JACKS & HAWKS SQUARE OFF STARTING FRIDAY

Friday, March 29

Council Bluffs, Iowa (Iowa Western)

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota (DH)

Photo by: Mario Terrana

3/28/2024 2:11:00 PM | Softball

By: Andrew Pedersen

Week 8: South Dakota State (18-18, 2-0) vs. North Dakota (6-29, 0-0)
When	Friday, March 29 (1/3 p.m.) / Saturday, March 30 (12 p.m.)
Location	Iowa Western Campus (Council Bluffs, Iowa)
Stream	Midco Sports Plus
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
South Dakota State	Game Notes

South Dakota State continues Summit League action this weekend with an altered location when the Jackrabbits take on North Dakota. The Jacks and Fighting Hawks, who were originally scheduled to play at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings, will meet in Council Bluffs, Iowa. SDSU and North Dakota face off in their three-game series at Iowa Western's Dr. John and Jean Marshall Baseball & Softball Complex starting at 1 p.m. Friday with a doubleheader. They close the series with a noon single game on Saturday.

The Jackrabbits and Fighting Hawks a season ago saw their series moved to a neutral site as well. SDSU and North Dakota ended up competing in a doubleheader on April 23 at North Dakota State's Tharaldson Park. SDSU won the opener 8-0 in six innings, then capped the two-game set with a 6-1 victory. Starting pitchers Tori Kniesche and Shannon Lasey each logged victories for the Jacks. SDSU's Rozelyn Carrillo and Alexa Williams each had multi-hit efforts in both games to pace the Yellow and Blue at the plate. The Jackrabbits are 62-31 all-time over the Hawks and have won the last nine meetings.

SDSU began the conference schedule by completing a doubleheader against Vermillion last Thursday. The Jacks topped the Coyotes in consecutive contests, 8-0 and 7-0. The win helped SDSU earn a point in the Interstate Series, presented by First Interstate Bank, while giving the Jacks a 2-0 start to conference play. The Jackrabbits have now won 35 straight league games in regular season action dating back to the 2022 season.

There were multiple standouts for SDSU in the series versus USD, but two were recognized by The Summit League. Mia Jarecki and Kniesche swept the latest TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Pitcher of the Week nods. Jarecki went 6-for-7 (.857) with two RBIs, six runs scored, five stolen bases and a home run in the doubleheader. Kniesche threw the ninth no-hitter of her career and second this season in the opener. Kniesche struck out nine batters and walked just one in seven innings of work.

Prior to starting its Summit League schedule, SDSU played in Kentucky's John Cropp Classic. The Jackrabbits had multiple stellar efforts on the field in Lexington. Lindsey Culver had a sensational stretch across five games at the plate. She went 9-for-18 with three home runs, three doubles, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored. Jarecki had seven hits, which included a pair of doubles and home runs, to go along with four runs scored five RBIs. Brooke Dumont had four hits and six RBIs, Carrillo recorded five hits and five runs scored, while produced six hits, three runs scored and three RBIs.

In the circle, the Jacks had several strong performances. Lasey had good outings in her last two starts of the tournament. She pitched back-to-back five-inning efforts in wins over Ohio State and Columbia. Akayla Barnard threw a six-inning complete game versus Columbia, giving up four hits and striking out six in a shutout. Hailey Herman pitched two scoreless relief innings in SDSU's win over the Buckeyes.

Coverage Information
South Dakota State's games versus North Dakota will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus. Links for live stats are available on the SDSU Athletics' website. For more information about Jackrabbit softball, you can follow the team social media accounts (@GoJacksSB) or visit the team page at GoJacks.com.

-GoJacks.com-