University of South Dakota Athletics

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Fresh off a bye week and its longest layover of the season, South Dakota's softball team (30-22, 11-4 Summit) returns to the diamond for a Showdown Series rift with South Dakota State (32-14, 9-6) Friday in Brookings. The two teams will play a noon doubleheader Friday at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium followed by a single game Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
It is the final games of the regular season for both teams and will ultimately determine seeding for next week's Summit League Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. Any win by South Dakota would give the Coyotes the No. 2 seed and a free pass into the four-team, double-elimination portion of the tournament. Those seeded 3-6 will be featured in play-in games Wednesday.
 
South Dakota hasn't competed since April 23, a Tuesday tilt at Nebraska, and hasn't been on the road in conference play since their Summit opener at Western Illinois back on March 24. The Coyotes began their conference slate with an 11-1 record, but were swept in three games at home against North Dakota State April 19-20.
 
South Dakota State can steal the No. 2 seed with a three-game sweep of USD coupled by any Western Illinois loss to Omaha (4-40) this weekend. The Jacks are the only Summit team to beat champion North Dakota State this year, but have lost three of five series in the league including a 1-2 mark at North Dakota last weekend in Grand Forks.
 
MVP candidates enter final debate: Voting is underway for all-conference awards and the two favorites for MVP will be featured at first base this series. South Dakota senior Jamie Holscher has been the front runner all season with her non-conference performance coupled by a Summit slate in which she has hit .408 with 14 RBIs. Holscher leads the Summit in hits, RBIs and total bases, is third with 10 homers and has the second-best average at .386.
 
Jackrabbit senior Ali Herdliska is batting .362 with a league-high 12 home runs and 37 RBIs. She has drawn 39 walks which gives her a league-leading .509 on-base percentage. In Summit play, she is batting .333 with four home runs and eight RBIs.
 
Series History
South Dakota won 13 straight against the Jacks from 2012-16, but the series has been even since then. The Jacks won two of three in both 2016 and 2018, while the Yotes won two of three in 2017 in Vermillion. The Coyotes also claim a Summit League Tournament victory in 2016.
 
Showdown Series
The winner of the series will claim one point for their respective institution towards the South Dakota Showdown Series presented by South Dakota Corn. SDSU leads this year's affair 9.5-7.5 with softball, men's track and field and women's track and field left to compete. South Dakota has held the crown in each of the last two years.