University of St. Thomas Athletics
Sunday, April 2
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m. Central
vs
South Dakota State
Photo by: Dennis Hubbard
Softball welcomes in defending Summit League Champion South Dakota State for home opening series
3/30/2023 10:17:00 AM | Softball
Last Weekend Recap
The Tommies fell to 8-21 on the season after dropping two games to open Summit League play against the 16-8 Omaha Mavericks by scores of 8-1 and 9-0. The third game of the scheduled series was cancelled due to inclement weather and there is no plan to makeup the game.
Game One
St. Thomas scored their only run of the Omaha series in the fifth inning of game one when Kenzie Miller scored on a throwing error.
Kaitlyn Raymond and Avery Wukawitz each set the table twice for the Tommies' offense at the top of the lineup. Raymond reached on two walks and Wukawitz tallied a walk and a double.
Coryn Jacobson's double was the only other extra base hit for the Purple. Brooke Ellestad and Keira Murphy each notched a single and Sydney Mickett reached on a walk.
Keira Murphy spent all six innings in the circle. She allowed eight runs but just four earned as the defense committed four errors in the contest. Murphy struck out two and walked five.
Game Two
Omaha scored three runs in the third and six runs in the fifth to secure the run-rule victory in five innings over the Tommies in game two.
The Mavericks hit three homeruns in the fifth inning. St. Thomas is now 0-5 in games in which its opponent hits two or more home runs this season.
Kaitlyn Raymond continued her success at the plate going 2-3 with a double and a single. Abbi Stierlen was the only other St. Thomas bat to reach safely twice going 1-1 with a walk and a single.
Brooke Ellestad and Morgan Klein each reached on singles and Maddie Grad drew a walk.
Patience is a virtue
Junior second-baseman, Sydney Mickett has been one of the most patient hitters in the Summit League to start the year.
She has walked in 21% of her plate appearances this season. That mark currently ranks her third in the conference behind only Katie Joten of North Dakota (22%) and South Dakota State's Cheyanne Masterson (21%).
Her 11 walks lead the team and is a career season-best for Mickett with 25 games still left to play.
What sophomore slump?
St. Thomas and South Dakota State both sport one of the best players in the Summit League in their respective lineups. The two players' statistics are nearly interchangeable, and both just so happen to be sophomores.
St. Thomas' best player is no secret to its Summit League competitors. She won the Summit League Newcomer of the Year award last season after slashing .425/.455/.604 with 57 hits in 42 games and this season she has continued her success at the plate.
South Dakota State's offensive MVP did not have the same freshman success (.233/.343/.400) in twelve starts. However, she has put up some of the best numbers in the conference this season.
The Tommies' Brooke Ellestad has amassed a 1.085 on-base plus slugging percentage. The Jackrabbits' Mia Jarecki has just barely nudged Ellestad into third in the Summit with her OPS of 1.086.
Both players are in the conference top-five in:
The two will lead their teams into battle this weekend.
Scouting South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits' offense ranks third in the Summit in average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage (.253/.347/.393). They lead the conference with 25 home runs (next closest is NDSU with 18) and with 117 walks (next closest is UST and SD with 88).
South Dakota State's biggest offensive threat is sophomore Mia Jarecki. She is slashing .347/.475/.611 and leads the Summit with 24 walks.
In the circle, the Jackrabbits rank third in ERA (3.22), first in strikeouts (189), and first in batting average against (.226).
They deploy a two-headed dragon of talented hurlers. Tori Kniesche has pitched 84.2 innings this season with a 2.73 ERA (4th in the Summit) and a conference-leading .175 batting average against. She has racked up 91 strikeouts and is behind only Kamryn Meyer of Omaha who struck out 15 Tommies at Connie Claussen Field last weekend. Shannon Lasey has been a little less lethal than Kniesche but has been tremendously reliable in the circle for South Dakota State. She has tossed 81 innings in 15 starts with a 3.63 ERA, a .269 BAA and 72 strikeouts.
Series History
The Tommies and Jackrabbits matched up three times in Brookings, S.D. last season and South Dakota State won all three by scores of 10-1, 10-0, and 5-0.
Coryn Jacobson brought home the lone run for St. Thomas in game one with a home run in the top of the second inning.
Tori Kniesche no-hit the Purple in back-to-back games. She went 12 innings and struck out 33 hitters.
The Tommies fell to 8-21 on the season after dropping two games to open Summit League play against the 16-8 Omaha Mavericks by scores of 8-1 and 9-0. The third game of the scheduled series was cancelled due to inclement weather and there is no plan to makeup the game.
