PITCHING GEMS CARRY JACKS TO WINS OVER YOTES

Thursday, March 21

Vermillion, S.D.

1:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

17-18, 0

South Dakota (DH)

15-18, 0

South Dakota State

South Dakota

3/21/2024 6:24:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Pedersen

VERMILLION, S.D. — Two different Jackrabbits had four-hit days, while starting pitchers Tori Kniesche and Shannon Lasey produced exceptional outings, to carry South Dakota State to a pair of victories over South Dakota on Thursday. SDSU won each game in the doubleheader by 8-0 and 7-0 scores at Nygaard Field.

The win puts SDSU out to a 2-0 record to begin Summit League play, along with giving the athletic department another point in the InterState Series presented by First InterState Bank.

Game One
It was nearly a perfect day for Kniesche in the circle.

The Jackrabbit starter returned to action after over a week off from competition with an incredible performance. Nobody reached base through the first five innings of play, while Kniesche struck out seven of the 15 batters she faced to that point.

Kniesche recorded another strikeout to begin the sixth, but a walk drawn by a Coyote batter ended her perfect-game bid. Her no-hitter remained though.

SDSU's senior pitcher got a flyout and strikeout to end the sixth. In the seventh, she got the Yotes to hit into two flyouts as well as an infield popup to close the game out. Kniesche ended the game by throwing a complete game, no-hitter. She struck out nine batters and walked just one. It was Kniesche's ninth no-hitter of her college career and the second for her this season. She now has an 8-5 record.

The Jackrabbit lineup gave Kniesche plenty of breathing room to work with.

Lindsey Culver hit an RBI single in the first, Mia Jarecki crushed a solo home run in the third, Jocelyn Carrillo recorded an RBI triple in the fourth and a sacrifice fly by Emma Osmundson in the fifth made it 4-0 through five innings.

Home runs by Jocelyn Carrillo and Rozelyn Carrillo, along with an RBI single by Jarecki, gave SDSU a 7-0 edge in the sixth. The seventh saw Alli Boyle hit an RBI single to give the Jacks an 8-0 lead.

SDSU had 11 hits in the game led by a 4-for-4 game for Jarecki. It was her second four-hit game of the season while she scored three runs and had two RBIs. She also had a career-high three stolen bases, tying the program record.

Also finished with multiple hits were the Carrillo sisters along with Boyle. Rozlyen Carrillo had three runs scored, while Jocelyn Carrillo had two RBIs.

Game Two
It was a similar tale in game two as the Jackrabbits defeated the Coyotes in the second game of the doubleheader, 7-0.

Lasey had one of the top performances of her college career in the circle. Another SDSU senior pitcher, Lasey allowed just two hits with no runners reaching third base in the game.

Lasey finished a complete-game performance by striking out six batters and walking one while throwing less than 80 pitches. She now has a 6-8 record.

The Jackrabbits had another standout at the plate, this time it being Osmundson. The senior outfielder was 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs. She also scored two runs.

Jarecki and Akayla Barnard each had multi-hit games with Jarecki scoring three runs.

The Jackrabbits are 18-18 overall this season. The Coyotes dropped to 15-19.

Up Next
South Dakota State closes out the series looking for a sweep on Friday. The Jackrabbits and Coyotes are slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Nygaard Field in Vermillion.

-GoJacks.com-