SDSU softball goes 3-1 against Iowa, Georgia Tech

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The South Dakota State softball team went 3-1 in four games against Iowa and Georgia Tech over the weekend at Pearl Field.

SDSU beat both the Yellow Jackets and Hawkeyes on Saturday and then lost to Georgia Tech on Sunday before beating Iowa.

It was a nice bounce back for the Jackrabbits after being swept by Kansas City a weekend before. SDSU is now 23-24 overall and 5-4 in Summit League play.

The Jacks will return to conference play this weekend with a three-game series in Omaha. They’ll play Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Saturday
SDSU 6, Georgia Tech 0
A solid outing from sophomore Tayler Baker, along with two home runs, lifted the Jackrabbits to a day-opening 6-0 victory over the Yellow Jackets.

A single by Bria Riebel, along with walks drawn by Akayla Barnard and Abby Gentry, loaded the bases for Amanda Vacanti. She was walked on four pitched to give the Jackrabbits an early 1-0 after the top of the first.

Baker gave up three singles to the Georgia Tech lineup in the first, but came away unscathed in her first inning of work. The SDSU starting pitcher allowed a double in the second, then threw a 1-2-3 third inning to push the game into the fourth.

The Jacks broke the affair open in the top of the frame. Vacanti led the inning off with a solo home run. An Ella Berlage single led to a pitching change for the Yellow Jackets. Emma Vike came up next and blasted a two-run home run as the Jackrabbits jumped ahead 4-0.

South Dakota State took advantage of two errors in the sixth, along with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Emma Christensen, to extend its lead to 6-0.
Baker ran into trouble in the sixth. Georgia Tech recorded three hits to load the bases with one out. The

Jackrabbit pitcher got a pop out behind the dish and a strikeout swinging to escape the jam without any damage being done. She’d allow one hit in the seventh before closing out a complete-game shutout.

The complete game was Baker’s first this season, while it was her third seven-inning complete game of her college career. The shutout was the first in seven-inning fashion of her career in Yellow and Blue as well.

Baker improved to 3-2 this season as she allowed no runs on 10 hits. She didn’t walk a batter while she struck out five Yellow Jackets.

SDSU’s lineup produced seven hits and took advantage six walks drawn. Riebel and Vike each had two hits, while Vike and Vacanti had a team-high two RBIs apiece.

SDSU 3, Iowa 2
A game-winning solo home run in the eighth inning eventually lifted the Jackrabbits to a 3-2 win over the host Hawkeyes in Saturday’s nightcap.

SDSU got on the board first in the opening frame. Christensen led the game off with a double and she was plated on an RBI single by Gentry to put the Jackrabbits ahead, 1-0.

Vacanti got the nod in the circle for the Jacks and put together a strong appearance. Iowa got a runner on third base in the first, as well as runners on second and third base in the fourth, but in each instance the Jackrabbit sophomore worked herself out of the potential threats.

The Hawkeyes capitalized in the bottom of the fifth. A single and fielding error set Iowa up with another set of runners on second and third base with two outs. Nailyn Marshall delivered with a two-run single to put the home side ahead 2-1.

South Dakota State responded in the next half inning. Riebel hit a one-out double and was driven in on a two-out RBI double via Gentry to tie the score at 2-2.

Vacanti settled in and found a groove. She put the Hawkeyes down in order in each of the sixth and seventh innings to push the game to extras.

Following an out to begin the inning, Riebel came up to the plate for the Jackrabbits and belted a solo home run over the center-field fence. Her solo shot and 10th home run of the season put SDSU on top 3-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth.

Vacanti didn’t let up against the Hawkeyes’ lineup. She produced another 1-2-3 frame to close her complete-game performance out and provide SDSU its second win over the day.

The SDSU pitcher claimed her third complete game of the season while throwing her second longest outing of her time in Yellow and Blue. Vacanti gave up two runs (none earned) on five hits. She walked three batters while striking out another three. She improved to 3-6 on the year.

Riebel and Gentry had two hits apiece for the Jackrabbits. Vacanti and Ella Berlage also produced base hits along with Christensen’s first-inning double.

Sunday
Georgia Tech 10, SDSU 1 (5 inn.)
Georgia Tech recorded 13 hits and totaled 10 runs on its way to a run-rule victory.

The Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the first inning and six more in the third to pull away from the Jackrabbits. Alyssa Willer and Paige Vukadinovich had three hits apiece for Georgia Tech, with Willer accounting for four RBIs.

SDSU totaled seven hits in the game. Abby Gentry had a team-high two which included an RBI single in the first inning.

SDSU 7, Iowa 4
South Dakota State bounced back in the doubleheader with a 7-4 win against the host Hawkeyes.

Iowa got out a 1-0 lead in the first before an RBI single by Emma Christensen tied the score in the third. The Jackrabbits got leadoff singles in the fourth from Gentry and Akayla Barnard to set up Amanda Vacanti. The SDSU sophomore belted a three-run home run over the center-field fence to push the Jackrabbits on top, 4-1.

SDSU starting pitcher Tayler Baker had a solid outing, but ran into trouble in the fifth. The Hawkeyes tied the score with three runs on four hits to make it 4-4 heading to the sixth.

The Jackrabbits went ahead for good in the top of the frame. Ella Berlage and Emma Vike registered singles to get two runners on base with no outs. After Christensen was hit by a pitch, SDSU had the bases loaded with two outs. That brought Bria Riebel to the plate who ripped a double off the center field wall.

She plated two on her swing to make it 6-4 in favor of the Jacks. A wild pitch eventually scored Christensen as SDSU took a 7-4 edge into the bottom of the seventh.

Pitcher Madi Mangulis came in for the sixth inning and threw a 1-2-3 inning which included a 6-3 double play turned. Mangulis put the Hawkeyes down in order in the seventh to close out a victory for the Jackrabbits.

Baker earned a win for the Jackrabbits in the circle. She allowed four runs on seven hits across five innings of work. Baker walked just one batter as she improved to 4-2 this season. Mangulis was credited with her fourth save of the year.

South Dakota State picked up 10 hits in the win over Iowa. Vike had a team-high three hits followed by Gentry’s two. Buske scored a team-high two runs.

From SDSU Sports Information