JACKS BEAT BEARS, FALL IN EXTRAS TO HUSKERS

Sunday, March 9

Lincoln, Neb.

1:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

9-12

Northern Colorado

7-14

Northern Colorado

South Dakota State

Amanda Vacanti

Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann

3/9/2025 9:21:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Pedersen

LINCOLN, Neb. – South Dakota State split two competitive games at the Big Red Spring Fling on Sunday. The Jackrabbits narrowly held on to a 5-4 win over Northern Colorado to begin the day, but dropped an extra-inning affair to No. 19/20 Nebraska 5-4 at the Huskers' Bowlin Stadium in the nightcap.

Game One (vs. Northern Colorado)
SDSU earned its second win of the weekend over Northern Colorado after falling behind early.

The Bears scored three runs on four hits in the opening inning and held a 3-0 lead going into the second frame.

The Jackrabbits responded in the top half of the second. SDSU got two runners on base with one out following an Alli Boyle single and Emma Vike walk. Amanda Vacanti came up next and hit an 0-2 pitch over the left-field fence to tie the score at 3-all.

SDSU continued its at-bat as Madi Conklin and Alissa Wernz hit back-to-back singles. Mia Jarecki hit a sacrifice fly to score Conklin from third, giving the Jacks a 4-3 lead.

Jackrabbit starting pitcher Tayler Baker threw three consecutive shutout innings. The bottom of the fourth saw Akayla Barnard draw a two-out walk and score on an RBI double by Brooke Dumont to make it 5-3.

Baker handed the ball off to Madi Mangulis in the fifth. The Bears got runners to second and third in the fifth with two outs, but Mangulis worked out of the threat by producing a ground out. A double play turned in the sixth by the SDSU infield kept the UNC lineup at bay.

The Bears' final at-bat in the seventh started with two straight outs via ground out. A walk and single set Northern Colorado up with two runners on base. The Bears followed it with a single which brought one runner across home to score, however the second runner was caught trying to advance to third base and was thrown out by Vacanti from her right-field position.

The play ended the game in favor of South Dakota State by a 5-4 score.

Boyle had a team-high two of SDSU's eight hits. Vacanti had three RBIs. Baker improved to 2-3 on the season with the victory. Mangulis earned her second save of the year as she pitched three innings and gave up one run on three hits.

Game Two (vs. Nebraska)
South Dakota State played a back-and-forth battle versus nationally-ranked Nebraska, however the Huskers eventually prevailed 5-4 in nine innings.

The Jackrabbits' Abby Gentry got SDSU ahead 2-0 in the first inning on a two-run home run off Nebraska starter Jordy Bahl.

The score remained at that margin until the fifth inning as SDSU's Vacanti was solid in the circle. Two of the first four innings saw the Huskers get two runners on base and each time the Jackrabbit pitcher was able to get out of the jam.

Nebraska finally scored two in the fifth on a two-run single. The Huskers took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly as the two sides went to the seventh.

The Jacks were down to their final out when Conklin ripped a 1-1 pitch over the left-field fence to tie the score at 3-3. SDSU kept Nebraska off the board in the bottom of the frame to send the game to extra innings.

A walk drawn by Barnard and single by Gentry put two Jackrabbits on with two outs in the eighth. Alli Boyle hit a ball which was misplayed in the infield by the Huskers, allowing Barnard to come around from second base to score, momentarily giving SDSU a 4-3 edge.

Nebraska followed with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to push the game to the ninth.

South Dakota State got a runner to second base in the inning but left her stranded. The Huskers took advantage of a walk and fielding error to get runners on first and third base with one out. Nebraska's Bella Bacon hit a ball in the infield giving the Jacks an opportunity to try to pull the double play, however Bacon beat the throw to first base, allowing the runner from third base to cross home and hand a victory to the home side.

Vacanti finished out the first complete game of her college career. She allowed five runs (three earned) across 8 2/3 innings. Vacanti fell to 1-4 on the season.

Conklin and Gentry each registered two hits for the Jacks and they had a home run apiece. Barnard had SDSU's other hit in the contest.

South Dakota State is now 9-13 overall on the season.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits close out play at the Big Red Spring Fling on Monday. SDSU faces Northern Colorado at 10 a.m. at the Huskers' Bowlin Stadium.

-GoJacks.com-