South Dakota looks to start a new streak this weekend when the Coyotes host St. Thomas in a weekend series at Nygaard Field. The teams will play a noon doubleheader Saturday followed by a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
It marks the final home games of the season for a team that has logged just three home dates all year. South Dakota will honor its five seniors following Sunday's competition.
 
USD (19-23, 8-6 Summit) is trying to snap a five-game skid that started last week at Omaha and continued Tuesday in a non-conference bout with Creighton. The Coyotes stand in fourth place in the Summit League standings with two series remaining. South Dakota is 1.5 games back of North Dakota State and 2.5 games ahead of North Dakota.
 
St. Thomas (16-31, 4-10) is trying to hold onto the sixth and final position for Summit League Tournament qualifying. The Tommies lead seventh place Western Illinois, a team they swept 3-0, by percentage points and eighth place Kansas City by 1.5 games. St. Thomas hosts Kansas City next weekend to conclude the regular season.
 
South Dakota won two of three games at St. Thomas last year, which marked the first meetings between the two programs. St. Thomas is transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division I. The Tommies could not compete in last year's tournament. They can this year, but would not be allowed to compete in the NCAA Tournament should they win.
 
The Tommies are led by shortstop Brooke Ellestad, who hit .425 with six home runs as a freshman in 2022. She carries a .376 average this season with six homers and a Summit-best 34 RBIs. Freshman center fielder Avery Wukawitz backs her up with a .354 average and .989 OPS from the leadoff spot. Junior Katie Goelz has set career marks for homers (4) and RBIs (21).
 
St. Thomas rolls with three pitchers including senior Isabelle True (9-9, 5.31 ERA) who has started more than half the Tommies' games this season. Ella Cook (4-7, 3.76 ERA) is a sophomore who redshirted last season. Keira Murphy (2-12, 5.81 ERA) is a true freshman from Stillwater, Minnesota.
 
Seniors Courtney Wilson and Aleesia Sainz live at the top of South Dakota's lineup. Wilson is 14-for-22 (.636) during a seven-game hitting streak and boasts a trio of three-hit performances in her last six games. Sainz continues to lead Summit play in average (.500), on-base (.633) and slugging (.906). She is second in both runs scored (12) and RBIs (17) through 14 Summit contests. Sainz was 6-for-11 with a home run and eight RBIs in three games last year against St. Thomas.
 
Sophomore Clara Edwards has a 6-2 record in Summit play and is 12-9 overall with a 2.60 ERA. She is three starts removed from her no-hitter against Western Illinois. Kori Wedeking is trying to get back in the win column for the first time since April 2. She struck out seven in a complete-game performance against Creighton Tuesday and came back with two scoreless innings in game two.
 
Free kids clinic Saturday!
Kids in sixth grade and below are invited to a free clinic following Saturday's doubleheader against St. Thomas. This is a rescheduled clinic from April 16 that was postponed due to weather. Email jarren.duffy@usd.edu to RSVP.