VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota and South Dakota State split two games Saturday which marked the rivalry's return to Nygaard Field for the first time since 2017. South Dakota won game one 5-3 while the visiting Jackrabbits dominated the nightcap 20-0 in five innings. Both teams are 3-2 in Summit play. The rubber match is 11 a.m. Sunday.
 
All of South Dakota's runs and three of its eight hits on the day came in the bottom of the second inning of the opener. Aleesia Sainz's one-out double ignited it, and the fuel came in the three consecutive walks that followed. The third was drawn by Gabby Moser which broke a scoreless tie. One out later, Tatum Villotta sent a base hit to center that caromed away from the fielder and resulted in three more runs. Villotta made it to third on the play and scored to make it 5-0 on a solid hit by Courtney Wilson.
 
That proved enough for South Dakota starter Clara Edwards and company. Edwards moved to 3-0 in Summit play and 10-7 overall by tossing her third straight complete game. She scattered nine hits and six walks while striking out four. She also got some help.
 
Sainz set the tone by snagging a hard-hit ground ball to her left and completing a throw from her knees to prevent a run from scoring from third in the top of the first. Tatum Villotta caught a line drive with a runner in scoring position to end the third. Moser ran down a fly ball in right field to stop a hit in the fourth. That proved more valuable when Cheyanne Masterson homered behind her for the first South Dakota State run of the day.
 
A two-out, two-run double by Allison Yoder pulled SDSU within two runs in the fifth. Edwards worked around a leadoff walk to get out of the sixth and stranded runners on first and second in the seventh.
 
Villotta was 2-for-3 in game one. Jordyn Pender laced her fifth double of the season for the Coyotes. The home run by Masterson was her fourth on the year.
 
Emma Osmundson doubled and Rozelyn Carrillo homered for South Dakota State to start game two. The Jacks scored three times in the first inning and chased Coyote starter Grace Garcia early in the second. A dropped fly ball with the bases loaded and two outs in the third opened the floodgates. Lindsey Culver hit a three-run homer as part of an eight-run fourth for SDSU. Carrillo put the cherry on top with a grand slam in the fifth. Carrillo was 3-for-4 with seven RBIs in game two.
 
Grace Glanzer allowed a lone single and struck out seven in four innings of work to get the win for the Jacks. She is 11-3 on the season.