percentage. His 17 home runs are tied for third-most in a season by a Jackrabbit player.
SDSU currently stands third in the Summit League baseball regular season race and will attempt to lock up a berth in the four-team conference tournament when it hosts Northern Colorado in a three-game series Friday-Sunday at Erv Huether Field.
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