FARGO, N.D. -- For the first time in program history, South Dakota State captured the #SummitSB Championship presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare by defeating Omaha 4-2 Saturday in a winner-take-all game at the Ellig Sports Complex. The top-seeded Jackrabbits had to beat the Mavericks twice on the final day of the tournament order to hoist the tournament trophy and did so by backing up a 9-0 victory with a much tighter two-run victory in game two.

Summit League Pitcher of the Year Tori Kniesche was staked to an early lead and did the rest, striking out 10 Mavericks as she won the 21st game of her freshman season. 

Second baseman Lindsey Culver drove in the first run of the game for the Jackrabbits with a RBI double in the second. Cheyenne Masterson also had an RBI in the frame with a sacrifice fly to provide Kniesche a 2-0 advantage.

SDSU would tack on single runs in the third and fourth innings to extend its lead to 4-0 before the Mavericks made things interesting down the stretch after being held off the scoreboard through five innings. Culver, who added a solo home run in the fourth, and leadoff hitter Payton Daugherty each had three hits to pace an SDSU offense that finished with nine.

Omaha would not go down quietly, however, as the Mavericks cut their deficit in half with a two-run shot from Jamie White in the sixth inning. After starter Sydney Nuismer kept it a 4-2 contest by keeping the Jacks at bay in the bottom of the sixth, Omaha threatened again in the seventh.

Allison Heston led off the inning with a walk and Janae Cameron singled to put two runners on with no outs, but Kniesche was able to retire the next three batters to end the contest. 
 
Pitcher of Record
Win – Tori Kniesche (21-1): 7.0 IP, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walk, 10 strikeouts
Loss – Sydney Nuismer (4-8): 6.0 IP, 9 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

Notable Notes
• SDSU won its first #SummitSB Championship after reaching the title game only once before in 2018.
• Freshmen Tori Kniesche and Grace Glanzer each won two games in the circle for the Jackrabbits, who had to win four straight to claim the title.
• Lindsey Culver's home run in the fourth was her third of the tournament and 10th of the season.
• Omaha's Jamie White hit her fifth home run of the season to break up Kniesche's shutout bid.

All-Tournament Team
Jadyn DeWitte, South Dakota
Ciara Jensen, North Dakota State
Jannay Jones, North Dakota
Mariah Peters, North Dakota
Mia Hoveland, Kansas City
Sydney McQuinn, Kansas City
Faith Willis, Kansas City
Kamryn Meyer, Omaha
Lynsey Tucker, Omaha
Taylor Johnson, Omaha
Jamie White, Omaha
Grace Glanzer, South Dakota State
Rozelyn Carrillo, South Dakota State
Tori Kniesche, South Dakota State
Kelsey Lenox, South Dakota State
Jocelyn Carrillo, South Dakota State - MVP

Up Next
South Dakota State will find out where it is headed to continue its season at the NCAA Regionals during the selection show, which is slated for Sunday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

#SUMMITS