SDSU REBOUNDS TO CLAIM WIN IN TOURNEY FINALE

Saturday, March 15

Columbia, Mo.

11 a.m.

South Dakota State University

14-15

Michigan

20-8

Michigan

South Dakota State

Alli Boyle

Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann

3/15/2025 8:25:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Pedersen

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The South Dakota State softball team bounced back from a day-opening defeat to earn a victory and claim a split of its games on Saturday, March 15, at the Mizzou Invitational. The Jackrabbits were shut out against Michigan, 5-0, then defeated Quinnipiac 10-4 in their final day at the tournament at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

Game One (vs. Michigan)
South Dakota State only recorded two hits in the 5-0 loss to Michigan.

The Wolverines registered six of their nine hits in the opening three innings of action to jump in front 4-0.

SDSU's Alli Boyle hit a single in the second, and Brooke Dumont hit a double in the fourth, but that is all the Jackrabbit lineup could muster against Michigan. Wolverine starter Erin Hoehn threw four innings and struck out two batters. She walked one batter and hit another while improving to 11-2 overall. Reliever Lauren Derkowski pitched three hitless innings.

Jackrabbit starter Amanda Vacanti went 2 1/3 innings in the circle. Madi Mangulis pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up one run (none earned) on three hits and a walk. She struck out three batters.

Game Two (vs. Quinnipiac)
The Jackrabbits rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to eventually beat the Bobcats for the second time in consecutive days, 10-4.

Quinnipiac took advantage of four walks and had just one hit on its way to going up 3-0 in the top of the first inning.

SDSU countered in the bottom of the first. Boyle hit a two-run double with the bases loaded to make it a 3-2 ballgame. She was followed by an Emma Vike RBI single, as well as a Madi Conklin sacrifice fly, to put the Jackrabbits into the lead.

Boyle was walked with the bases loaded in the second to plate another run, while Akayla Barnard produced a two-run double in the third to make it 7-3 in favor of the Jacks.

Barnard came on in relief in the second inning and was solid in the circle. She wound up pitching 4 1/3 innings giving up one run on two hits. Barnard struck out three batters and walked five.

SDSU extended the score to 10-3 in the fifth. Barnard added a two-run triple to her stat line hitting and Dumont plated a run on an RBI single.

Barnard ran into trouble in the sixth inning which saw Mangulis make another appearance in the circle. The Jackrabbit pitcher got two consecutive outs to stop the damage given up at one run for the Bobcats. Mangulis got three straight ground outs to end the game in the seventh.

Boyle and Barnard had three hits apiece for the Jackrabbits. The pair plated three and four runs, respectively. Caitlyn Wells also had a multi-hit game.

Barnard was credited with the victory and improved to 4-3 in the process. Mangulis went 1 2/3 innings and didn't allow a baserunner to go along with a strikeout.

NOTES

The Jackrabbits are 15-15 overall on the season following their appearance at the Mizzou Invitational.
South Dakota State has won 10 of its last 13 games after experiencing an 11-game losing streak.
Five Jacks are hitting over .300 with at least 30 at bats. That group includes Abby Gentry (.438), Brooke Dumont (.390), Emma Vike (.323), Mia Jarecki (.322) and Alli Boyle (.314). Gentry and Dumont share a team-leading seven home runs each, while the two have 30 RBIs and 25 RBIs, respectively. Jarecki has a team-high 25 runs scored followed by Akayla Barnard (23).
Four SDSU pitchers have logged under 4.25 ERA through 30 games. They include Amanda Vacanti (3.92), Tayler Baker (4.11), Barnard (4.20) and Madi Mangulis (4.25). Mangulis is the Jackrabbits' leader in appearances (22) and innings pitched (49 2/3).

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits have a 10-day break between games. SDSU returns to action with a non-conference doubleheader at Iowa on March 25. The Jacks begin Summit League play with a three game series at Kansas City from March 29-30.

-GoJacks.com-