The UMKC softball team picked up their seventh and eighth wins in a nine-game span, sweeping the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 13 in Brookings, South Dakota.
Game one started slow, with each team getting blanked through the first three frames, but it was the ‘Roos (16-18) that struck first.
Senior Katie Kelley (2-for-3) led off the fourth inning with a walk, and sophomore Kendra Leach (1-for-3) tallied a one-out infield single, moving Kelley to third to put runners at the corners.
Sophomore Kelsey Goodwin (2-for-3) drove in the opening run with a single to right center, moving Leach to third. Freshman Morgan Byrn (0-for-2) followed Goodwin by laying down a sacrifice bunt, and the Jackrabbits (14-26) were unable to gun Leach at the plate, giving the ‘Roos a 2-0 advantage.
South Dakota State bounced back to put up two runs of their own on Kelley (7-9), with a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth.
Freshman Bri Sims (0-for-4) drove in a run in the top of the fifth to give the lead back to the ‘Roos, and they would never look back as they would go on to score one more, thanks to a seventh-inning home run from Kelley, her sixth of the season, winning 4-2.
Game two was all about sophomore pitcher Amber Grove, who tossed a gem, allowing just two hits and one run in the complete game win. Grove struck out seven Jackrabbits and didn’t allow a walk in the contest, and was aided by 10 runs from the offense.
It took until the third inning for the UMKC bats to make their mark, scoring four runs in the frame, with an RBI single from senior Brooke Parker (2-for-3), a double to left center for Sims (2-for-5) to drive in two, and a sacrifice fly from junior Alex Gale (0-for-2) to make the score 4-0.
Sims drove in another run in the fifth, scoring Parker with a single, giving the ‘Roos a five-run advantage.
The Jackrabbits got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly, but it was not much help, as UMKC would go on to put their biggest number on the board in the seventh inning.
The ‘Roos scored five runs on four hits, and were aided by an SDSU error in the top half of the frame. Junior Kelsey Volle (1-for-4) singled to right field to drive in a run, and freshman Kameron Fisher (3-for-4) followed suit with a two-RBI single to right center. Kelley (3-for-4) got in on the RBI action with a single to left field, to cap the scoring for the day, as UMKC went on to win 10-1.
UMKC is back in action with a three-game home series against Western Athletic Conference foe Utah Valley on April 15 and 16.