VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota softball heads back to Commerce, Texas for the second time this season for the Lion Classic hosted by East Texas A&M to face the Lions and Prairie View A&M.
 
The Schedule                                                                      
Saturday
10:00 a.m. (CT) vs. Prairie View A&M | First Meeting
3:00 p.m. (CT) vs. East Texas A&M | Series tied 2-2
Sunday
3:00 p.m. (CT) vs. Prairie View A&M | First meeting
5:30 p.m. (CT) vs. East Texas A&M | Series tied 2-2
Monday
9:00 a.m. (CT) vs. East Texas A&M | Series tied 2-2
 
ABOUT THE YOTES

• South Dakota is now 5-4 on the season after a 2-3 weekend at the 2025 Lion Classic in Hammond, Louisiana.
• It will be the first time the Coyotes have faced off against Prairie View A&M, while South Dakota and East Texas A&M split a two-game series during opening weekend.
• Tatum Villotta carries a team high .519 batting average into this weekend's set of games and leads the Yotes with 14 hits.
  • Villotta has reached base safely in eight of nine games to start the season and has four multi-hit games.
• Delaney White follows Villotta with a .419 batting average and has a team high four doubles. White is second on the team with nine RBIs.
  • White has four multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 performance against UTSA last weekend.
• Autumn Iversen has a squad leading 10 RBIs to go with a .375 batting average, nine hits and one homerun.
  • Iversen has drove in two runs in each of the last three games and five times total on the season.
• Ella McGee also carries a hitting clip above .300 and has two extra base hits with a double and a triple
• Clara Edwards has started in the pitcher's circle in five of the nine games to start the season and has made six total appearances.
  • Edwards has tossed four complete games, has a 3-2 record and has struck out 22 batters.
  • Edwards has also drove in five runs and scored three times.
• McKenna Young has made five appearances for the Yotes with two starts. She has yet to give up an earned run in 11.2 innings of work and has 14 strikeouts.
  • Young is holding opponents to a .122 batting average.
  • Young struck out a career high 10 batters in 4.0 innings of work in a win over Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 14.
• Freshmen Madison Evans and Campbell German have both appeared in three games and made one start. German has struck out eight, while Evans has four punchouts on the year.
• South Dakota was picked to finish third in the Summit League Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office.
• The Coyotes finished fifth in the Summit League a season ago with a 7-10 conference record and a 23-30 mark on the season.
• USD returns a trio of All-Summit League selections from a season ago in Tatum Villotta (second team), Clara Edwards (HM) and Delaney White (HM).
• Villotta and Edwards were named as USD's players to watch in the conference preseason poll.
• Villotta was one of three Yotes to start in all 53 games a season ago, splitting time in both middle infield positions. She tallied a team-high 54 hits, 23 runs and a team best 10 game hitting streak during the season. Villotta had 12 multi-hit games in 2024 and has 39 multi-hit games in her career.
• Edwards made 28 starts in 29 appearances as the No. 1 pitcher in 2024 and recorded an 8-13 record, 2.76 ERA, and 121 strikeouts in 157.1 innings pitched. Edwards struck out a career-high 13 batters in a complete game shutout, one of five shutouts she had on the season, in a win over Abilene Christian.
• McKenna Young begins her sophomore season after pitching 79.0 innings in her freshman campaign, making 27 appearances and nine starts. She tallied 75 strikeouts and held opponents to a team-low .246 batting average.
• Rounding out the pitching staff is freshmen Madison Evans and Campbell German. Evans was named the South Dakota Gatorade Players of the Year last year after leading Sioux Falls Lincoln to a state title, while German was a three-time First Team All-State selection in Iowa.
• The combination of Villotta, White and Rylie Jones in the infield combined to start all but three games in 2024.
• White was tied for second on the squad in 2024 with 45 hits, second with eight doubles and drove in the second most runs (23) while holding a .278 batting average. White led the team with 13 multi-hit games and had five games with multiple RBIs.

ABOUT EAST TEXAS A&M

• ETAMU is 2-8 on the season and enter Saturday's matchup on a six-game skid.
• Emma Rodrigues leads the Lions with a .400 batting average and has 12 hits, one triple, a pair of home runs and three RBIs.
• Maddie Muller has made the most starts in the circle for ETAMU (five) but holds a 1-5 record and a 4.40 ERA.
• Kate Houser has made nine appearances, with two starts, and has tossed a team leading 22.0 innings with a 3.82 ERA. 

ABOUT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M

• The Panthers are 5-4 on the season and have won four straight entering the weekend.
• The Panthers have scored nine or more runs in each of their last four games.
• Janaiya Thomas is the top bat for the Panthers with a .385 batting average, 10 hits and 12 RBIs.
  • Thomas has five extra base hits with two doubles, two triples and a home run.
• Mia Nunez (.360), Kearstin Tinsley (.345) and Aerin Talley (.300) also have batting averages above .300.
• Nunez has belted two home runs, while Talley has gone yard once. Both batters have four RBIs each.