Game One
St. Thomas scored their only run of the Omaha series in the fifth inning of game one when Kenzie Miller scored on a throwing error.
Kaitlyn Raymond and Avery Wukawitz each set the table twice for the Tommies' offense at the top of the lineup. Raymond reached on two walks and Wukawitz tallied a walk and a double.
Coryn Jacobson's double was the only other extra base hit for the Purple. Brooke Ellestad and Keira Murphy each notched a single and Sydney Mickett reached on a walk.
Keira Murphy spent all six innings in the circle. She allowed eight runs but just four earned as the defense committed four errors in the contest. Murphy struck out two and walked five.
Game Two
Omaha scored three runs in the third and six runs in the fifth to secure the run-rule victory in five innings over the Tommies in game two.
The Mavericks hit three homeruns in the fifth inning. St. Thomas is now 0-5 in games in which its opponent hits two or more home runs this season.
Kaitlyn Raymond continued her success at the plate going 2-3 with a double and a single. Abbi Stierlen was the only other St. Thomas bat to reach safely twice going 1-1 with a walk and a single.
Brooke Ellestad and Morgan Klein each reached on singles and Maddie Grad drew a walk.
Patience is a virtue
Junior second-baseman, Sydney Mickett has been one of the most patient hitters in the Summit League to start the year.
She has walked in 21% of her plate appearances this season. That mark currently ranks her third in the conference behind only Katie Joten of North Dakota (22%) and South Dakota State's Cheyanne Masterson (21%).
Her 11 walks lead the team and is a career season-best for Mickett with 25 games still left to play.
What sophomore slump?
St. Thomas and South Dakota State both sport one of the best players in the Summit League in their respective lineups. The two players' statistics are nearly interchangeable, and both just so happen to be sophomores.
St. Thomas' best player is no secret to its Summit League competitors. She won the Summit League Newcomer of the Year award last season after slashing .425/.455/.604 with 57 hits in 42 games and this season she has continued her success at the plate.
South Dakota State's offensive MVP did not have the same freshman success (.233/.343/.400) in twelve starts. However, she has put up some of the best numbers in the conference this season.
The Tommies' Brooke Ellestad has amassed a 1.085 on-base plus slugging percentage. The Jackrabbits' Mia Jarecki has just barely nudged Ellestad into third in the Summit with her OPS of 1.086.
Both players are in the conference top-five in:
- Average (Ellestad: 3rd, .376 / Jarecki: 5th, .347)
- On-base percentage (Jarecki: 1st, .475 / Ellestad: 4th, .438)
- Slugging percentage (Ellestad: 2nd, .647 / Jarecki: 5th, .611)
- Hits (Jarecki: 3rd, 33 / Ellestad 4th, 32)
- Triples (Jarecki: 1st, 3 / Ellestad: 3rd, 2)
- Homeruns (Jarecki: 3rd, 5 / Ellestad: 4th, 4)
- Total bases (Jarecki: 2nd, 58 / Ellestad: 3rd, 55)
The two will lead their teams into battle this weekend.
Scouting South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits' offense ranks third in the Summit in average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage (.253/.347/.393). They lead the conference with 25 home runs (next closest is NDSU with 18) and with 117 walks (next closest is UST and SD with 88).
South Dakota State's biggest offensive threat is sophomore Mia Jarecki. She is slashing .347/.475/.611 and leads the Summit with 24 walks.
In the circle, the Jackrabbits rank third in ERA (3.22), first in strikeouts (189), and first in batting average against (.226).
They deploy a two-headed dragon of talented hurlers. Tori Kniesche has pitched 84.2 innings this season with a 2.73 ERA (4th in the Summit) and a conference-leading .175 batting average against. She has racked up 91 strikeouts and is behind only Kamryn Meyer of Omaha who struck out 15 Tommies at Connie Claussen Field last weekend. Shannon Lasey has been a little less lethal than Kniesche but has been tremendously reliable in the circle for South Dakota State. She has tossed 81 innings in 15 starts with a 3.63 ERA, a .269 BAA and 72 strikeouts.
Series History
The Tommies and Jackrabbits matched up three times in Brookings, S.D. last season and South Dakota State won all three by scores of 10-1, 10-0, and 5-0.
Coryn Jacobson brought home the lone run for St. Thomas in game one with a home run in the top of the second inning.
Tori Kniesche no-hit the Purple in back-to-back games. She went 12 innings and struck out 33 hitters.
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ Softball
2B/SS
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF/SS
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