University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, April 12
St. Paul, Minn. / South Field
12:00 p.m. Central
20-15, 5-2
6
vs
0
South Dakota State
20-19, 5-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
South Dakota State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
2
St. Thomas Tommies
3
0
3
0
0
0
X
6
8
0
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Softball splits with South Dakota State
4/12/2025 6:30:00 PM | Softball
The Tommies won their first game over the Jackrabbits in the DI era
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas Softball (20-16 overall, 5-3 Summit League) defeated the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (21-19, 6-2) for the first time in program history before falling in game two to split the first two games of its conference series on Saturday afternoon at South Field.
Game One Recap
The Tommies had not had a home game in 352 days and were the only remaining DI softball (or baseball) program in the country without a home game in 2025. They also has not beaten the, then first place, Jackrabbits coming into Saturday with an 0-8 record since joining the Summit League.
Both lengthy streaks ended today and the Tommies put their home cooking to great use in game one with a 6-0 shutout victory.
St. Thomas' offense got to work quickly with three runs in the first and three runs in the third. That was more runs than they needed because Ava Kleinfeldt worked her third career complete game shutout.
Laken Lienhard led off the first inning with a hit by pitch and then advanced to third on a double off the center field fence by Avery Wukawitz. After two consecutive outs with a pair in scoring position, Kaitlyn Raymond singled home both Lienhard and Wukawitz to put the Toms out in front 2-0. Abbi Stierlen singled home Raymond from third and the home team was in the driver's seat.
Cassidy Carby was the catalyst in their three-run third inning with a leadoff walk. Anna Caruso replaced Carby on the basepaths and advanced to second on an error that Ella Cook also reached on. Raymond came through again to load the bases with a single up the middle. All runners advanced on a wild pitch, 4-0 Tommies. Adrianna Young singled home Ella Cook and Kaitlyn Raymond before being retired trying to take third base. The Toms led 6-0 and did not need any more run support.
Kleinfeldt worked around baserunners in all seven innings but did so with extreme poise. She allowed five hits, three walks, two hit batters, with two strikeouts. She relied on her defense which played without error before converting on a game-ending double play in the top of the seventh. Laken Lienhard and Cassidy Carby combined for nine assists while working the left side of the infield.
Game Two Recap
Ella Cook took to the circle in game two and worked a scoreless first frame before she ran into trouble in the top of the second. The Jackrabbits walked twice to begin the inning and then executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both into scoring position. What followed was an RBI single, an RBI double, and a two RBI double. SDSU went up 4-0.
Cook and the Tommies answered back for two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Tommie pitcher took a 1-1 pitch on the arm to reach first the hard way. She was replaced by Raymond who reached first on a fielder's choice. Raymond then moved to second on an Abbi Stierlen single and up to third on an Adrianna Young fielder's choice. Kameron Monson came through with the first triple of her career after hitting a tailing line drive into the right field corner to score both runners.
Neither team added on in the third or fourth, but the visitors added another in the fifth on an RBI single after leading off the inning with a walk. The Toms answered back to tie the contest in the bottom half.
Kameron Monson led off the inning with a double and was replaced by Miley Wichman. The freshman advanced to third on a Ruby Moore groundout and then scored on a Laken Lienhard RBI single. Avery Wukawitz tied the game herself with one swing of the bat, a monster home run to center field, her fifth of the season.
Unfortunately for the Tommies, that was all the scoring for the rest the way. South Dakota State scored two more in the sixth and added a final tally in the seventh.
Up Next
The Tommies look to remain unbeaten in conference series this season with game three tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m.
Game One Recap
The Tommies had not had a home game in 352 days and were the only remaining DI softball (or baseball) program in the country without a home game in 2025. They also has not beaten the, then first place, Jackrabbits coming into Saturday with an 0-8 record since joining the Summit League.
Both lengthy streaks ended today and the Tommies put their home cooking to great use in game one with a 6-0 shutout victory.
St. Thomas' offense got to work quickly with three runs in the first and three runs in the third. That was more runs than they needed because Ava Kleinfeldt worked her third career complete game shutout.
Laken Lienhard led off the first inning with a hit by pitch and then advanced to third on a double off the center field fence by Avery Wukawitz. After two consecutive outs with a pair in scoring position, Kaitlyn Raymond singled home both Lienhard and Wukawitz to put the Toms out in front 2-0. Abbi Stierlen singled home Raymond from third and the home team was in the driver's seat.
Cassidy Carby was the catalyst in their three-run third inning with a leadoff walk. Anna Caruso replaced Carby on the basepaths and advanced to second on an error that Ella Cook also reached on. Raymond came through again to load the bases with a single up the middle. All runners advanced on a wild pitch, 4-0 Tommies. Adrianna Young singled home Ella Cook and Kaitlyn Raymond before being retired trying to take third base. The Toms led 6-0 and did not need any more run support.
Kleinfeldt worked around baserunners in all seven innings but did so with extreme poise. She allowed five hits, three walks, two hit batters, with two strikeouts. She relied on her defense which played without error before converting on a game-ending double play in the top of the seventh. Laken Lienhard and Cassidy Carby combined for nine assists while working the left side of the infield.
Game Two Recap
Ella Cook took to the circle in game two and worked a scoreless first frame before she ran into trouble in the top of the second. The Jackrabbits walked twice to begin the inning and then executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both into scoring position. What followed was an RBI single, an RBI double, and a two RBI double. SDSU went up 4-0.
Cook and the Tommies answered back for two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Tommie pitcher took a 1-1 pitch on the arm to reach first the hard way. She was replaced by Raymond who reached first on a fielder's choice. Raymond then moved to second on an Abbi Stierlen single and up to third on an Adrianna Young fielder's choice. Kameron Monson came through with the first triple of her career after hitting a tailing line drive into the right field corner to score both runners.
Neither team added on in the third or fourth, but the visitors added another in the fifth on an RBI single after leading off the inning with a walk. The Toms answered back to tie the contest in the bottom half.
Kameron Monson led off the inning with a double and was replaced by Miley Wichman. The freshman advanced to third on a Ruby Moore groundout and then scored on a Laken Lienhard RBI single. Avery Wukawitz tied the game herself with one swing of the bat, a monster home run to center field, her fifth of the season.
Unfortunately for the Tommies, that was all the scoring for the rest the way. South Dakota State scored two more in the sixth and added a final tally in the seventh.
Up Next
The Tommies look to remain unbeaten in conference series this season with game three tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kleinfeldt, Ava (7-2)
L: Madi Mangulis (5-4)
Base Running:
HBP: Emma Vike 1 ; Emma Christensen 1
Batting:
2B: Lienhard, Laken 1 ; Wukawitz, Avery 1
RBI: Raymond, Kaitlyn 2 ; Stierlen, Abbi 1 ; Young, Adrianna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lienhard, Laken 1 ; Wukawitz, Avery 1 ; Caruso, Anna 1 ; Cook, Ella 1 ; Raymond, Kaitlyn 2
HBP: Lienhard, Laken 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/UT
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballSS
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
Ut.
/ SoftballOF/SS
/ Softball
C/OF
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