JACKS AVOID ELIMINATION ON DAY ONE

Thursday, May 13

Fargo, N.D.

noon

South Dakota State University

38-6

Kansas City

29-24

Kansas City Roos

South Dakota State

Photo by: The Summit League

5/13/2021 9:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

FARGO, N.D. - South Dakota State softball opened The 2021 Summit League Softball Championship with a 4-2 loss against Kansas City, but bounced back with a 1-0 win over North Dakota Thursday afternoon at Tharaldson Park.

The top-seeded Jacks are now 39-6. Kansas City improved to 29-24 overall while North Dakota finished the season 17-33.

GAME 1: SDSU 2, KANSAS CITY 4
It was a pitchers duel in the first six innings of game one.

Mia Hoveland pitched a complete game for Kansas City as she allowed five hits, two earned runs, one walk and recorded five strikeouts.

For the Jackrabbits, Grace Glanzer took the loss despite giving up just four hits, one earned run, one walk and striking out two batters in four innings. In just her second loss since March 13, 2021, Glanzer fell to 16-4 on the season.

Tori Kniesche pitched the final three innings of the game, striking out six batters, allowing three hits, three earned runs and two walks.

The Roos, who led for the entire game, scored the game's first run on Alexis D'Ambrosio's single in the second inning.

Kansas City added to its 1-0 lead with a three-run home run by Kloe Hilbrenner in the top of the seventh. After two batters were hit by pitches later in the inning, Kniesche was able to limit the damage by striking out the final two hitters.

Looking to avoid the shutout, Jocelyn Carrillo led off the seventh with a solo home run to left to trim the Kansas City lead to 4-1.

Two batters later, the Jacks weren't done yet. Lindsey Culver's two-out solo home run brought the Jacks within 4-2. But the Jackrabbit comeback ended after a groundout to third ended the game.

Jocelyn Carrillo went 2-for-3, including her home run. Culver, Rozelyn Carrillo and Peyton Daugherty each recorded one hit.

Seven players in the Kansas City lineup recorded one hit.

GAME 2: SDSU 1, UND 0
Tori Kniesche's complete game shutout and Emma Osmundson's fifth-inning triple kept SDSU's Summit League championship hopes alive in a 1-0 elimination game win over North Dakota.

Kniesche struck out four batters, walked two and allowed three hits in seven innings of work.

Kniesche won her 20th game of the season and took control from the start with two strikeouts in the first inning. The first Fighting Hawk hit came in the bottom of the third inning on a single to right center, but Kniesche was able to pitch around the leadoff hit.

After a Rozelyn Carrillo leadoff double to begin the fifth, Peyton Daugherty laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Carrillo to second and Emma Osmundson delivered an RBI triple to put the Jacks in front, 1-0.

North Dakota's biggest threat came in the bottom of the seventh as the Fighting Hawks put runners on first and second with two outs. Kniesche secured the win and the complete game shutout with a strikeout to end it.

Jocelyn and Rozelyn Carrillo each went 2-for-3 while Daugherty and Osmundson each finished with a hit.

Jannay Jones pitched all seven innings for the Fighting Hawks, allowing six hits, one earned run, two walks and recording three strikeouts. Mariah Peters led the North Dakota offense with two hits.

Game notes

South Dakota State is now 6-10 all-time at the Summit League Championships.
Jocelyn Carrillo extended her on-base streak to 16 games and now has 14 multi-hit games this season.
Kniesche became the third pitcher in program history to win 20+ games in a season.
The Jacks took all three games against North Dakota in 2021 and outscored the Fighting Hawks 21-1 in the season series. SDSU fell to 4-1 against Kansas City in the season series.
Kniesche threw her sixth complete game shutout of the season and her fourth in seven-inning games.