DUMONT, JACKS SHOCK WICHITA STATE IN FINALE

Sunday, March 2

Wichita, Kan.

2:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

6-12

Wichita State

10-9

South Dakota State

Wichita State

Brooke Dumont

Photo by: Josh Gateley

3/2/2025 8:20:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

WICHITA, Kan. – Akayla Barnard pitched her first complete game of the season, while Brooke Dumont went 4-for-4 at the plate, to help lead South Dakota State softball to a 6-4 victory over Wichita State in the Shocker Invitational finale on Sunday, March 2, at Wilkins Stadium.

A day after falling to the Shockers in walk-off fashion, the Jackrabbits jumped in front from the start. A one-out walk drawn by Abby Gentry eventually was plated on an RBI single by Dumont to put SDSU ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning.

The next inning saw the Jacks add another pair of runs. Alissa Wernz led the second off with a single and she'd be plated on a two-out RBI single by Gentry. Dumont followed Gentry up with another RBI single to give SDSU a 3-0 edge.

South Dakota State extended its lead to 5-0 in the third. Singles by Barnard and Alli Boyle set up Emma Vike who hit a two-run double and put the Jacks on top by five runs.

Barnard cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third. A throwing error along with three walks got Wichita State on the board, however Barnard limited the damage to just one run.

The fourth inning saw SDSU and Wichita State tally a run apiece. Dumont smacked a solo home run while the Shockers recorded their first two hits of the game to make it a 6-2 score through four innings of action.

The score remained 6-2 until the seventh inning.

SDSU got the top of the frame started with singles by Mia Jarecki and Caitlyn Wells. The Jacks got runners to second and third with one out, but a strikeout and ground out ended the threat.

Wichita State came up for its final at bat in the bottom of the seventh. Two walks and a single got the Shockers a bases loaded opportunity with one out. An RBI single plated a run and kept the bases loaded, while a wild pitch moved runners up a base and scored another to make it 6-4.

Barnard put a close to things at that point. She got consecutive Wichita State hitters to fly out to complete a victory for the Jackrabbits.

Dumont led South Dakota State's lineup with her second four-hit game of the season. She had a game-high three RBIs. Seven other Jacks recorded hits. Vike had two of SDSU's RBIs while Gentry scored two runs.

Barnard pitched her second complete game of her college career. She allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and seven walks.

NOTES

South Dakota State ended an 11-game losing streak with the victory over Wichita State. The Jackrabbits are now 6-12 overall. The Shockers, ranked eighth in DI Softball's most recent Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, dropped to 10-9.
SDSU improved to 2-9 all-time against Wichita State. The Jacks last beat the Shockers in 2021.
Barnard now has a team-high two victories among SDSU's pitching staff. Amanda Vacanti sports the squad's best ERA of 3.99.
Dumont improved her team-best batting average this season to .438. She also leads the Jackrabbits in home runs (6), RBIs (18) and doubles (6).
Three other Jacks that have over .300 batting averages while playing in at least 10 games include Gentry (.348), Vacanti (.317) and Jarecki (.306). Barnard has scored an SDSU-high 11 runs.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will travel to Lincoln, Neb., for their next tournament appearance. SDSU is slated to open play at Nebraska's Big Red Spring Fling with a doubleheader against Northern Colorado at noon on Friday.

-GoJacks.com-