RUSTON, La.—South Dakota softball dropped its first two games of the Louisiana Tech Invitational Friday at Lady Techster Stadium. Missouri State topped USD 13-3 in the opening game of the tournament, and Louisiana Tech earned a 9-1 win in an afternoon contest. The losses drop the Coyotes to 1-12.
 
Missouri State 13, USD 3
The Bears (5-5) scored six runs in the top of the first inning and cruised to a five-inning win. A bases-clearing double by pinch hitter Steffany Dickerson capped the big inning. Missouri State scored three unearned runs in the fourth and tacked on four more runs in the fifth. First baseman Kaitlin Beason had three of Missouri State's 13 hits and drove in two runs.
 
Christy Warnock and Dylan Underwood had RBIs for South Dakota. Warnock scored Underwood with a double in the fourth inning that cut the lead to 9-2. Underwood was 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Coyotes had 10 hits, but left nine on base.
 
Louisiana Tech 9, USD 1
Louisiana Tech first baseman Taria Page hit a grand slam in the third inning and a two-run single in the fourth to lead the Lady Techsters (6-7) to a five-inning victory. Center fielder Jazlyn Crowder also had two hits for Louisiana Tech, a 2017 NCAA Tournament team that took advantage of six South Dakota errors.
 
Warnock's solo home run in the top of the fourth inning accounted for South Dakota scoring and was one of four hits the Coyotes mustered off pitcher Jensen Howell. It was the first round tripper of the season for Warnock and sixth of her collegiate career.
 
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Eleven different Coyotes combined for South Dakota's 14 hits in Friday's two games. USD returns to the field for two games Saturday, taking on Alcorn State and Saint Louis in back-to-back games starting at 1 p.m.