CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Jackrabbit softball team split a pair of games on opening day of the 2020 season. South Dakota State started Friday’s action at the Doc Halvorson / UNI Dome Classic with a 4-1 win over DePaul, but fell 1-0 in its second game of the day to Murray State.

South Dakota State 4, DePaul 1
Grace Glanzer (1-0) earned the win in her collegiate debut. The Sioux Falls product struck out three and allowed just two hits, working around six walks in a one-run performance.

Allison Yoder and Kelsey Lenox led the offense with home runs, as Yoder with 2-for-3 with a solo shot and Lenox hit a three-run home run. Peyton Daugherty and Cylie Halvorson each had a pair of singles and scored runs.

SDSU and DePaul traded threats early and often, as both teams put runners on in each of the first four innings. The game remained scoreless, though, until Yoder broke the stalemate in the fifth with her first career home run by launching the first pitch of the inning over the center-field wall.

Ahead 1-0 at that point, State kept the bats rolling with a one-out single from Daugherty. After swiping second, Daugherty moved to third on Halvorson’s two-out single. Lenox followed with a three-run home run, blasting a 1-1 pitch over the fence to put the Jacks ahead, 4-0.

The Blue Demons got one back in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff double and one-out sacrifice fly, but would come no closer as a fly ball to right ended the game.

Murray State 1, South Dakota State 0
Kendra Conard (0-1) took the loss despite a strong effort in the circle. Conard struck out seven and scattered five hits with one run allowed.

Halvorson had a double and Daugherty notched a single for the Jackrabbit offense, while Allison Beaudry drew a pair of walks.

The Jackrabbits put runners on in five of seven innings in the day’s second game, but were unable to scratch a run across as Murray State pulled out the one-run win. The Racers’ lone score came in the second inning after a Jackrabbit error gave Murray State a leadoff runner. From there, a double pushed the Racer baserunner to third, and with one out a sacrifice fly sent the run across.

Halvorson’s two-bagger in the fourth gave SDSU a runner in scoring position midway through the game, a line-drive double play canceled the scoring threat and helped the Racers hold on to the momentum.

Game Notes

  • Peyton Daugherty notched the first hit of the season in the DePaul game’s leadoff at-bat
  • South Dakota State is now 27-24 in season openers and 8-9 at the Division I level (since 2004)
  • The Jackrabbits are now 1-0 all-time against DePaul and 0-3 against Murray State
  • SDSU is 12-22 at the UNI Dome Classic over seven appearances
  • Six Jackrabbits made their collegiate debuts on opening day: Grace Glanzer, Chiara Bassi, Lindsey Culver, Cylie Halvorson, Mia Elliott and Jocelyn Carrillo

Up Next
South Dakota State will wrap up its stay at the Doc Halvorson / UNI Dome Classic Saturday evening. The Jackrabbits face Northern Iowa at 5 p.m., followed by a 7:15 p.m. start against Drake.
-GoJacks.com-