FARGO, N.D. – Fourth-seeded Kansas City stunned top-seeded South Dakota State 4-2 to advance to the winner's bracket of the 2021 #SummitSB Championship presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare.
A two-out RBI single from catcher Alexis D'Ambrosio in the second inning staked junior Mia Hoveland to an early lead and the Roos got what proved to be some crucial late-run support off the bat of Kloe Hilbrenner, who belted a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to take some pressure off Hoveland.
Hoveland surrendered leadoff singles in both the first and second innings to the league's top offense, but the Jacks could not push those runners across. The righthander had retired 11 consecutive Jacks before issuing a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth. A two-out single by Jocelyn Carrillo put a pair of Jacks on the base paths for the first time in the game, but Hoveland was able to induce a ground out to escape that jam.
With just a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh, the Roos' top hitter delivered one of their biggest hits of her season. After the first two batters reached safely off Summit League Pitcher of the Year Tori Kniesche, Hilbrenner snuck her seventh home run of the campaign just inside the leftfield foul pole to extend the Roos' advantage to 4-0.
Those extra runs would prove critical as Carillo would spoil Hoveland's shutout bid in the seventh inning, leading off the frame with a solo home run. After Hoveland struck out the next two Jacks, second baseman Lindsey Culver added a solo blast to cut the Jacks' deficit in half, but the Roos' starter picked up her second win in as many days in Fargo by getting a groundout to end the contest.
SDSU all-league first teamer Grace Glanzer allowed one earned run in her four innings of work, but was saddled with the loss. Kniesche pitched the final three innings for the Jacks, giving up three earned runs on three hits.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Mia Hoveland (15-13): 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Loss – Grace Ganzler (16-4): 4.0 IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• Hoveland's victory was her team-leading 15th of the season and she increased her league-leading strikeout total to 190.
• For the first time since 2014, the No. 1 seed fell in its opening game of the tournament (No. 4 IUPUI beat NDSU 15-8 that season).
• It marked just the second time in 44 games this season that the Jackrabbits failed to score before the seventh inning.
• D'Ambrosio's RBI was her first since the second game of an April 24th doubleheader with Western Illinois - a span of 11 games.
• Hilbrenner's home run was her seventh of the season.
Up Next
Kansas City will play for a berth in the title game on Friday at 1 p.m. against the winner of the Omaha-North Dakota matchup, while the loser of that contest faces an elimination game against the top-seeded Jackrabbits later Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
#SummitSB
