FORT WAYNE, Ind.—South Dakota and Fort Wayne split the first two games of a three-game set at Fort Wayne Softball Complex Friday. Fort Wayne rallied for a 7-6, eight-inning win in game one while South Dakota broke a 5-5 tie in the sixth inning en route to a 9-5 win in the nightcap. The rubber match is set for 11 a.m. (EDT) Saturday.
Fort Wayne 7, USD 6 (8 inn.)
A dropped fly ball in the infield allowed Fort Wayne to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, and the Mastodons won it in the eighth on a sharply hit ground ball by Lauren Watson that couldn't be handled. Jenna Balthazor led off the eighth with her second double of the season and came around to score the winning run. The two miscues were the only errors charged to the Coyotes during the twin bill.
South Dakota (15-29, 5-6 Summit) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first off Fort Wayne ace Bailey Benefiel, and made it 6-2 in the fifth on a two-run home run by
Taylor Steinfeldt, her ninth of the season. Benefiel (10-8) pitched all eight innings to get the win, but didn't record a strikeout. She averages close to a strikeout per inning on the season.
A two-run home run by Fort Wayne first baseman Demitra Burns made it 4-2 in the fourth and a three-run shot by Stephanie Hanic made it 6-5 in the fifth. The Mastodons hit three home runs on the day after entering with just 11 all season.
Burns finished 3-for-4 in game one with three RBIs. She forced extras in the seventh with a game-tying single.
South Dakota 9, Fort Wayne 5
Fort Wayne returned the favor in game two, committing four errors that led to five unearned runs that made a hard-luck loser out of starter Shaina Eyre. Coyote third baseman
Lauren Wobken was the star, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs including a two-run shot to left field in the fourth that gave USD a 5-0 lead. It was the first collegiate homer for Wobken, a freshman from Scribner, Nebraska. She also executed a perfect squeeze bunt back in the second for the first score of the game.
Five batters into the bottom of the fourth and the lead was gone. The Mastodons (15-25, 1-4) had mustered a single hit off Coyote starter
Alexis Devers thru three, but a walk and four consecutive hits, the last of which was a three-run blast by Balthazor, tied the game at 5-5. It was the first collegiate home run for Balthazor, a senior competing in her 165
th game.
South Dakota left fielder
Christy Warnock singled to left on the play that produced the go-ahead run in the sixth. Her single squeezed past the fielder's legs and rolled to the wall. Wobken, who singled with two outs, scored from first on the play to make it 6-5. It was 7-5 following an infield single by
Camille Fowler, and
Alyssa Fernandez came home for the eighth run when Fort Wayne tried to throw out Fowler stealing second.
Eight different South Dakota players combined for 10 hits in the nightcap.
Dustie Durham (10-10), who pitched 4 2/3 innings in game one, relieved Devers in the fourth and pitched four scoreless frames to get the win. She allowed three hits and had two strikeouts.
