They met last year in the Summit League Tournament, three times last weekend in Kansas City, and South Dakota and Kansas City will play again at noon Thursday in an elimination game to kick off this year's tournament.
 
The start time of Thursday's game, originally set for 10 a.m., has been moved back an hour as the field crew prepares the diamond following Wednesday's rain. Brookings, South Dakota, and South Dakota State University are hosting for the first time.
 
Kansas City (13-33) won last year's elimination game 10-2 in six innings after the teams had split four games during the regular season. The Roos totaled nine runs in all three games of a Kansas City sweep Friday and Saturday in Missouri. But the setting is different and so are the seeds. South Dakota (27-23) is the No. 4 seed after finishing 11-10 in Summit play and will be the home team. Kansas City is the No. 5 seed.
 
The pitching matchup will be South Dakota freshman Clara Edwards (15-13) against Kansas City senior Mia Hoveland (6-14). Both are all-Summit honorees. Both started games one and three of last week's series. Kansas City won game one 9-3 and game three 9-0. Both pitched nine innings in total.
 
Hits during the three-game series were nearly even with Kansas City netting a 23-21 edge, but the situational hitting was not. The Roos were 13-of-34 (.382) with runners in scoring position while the Coyotes were 4-for-19 (.211).
 
South Dakota will put six all-Summit hitters in its lineup and that balance has been a tremendous asset for the Coyotes this season. Leadoff hitter Tatum Villotta has an 11-game hitting streak, Jordyn Pender is batting a team-high .347 and Gabby Moser hit .375 with four home runs inside Summit play. First-team third baseman Aleesia Sainz has the second-best OPS in the league (1.182).
 
Kansas City catcher Alexis D'Ambrosio is batting .228 this season, but she was brilliant against South Dakota, going 7-for-11 (.636) with a home run and eight RBIs. Leadoff hitter Kloe Hilbrenner is batting .372 and is one of the best base stealers in the nation. Ally Vonfeldt was 4-for-9 with a homer during last week's series.
 
The winner advances to face top-seeded South Dakota State at 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon in the four-team, double-elimination round of the tournament. The Coyotes were the last Summit League team to beat the Jacks, which dates back to early April. A champion will be crowned either Saturday or Sunday and that team will represent the Summit League in the NCAA Tournament.