Coyote softball sweep Fighting Hawks in Vermillion
Due to poor weather in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the South Dakota softball team had to move their three-game series to Vermillion April 15-16.
The Fighting Hawks came into the series with a 2-7 record after dropping their last three games against Omaha. This had them sitting at the bottom of the Summit League.
The Coyotes were 5-4 after traveling to St. Thomas where they won two of the three games.
On April 15, the two teams faced off in a doubleheader.
Game one saw Coyotes’ freshman pitcher Clara Edwards pitch a shutout against UND, ultimately leading the Coyotes to an 8-0 win.
USD got on the board in the first inning with a single from junior catcher Jordyn Pender driving in freshman infielder Rylee Nicholson. In the top of the second, senior infielder Jadyn DeWitte put one over the fence giving the Coyotes a 2-0 lead. This home run was DeWitte’s third of the season.
Due to a single from senior outfielder Courtney Wilson, the Coyotes added two more runs in the fourth inning. DeWitte and fifth year senior Lauren were the runs that were driven in.
The Coyotes again added two more runs in the fifth inning. The first was a single by sophomore catcher Bella Goerke that drove in sophomore Gabby Moser. The second run scored was scored by DeWitte due to the ball getting away from the catcher.
USD finished their seventh inning with an additional two runs moving their lead to 8-0. Goerke made a double which drove in junior outfielder Charis Black. Eamiguel hit a double and brought in Goerke for the final run of the game.
Game two of Friday’s double header ended in a COyote win of 21-2.
During the first inning, DeWitte doubled into left center which allowed junior Aleesia Sainz and Wilson to score. Then Goerke singled into center field which sent DeWitte to home plate. Eamiguel was able to reach first by an error made by UND’s third baseman which allowed Pender and Moser to score.
The second inning has Sainz bring the first run with a double into left field which brought in Nicholson. During this inning, Pender singled which allowed Sainz and DeWitte to score.
Moser scored on a wild pitch, while Goerke hit another double and allowed Pender to score. Eamiguel hit the first triple of the weekend and allowed junior catcher Mia Kraimer to touch home plate for the first time this season.
The other points that came in the second inning came from Wilson’s single which drove in Eamiguel as well as DeWitte scoring the last run after she poked one into center field allowing freshman infielder Tatum Villota and Wilson to home plate.
For UND, they saw their first runs of the weekend in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Izzy Haslett reached first after an error by the Coyotes which allowed two runs to score for the Fighting Hawks.
In the third inning, the Coyotes bounced back after letting UND score, with seven runs of their own in the top of the third. Eamiguel, Villota, Nicholson, Sainz, DeWitte, Moser and Kraimer contributed by getting one RBI each.
Neither team could score in the fourth or fifth inning which ended the game early due to the mercy rule, making the final score 21-2.
In game three on Saturday, the Coyotes took home the last match of the series with a final score of 14-9.
North Dakota’s senior infielder Jocelyn Kirk had a home run in the first inning of Saturday’s match-up. Following that, the Fighting Hawks continued their scoring with junior catcher Madison Pederson doubling and getting junior pitcher Lauren Feld across home plate.
The Coyotes tied the game back up in the top of the second with RBI’s from Goerks and Eamiguel.
USD continued their scoring in the top of the third as they scored five points and captured the lead 7-2. These points came from Sainz and Moser doubling which both brought in a run, Pender then grounded out to second and Moser was able to make her way to home plate and finally Goerke tallied her fourth home run of the season.
Goerke continued her scoring in the fifth inning with a double, sending two runs into home. Eamiguel singled as well, bringing in senior outfielder Gabbi Holbert and making the score 9-2.
North Dakota scored the next five points making the score 9-7. However, the Coyotes put more points on the board in the top of the seventh inning after a couple of errors by the Fighting Hawks, making the score 14-7.
A single by UND’s senior infielder Chevelle Sartin drove in two runs making the score 14-9, but the scoring stopped there for the Fighting Hawks, allowing the Coyotes to win game three and sweep the series.
The Coyotes’ record moved 23-17 overall and 8-4 in conference play. Their next matchup will be against the Omaha Mavericks at Nygaard Field on April 23-24.
