VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota softball kicked off Summit League play Saturday at Nygaard Field with a doubleheader split against North Dakota.
 
The Coyotes won the first game of the day 7-0 behind a strong performance in the circle from McKenna Young, while the Fighting Hawks rallied to win game two 6-5.
 
Game 1 – W, 7-0
The top of the lineup was on fire for the Yotes as Tatum Villotta went 3-for-4 with three runs, Ella McGee was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs and a home run, and Madison Evnas went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
 
McKenna Young was dealing early in game one, recording back to-back 1-2-3 innings with five strikeouts. Young made quick work of the Hawks in the first with three straight strikeouts.
 
Villotta led off with a single for the Yotes and quickly moved over to scoring position on an McGee SAC bunt. Moving Villotta over would pay off in the next at-bat as an Evans down the right field line would give the Yotes a 1-0 early lead. South Dakota threatened to expand its lead, loading the bases with one out, but two straight outs for the Fighting Hawks ended the inning without any more runs.  
 
After Young retired the side in order in the top of the second, with a pair of punchouts, the Yotes added to their lead in the bottom half of the frame. Back-to-back hits from Rylie Jones and Villotta brought up Evans who sent a hard-hit ball to left-center. Evans' hit was just out of reach of a diving UND center fielder, and as the ball rolled all the way to the fence, Evans touched them all for her first home run of the season to give USD a 4-0 lead.
 
North Dakota tallied its first two hits in the top of the third, but the sixth strikeout from Young ended a third straight scoreless top half.
 
With a pair of runners in scoring position and two outs in the fourth, Madison Evans came through with a single to right center that brought home both runners to extend the Coyote lead to 6-0. The Yotes extended their lead to 7-0 in the sixth, as McGee scored on a throwing error by the Hawks.
 
Young closed out her fourth complete game and second shutout with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Young struck out 10 and allowed just three hits in her outing.
 
Game 2 – L, 6-5
Clara Edwards carried the momentum from Young's performance in the circle in game one to the second game of the doubleheader with a three up, three down first inning. McGee put herself in prime position to score the first run of the game as she legged out a triple. A bunt from White in the next at-bat brought in McGee, who beat the tag from the Hawks pitcher and USD took a 1-0 lead.
 
UND found back-to-back hits to lead off the second, but a double-play turned by White at third and a groundout in the next at-bat kept the Hawks off the board through two.
 
After Jones led off the third with a walk, the Hawks got the lead runner out at second in back-to-back at-bats. McGee, who reached on a fielder's choice, was aggressive on the basepaths by moving into scoring position by stealing second. The move would pay off, as a White single up the middle brought McGee in to put the Yotes up 2-0 through three innings.
 
With runners on the corners, Villotta came through with her first hit of game two and fourth of the day to bring home both Jones and Autumn Iversen to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
The Fighting Hawks finally got to the Coyote pitching staff in the top of the sixth, knotting the game at 4-4 with four runs off three two-out hits. After a pair of scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth from both squads, the Fighting Hawks broke the tie with a pair of runs on a single from Katelyn Neumayer.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the frame and needing to rally, Jones sent a blast over the left center fence for her first home run of the season. The Hawks, however, would force a ground out in the next at-bat to close out a 6-5 win.
 
Edwards pitched all 9.0 innings in the circle for the Yotes, while the Hawks used a pair of pitchers with Makaela Carr earning the win after striking out six in 3.1 innings of work.
 
White led the Yotes at the plate with a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Villotta had two RBIs.
 
The Yotes and Hawks will close out the series tomorrow morning at Nygaard Field at 11:00 a.m.