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South Dakota State University Athletics
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
FALL BALL COMPLETE, SDSU TURNS FOCUS TO SPRING
10/17/2024 11:09:00 AM | Softball
The South Dakota State softball program wrapped up its fall schedule of exhibition games this month with a variety of new faces mixed into its lineup as the Jackrabbits look ahead to the upcoming 2025 season. With the departure of a majority of their starting position players, as well as their two starting pitchers, plenty of questions faced the SDSU coaching staff as practices begun at the start of the semester.Â
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For head coach Kristina McSweeney, she believes her and her staff had those questions answered.Â
Â
The first was the leadership provided by the players on the team that have already got experience on the diamond in Yellow and Blue. A myriad of production was lost from the 2024 squad, however the 2025 team will boast a group of juniors and seniors leading the charge.Â
Â
"I can tell you there's a strong presence that we have from our upperclassmen and an expectation of excellence," McSweeney said. "That has started from this summer and radiated into our fall. Our older players are very dedicated.
Â
"We had one of our games against Iowa Central where we were tied in the bottom of the sixth and Brooke (Dumont) hit a home run to put us ahead. There is a standard that they've shown that's resonated throughout our fall."
Â
Returning players were at the forefront of the team's strong fall exhibition slate. The Jackrabbits were stellar as a team at the plate hitting a combined .354, while 11 players batted over .400.Â
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That included sophomore Akayla Barnard who produced a .600 batting average. She was followed by returners in junior Emma Vike (.578), senior and reigning Summit League Player of the Year Mia Jarecki (.556), as well as Alivya Bollen (.525).Â
Â
The batting average numbers are an indication of the direction the program is heading.
Â
"The offensive approach stood out this fall for us," McSweeney said. "It's very different, we're more of a dynamic offense. We were able to score a really good amount of runs and be really productive on the bases. Our stolen base total doubled this fall and our power numbers are where we want them to be."
Â
Among the leaders in those power numbers included junior Madi Conklin who raked eight home runs. Vike followed with seven while leading the team by registering 26 hits. Jarecki and Alli Boyle were just behind her pace with 23 hits apiece.Â
Â
SDSU also showed patience at the plate. The squad had 82 walks to 70 strikeouts for a 1.2-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio led by Dumont and Addison Blomberg's seven each. That would be the best mark for the team under McSweeney as she enters her third season guiding the program.Â
Â
The Jacks will look for a few of those returners mentioned, along with several newcomers, to make an impact with the bat in 2025. Â
Â
"We had some big offensive performances this fall by Akayla Barnard," McSweeney said. "Alivya Bollen showed a lot of promise, while Alli Boyle, Brooke Dumont and Mia Jarecki are right where they were if not better off than last spring. Madi Conklin had an incredible fall performance. Highlighting some freshmen that we think can make an impact next spring, I think Lila McNeill had a really good, solid fall and Amanda Vacanti was great at the plate."
Â
The pitching staff saw arguably the most amount of turnover from a season ago. Tori Kniesche is the program record holder in five different categories for the Jackrabbits and this season serves as a graduate assistant. The Jacks also lost All-Summit League Second Team performer in Shannon Lasey.Â
Â
SDSU does bring a few familiar faces from a season ago, but will need multiple contributors at the position looking ahead to next spring.Â
Â
"In the circle, we had really strong performances from both Akayla and Amanda," McSweeney said. "I think the two of them did a really great job. Transfer pitcher Madi Mangulis has come in and shown improvement throughout the fall."
Â
McSweeney also noted the return of sophomores Hailey Herman and Kierra Goos as they return for their second seasons at SDSU. Newcomers that could see action in 2025 also include Sylvia Shromoff and Emily Siurek.Â
Â
Though their slate of fall games concluded, the Jacks still have plenty of work ahead of them. The program will continue to train over the next few months before getting the 2025 season started in early February.Â
Â
"As a pitching staff, we want to move into a big jump velocity wise," McSweeny said. "They've taken two jumps already, we need to have another. We'll have continuous efforts on hitting our spots, location being dominant, working on movement, spin, those type of things.Â
Â
"Our hitters need to keep being focused on a dynamic offensive approach. Working in good offensive counts, limiting our swing and misses and staying in the zone. I think defensively it's about creating that chemistry with so many new faces."
