MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Fourth-seeded South Dakota rallied late to secure a 5-4 victory over No. 5 seed Kansas City in the opening round of the 2026 Summit League Softball Championship Wednesday afternoon.
South Dakota struck first in the opening inning as Autumn Iversen worked a leadoff walk, stole second and eventually came around to score on an RBI single from Allie Cromer to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.
Kansas City answered in the second, capitalizing on a defensive miscue. Elleana Navarro doubled to start the frame and later scored alongside Katie Noble on a throwing error, giving the Roos a 2-1 advantage despite recording just one hit in the inning.
Both teams traded scoreless frames through the middle innings as pitching settled in, with the Roos stranding three runners in the fifth and the Coyotes unable to capitalize on a pair of defensive errors in the third.
USD broke through in the sixth to reclaim the lead as Kiya Johnson doubled to spark the rally before Sara Iburg followed with a single and stolen base. Abi Brown delivered the key hit, lining a two-run single to left field to put the Yotes in front, 3-2.
KC responded again in the seventh, using a bunt and aggressive baserunning to plate two runs and jump back ahead 4-3, putting South Dakota down to its final outs.
In the bottom half, the Coyotes delivered the decisive rally. Ella McGee singled to start the inning and Brooke Carey followed with another base hit. With two outs, Delaney White came through with a clutch two-run single up the middle, scoring both runners and lifting South Dakota to the 5-4 win.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Madison Evans (USD): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Loss – Delilah Robles (KC): 6.2 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Notables
- White drove in the game-winning runs with a two-RBI single in the seventh inning.
- Brown recorded a two-RBI single in the sixth to give South Dakota its first lead since the opening inning.
- South Dakota tallied 11 hits in the game, with three players contributing multi-hit efforts.
- Kansas City scored twice in both the second and seventh innings but could not hold the lead late.
- South Dakota has now won its opening game at the Summit League Championship for the fifth consecutive season.
Up Next
South Dakota advances to face No. 1 seed Omaha in the winner’s bracket at 11 a.m. CT tomorrow, while Kansas City is eliminated from the tournament.
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