OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha softball dropped both ends of a doubleheader to South Dakota State in its Summit League opener on Friday at Claussen-Westgate Field. The Mavericks dropped the opener 4-1 before falling 8-1 in the nightcap.
The Mavericks are now 2-26 overall and 0-2 in Summit League play, the Jackrabbits improved to 23-7 (2-0).
The two teams wrap up the series on Saturday, March 23, at 10 a.m. The start time for Saturday's game was moved up an hour to accommodate incoming weather.
South Dakota State 4, Omaha 1
Savannah Fisher went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Mavericks.
Alexa Sedlak finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Natalie Mostek went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.
Starter
Sydney Hampton (1-10) pitched 2.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks.
Halley Jones pitched the final 5.0 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and five walks with three strikeouts.
South Dakota State's Julia Anderson went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored. Ali Herdliska added a 1-for-2 effort with a home run and a pair of RBI. Pitcher Kendra Conard (8-0) pitched a complete game, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Herdliska put the Jackrabbits in front in the third inning with a two-run homer to left field.
Omaha cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Sedlak opened the inning with a single and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. Fisher hit a single up the middle that allowed Sedlak to score and cut SDSU's lead to 2-1.
South Dakota State turned a pair of walks into a run in the fifth inning to make it 3-1. The Jackrabbits added an insurance run in the top of the six to go up 4-1.
Omaha made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Mostek reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Janae Cameron drew a two-out walk to put runners on first and second. Mostek then swiped third, but Conard struck out the next batter to pick up the win.
South Dakota State 8, Omaha 1
Emma Dargy went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and an RBI to lead Omaha at the plate in game two.
Janae Cameron added a 2-for-3 effort with a double. Cameron also threw out a pair of would-be base stealers. Mostek went 1-for-3 with a double.
Lexi Burchfield,
Lexi Burkhardt and
Lauren Lauvetz had one hit each.
Ryanne Millington (1-10) allowed eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits and nine walks with four strikeouts.
Yanney Ponce finished 3-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored to lead South Dakota State. Allison Beaudry went 1-for-1 with two walks, two stolen bases and two RBI. Morgan DeMarais (6-2) scattered nine hits over 7.0 innings with five strikeouts.
Omaha put runners in scoring position in the first two innings but was unable to push a run across the plate. Herdliska drew a two-out walk and scored on Lyndsey Crist's triple to give SDSU a 1-0 lead.
SDSU added three more runs in the fourth with RBI doubles from Baily Janssen and Anderson to extend the lead to 4-0.
Omaha got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Dargy led off with a solo homer to center.
South Dakota State responded by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 8-1.
The Mavericks loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but DeMarais wriggled out of the jam for the win.
