SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It all comes down to the final week of the Summit League softball regular season. South Dakota State (13-0), who will look to claim their fourth straight regular season league title, will face Omaha (12-3) this weekend on the road. All six seeds are still up for grabs as Kansas City (6-9), North Dakota (5-10), South Dakota (4-10) and North Dakota State (4-11) will look to move up in the standings.
St. Thomas, who sits at 8-9 in league action, is ineligible for the postseason championship due to the NCAA Division I transition.
UPCOMING
KANSAS CITY ROOS (19-28, 6-9 SL) | @kcroossb
Next Up: at North Dakota (5/3-4)
Previous Games: at North Dakota State (W, 4-0; L, 11-3 (5); W, 10-5); at Western Illinois (L, 4-3)
Lexy Smith led the Roos last week with five RBI, 10 total bases and four runs scored against Kansas and North Dakota State ... She earned five hits in 14 plate appearances hitting .357... Additionally, Smith belted her fifth home run of the year in the 10-5 victory that allowed Kansas City to take the series over the Bison ... Camryn Stickel earned two wins and a save week, pitching two complete games...She threw 18 innings in three appearances with 10 strikeouts this week... Stickel notched her fourth save of the season against the Jayhawks, throwing four innings and three strikeouts ... On Saturday, she pitched a complete game shutout over NDSU allowing just three hits ... The win was Kansas City’s first in Fargo since 2012 ... Stickel threw another five strikeouts in the 10-5 win over NDSU for her tenth win of the season ...Stickel ranks first in the league for innings pitched (174), throwing 25.2 more than any other league member.
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (13-39, 5-10 SL) | @UNDsoftball
Next Up: Kansas City (5/3-4)
Previous Games: Omaha (L, 7-0; L, 7-1; L, 4-0)
After winning five straight games, the Fighting Hawks were swept by Omaha at home ... In league contests, Jackie Albrecht ranks sixth in ERA (2.18), fifth in opposing batting average (.220), third in strikeouts (44) and carries a 3-4 record ... On the season, Albrecht holds a 6-13 mark and a 3.11 ERA with 122 strikeouts ... Angie Dumlao’s .297 batting average tops the Fighting Hawks lineup and her .339 on-base percentage ranks second on the team ... Dumlao has legged out four doubles on the season, scored six runs and drove in 12 runs ... Johanna Rodriguez carries the second highest batting average on the team at .267 and is tied for second on the team with 14 RBI.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (17-33, 4-11 SL) | @NDSUsoftball
Next Up: at South Dakota (5/3-4)
Previous Games: Kansas City (L, 4-0; W, 11-3 (5); L, 10-5)
Emilee Buringa hit .556 with two doubles and a home run against Kansas City last weekend ... She finished with two RBI and three runs scored ... Her OPS was 1.711 and she was 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts ... Kaitlyn Dunford pitched a complete game victory without allowing an earned run in her start against the Roos and finished the week with just one earned run in 9.0 innings of work (0.78 era) ... Nine Bison have contributed to 30 home runs this season, including eight with multiple home runs ... NDSU hit 29 homers last year; 13 in non-conference and 16 in league play.
OMAHA MAVERICKS (35-11, 12-3 SL) | @OmahaSB
Next Up: South Dakota State (5/3-4)
Previous Games: at North Dakota (W, 7-0; W, 7-1; W, 4-0)
Kamryn Meyer collected her second straight TicketSmarter Summit League Softball Peak Pitcher of the Week accolade after helping the Mavericks sweep North Dakota by going 10.2 innings with one run allowed and 16 strikeouts ... The Wilton, Iowa native pitched the first 3.2 innings in game one where she allowed no hits on six strikeouts ... She followed up that performance with a complete-game shutout in game three with 10 strikeouts and no runs allowed ... Maggie O’Brien went 8-for-13 last week with two runs scored and a pair of RBI ... The junior is currently riding an 18-game hitting streak into the regular season finale against South Dakota State ... On the season, O’Brien has tallied 60 hits ranking her first in the league.
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (16-34, 8-9 SL) | @TommieSoftball
Next Up: N/A
Previous Games: at South Dakota State (L, 5-2; L, 8-0 (5))
St. Thomas ended their season at South Dakota State, falling in their two scheduled games ... The Tommies’ 8-9 league record is the best since joining the league in 2022 ... St. Thomas’ eight wins in league action matches their total from the 2022 season ... Kaitlyn Raymond finished the season with a team-high .322 batting average, 47 hits and added eight RBI ... In the circle, Christina Crawford and Ella Cook both recorded seven wins, while Crawford’s 5.15 ERA lead the team.
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (19-28, 4-10 SL) | @SDCoyotesSB
Next Up: North Dakota State (5/3-4)
Previous Games: at St. Thomas (L, 6-1; L, 4-3; L, 6-5)
South Dakota took a week off competition and will conclude their regular season at home against North Dakota State ... South Dakota’s pitching staff ranks third in league play with a 2.69 earned run average ... Gabby Moser is hitting .288 and her team high 33 RBI rank fourth best in Summit League ... The Coyotes can move as high as the No. 3 seed in next week’s championship when they host North Dakota State this weekend.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (30-18, 13-0 SL) | @GoJacksSB
Next Up: at Omaha (5/3-4)
Previous Games: St. Thomas (W, 5-2; W, 8-0 (5))
SDSU is riding a 16-game winning streak as they will look to capture their third straight regular season title when they head to Omaha ... Emma Osmundson, the TicketSmarter Summit League Softball Peak Performer of the Week, went 5-for-9 (.556) with nine RBI, one home run, one double and one triple in three wins last week ... The Sioux Falls, S.D., native recorded a 1.22 slugging percentage and a .636 on-base percentage .. Shannon Lasey earned herself the Peak Pitcher of the Week accolade after recording two complete-game shutout victories, going all seven innings in SDSU’s 7-0 mid-week victory over Minnesota ... She then put together a solid five-inning performance in an 8-0 run-rule win against St. Thomas.
#SummitSB
