BROOKINGS, S.D. – Third-seeded South Dakota advanced to its first Summit League Championship game since 2019 after outlasting second-seeded South Dakota State 3-2 in eight innings on Friday evening at Jerald T. Moriarty Field.
In another tightly contested game in a tournament full of them, the Coyotes scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning when Rylie Jones delivered a clutch RBI single up the middle to plate pinch runner Brylee Hempey, breaking a 2-2 tie. Clara Edwards then shut the door in the bottom half, stranding the tying run at third to secure the win.
After a scoreless opening frame, South Dakota got on the board in the second inning. Madison Evans led off with a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Edwards. With two outs and the bases loaded, Brooke Carey drove in Evans with an infield single to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.
The teams would trade zeroes until the sixth inning when South Dakota State took its first lead with two runs. Emma Vike led off with a single and eventually came around to score on an infield single by Emma Christensen. A throwing error on the play allowed a second run to cross the plate as the Jackrabbits moved in front 2-1.
The Coyotes' Abi Brown quickly got that run back for the Coyotes after launching a solo home run to center field — her first of the tournament..
Evans gave the Coyotes a spark again in extra innings with a double in the eighth. Hempey entered to pinch run and came around to score on Jones’ RBI single, which proved to be the difference.
Edwards earned the win with a complete-game effort, allowing seven hits and just one earned run over eight innings. She struck out one and walked two.
The win sends South Dakota to the Summit League title game for the first time since 2019, when the Coyotes, seeded second, fell in two straight games to top-seeded North Dakota State.
Pitchers of Record
Win – Clara Edwards (14-12): 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Loss – Sylvia Shromoff (4-4): 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Notable
• Brown homered in the seventh for her first blast of the tournament and fifth of the season.
• Jones went 2-for-4, including the game-winning RBI in the eighth.
• Edwards threw 103 pitches over 8.0 innings to earn her 14th win of the season.
• South Dakota advances to the Summit League Championship for the first time since 2019.
Up Next
The Coyotes will meet top-seeded Omaha in the Summit League Championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
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