Â
Â
For head coach Kristina McSweeney, she believes her and her staff had those questions answered.Â
Â
The first was the leadership provided by the players on the team that have already got experience on the diamond in Yellow and Blue. A myriad of production was lost from the 2024 squad, however the 2025 team will boast a group of juniors and seniors leading the charge.Â
Â
"I can tell you there's a strong presence that we have from our upperclassmen and an expectation of excellence," McSweeney said. "That has started from this summer and radiated into our fall. Our older players are very dedicated.
Â
"We had one of our games against Iowa Central where we were tied in the bottom of the sixth and Brooke (Dumont) hit a home run to put us ahead. There is a standard that they've shown that's resonated throughout our fall."
Â
Returning players were at the forefront of the team's strong fall exhibition slate. The Jackrabbits were stellar as a team at the plate hitting a combined .354, while 11 players batted over .400.Â
Â
That included sophomore Akayla Barnard who produced a .600 batting average. She was followed by returners in junior Emma Vike (.578), senior and reigning Summit League Player of the Year Mia Jarecki (.556), as well as Alivya Bollen (.525).Â
Â
The batting average numbers are an indication of the direction the program is heading.
Â
"The offensive approach stood out this fall for us," McSweeney said. "It's very different, we're more of a dynamic offense. We were able to score a really good amount of runs and be really productive on the bases. Our stolen base total doubled this fall and our power numbers are where we want them to be."
Â
Among the leaders in those power numbers included junior Madi Conklin who raked eight home runs. Vike followed with seven while leading the team by registering 26 hits. Jarecki and Alli Boyle were just behind her pace with 23 hits apiece.Â
Â
SDSU also showed patience at the plate. The squad had 82 walks to 70 strikeouts for a 1.2-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio led by Dumont and Addison Blomberg's seven each. That would be the best mark for the team under McSweeney as she enters her third season guiding the program.Â
Â
The Jacks will look for a few of those returners mentioned, along with several newcomers, to make an impact with the bat in 2025. Â
Â
"We had some big offensive performances this fall by Akayla Barnard," McSweeney said. "Alivya Bollen showed a lot of promise, while Alli Boyle, Brooke Dumont and Mia Jarecki are right where they were if not better off than last spring. Madi Conklin had an incredible fall performance. Highlighting some freshmen that we think can make an impact next spring, I think Lila McNeill had a really good, solid fall and Amanda Vacanti was great at the plate."
Â
The pitching staff saw arguably the most amount of turnover from a season ago. Tori Kniesche is the program record holder in five different categories for the Jackrabbits and this season serves as a graduate assistant. The Jacks also lost All-Summit League Second Team performer in Shannon Lasey.Â
Â
SDSU does bring a few familiar faces from a season ago, but will need multiple contributors at the position looking ahead to next spring.Â
Â
"In the circle, we had really strong performances from both Akayla and Amanda," McSweeney said. "I think the two of them did a really great job. Transfer pitcher Madi Mangulis has come in and shown improvement throughout the fall."
Â
McSweeney also noted the return of sophomores Hailey Herman and Kierra Goos as they return for their second seasons at SDSU. Newcomers that could see action in 2025 also include Sylvia Shromoff and Emily Siurek.Â
Â
Though their slate of fall games concluded, the Jacks still have plenty of work ahead of them. The program will continue to train over the next few months before getting the 2025 season started in early February.Â
Â
"As a pitching staff, we want to move into a big jump velocity wise," McSweeny said. "They've taken two jumps already, we need to have another. We'll have continuous efforts on hitting our spots, location being dominant, working on movement, spin, those type of things.Â
Â
"Our hitters need to keep being focused on a dynamic offensive approach. Working in good offensive counts, limiting our swing and misses and staying in the zone. I think defensively it's about creating that chemistry with so many new faces."
Â
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Players Mentioned
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P
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P
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IF
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P
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