BROOKINGS, S.D. – Top-seeded South Dakota State advanced to the program's fourth straight Summit League Softball Championship title game after defeating second-seeded Omaha 2-1 in a winner's bracket game Friday at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.
A two-run homer by Rozelyn Carrillo and Tori Kniesche’s nine-strikeout performance were the difference makers for the Jacks.
Kniesche struck out the first four Mavericks of the game and five of the first six as she rolled to her 17th win of the season.
Carrillo's two-run shot came in the fourth as it sailed over the right field fence to give Kniesche all the run support she would need.
Omaha’s Ava Rongisch led off the fifth with a solo homer to cut the Mavericks' deficit in half, but after back-to-back singles by Olivia Aden and Marra Cramer with one out, Kniesche retired the next to Omaha batters to escape the jam.
Kniesche would retire the final six batters of the game to collect her 16
th complete game outing of the season.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Tori Kniesche (17-6): 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
Loss – Kamryn Meyer (23-4): 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• The Jackrabbits will play in the title game for the fourth consecutive season
• Omaha outhit South Dakota State, 5-4
• The lone extra-base hit of the game for SDSU was Carrillo’s home run
• Kamryn Meyer recorded her 1,000
th career strikeout in the contest
Up Next
South Dakota State will play in their fourth straight #SummitSB Championship title game on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The Jackrabbits will face the winner of the tournament's next elimination game between No. 2 Omaha and No. 3 Kansas City that is slated to start at 3:30 p.m. CT today.
#SummitSB
