University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, May 7
Minneapolis, Minn. / Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
2:00 p.m. CST
34-17
5
vs
7
South Dakota State
24-32
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota St. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| St. Thomas (Minn.) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Softball season comes to an end at Summit League Championship
5/7/2026 8:13:00 PM | Softball
Tommies drop both games in tournament debut
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – St. Thomas Softball (34-19) saw its season come to a close Thursday at the Summit League Championship, falling to South Dakota State, 7-5, and Omaha, 12-2 in five innings. The Tommies wrapped up the program's first appearance in the Division I conference tournament while saying goodbye to a trailblazing senior class.
Game One
Ava Kleinfeldt got the start against South Dakota State, which advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament with a 14-2 win over North Dakota State on Wednesday. The Jackrabbits struck first with a run in the second inning.
St. Thomas answered immediately in the bottom half as Laken Lienhard delivered a two-run double to score Miley Wichman and Zoe Trotter for a 2-1 lead. Kleinfeldt worked a scoreless third inning before SDSU rallied in the fourth.
The Jackrabbits tied the game at 2-2 and loaded the bases with one out before head coach Jen Trotter turned to Summit League Player of the Year Ella Cook out of the bullpen. Cook escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts to strand all three runners.
Zoe Trotter responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to put the Tommies back in front, but South Dakota State answered again in the fifth on a solo homer from Amanda Vacanti.
The Tommies regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Cook and an RBI double by Abbi Stierlen. SDSU pulled within one on an RBI double in the sixth before Vacanti delivered the decisive blow with a three-run home run later in the inning.
Game Two
Top-seeded Omaha entered the matchup after a 1-0 loss to South Dakota earlier in the day, setting up an early meeting between two teams many expected to contend for the title.
Cook returned to the circle for the Tommies, but Omaha jumped ahead early with a first-inning home run and RBI triple for a 2-0 lead.
Cook helped her own cause with a solo home run in the second inning, but Omaha answered with three more runs to take a 5-1 advantage after two innings.
Morgan Klein drove in Wichman with an RBI single in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 5-2, but the Mavericks broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the run-rule victory.
Cook pitched three innings and allowed eight runs, while Kleinfeldt surrendered four runs, one earned, in relief.
Game One
Ava Kleinfeldt got the start against South Dakota State, which advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament with a 14-2 win over North Dakota State on Wednesday. The Jackrabbits struck first with a run in the second inning.
St. Thomas answered immediately in the bottom half as Laken Lienhard delivered a two-run double to score Miley Wichman and Zoe Trotter for a 2-1 lead. Kleinfeldt worked a scoreless third inning before SDSU rallied in the fourth.
The Jackrabbits tied the game at 2-2 and loaded the bases with one out before head coach Jen Trotter turned to Summit League Player of the Year Ella Cook out of the bullpen. Cook escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts to strand all three runners.
Zoe Trotter responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to put the Tommies back in front, but South Dakota State answered again in the fifth on a solo homer from Amanda Vacanti.
The Tommies regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Cook and an RBI double by Abbi Stierlen. SDSU pulled within one on an RBI double in the sixth before Vacanti delivered the decisive blow with a three-run home run later in the inning.
Game Two
Top-seeded Omaha entered the matchup after a 1-0 loss to South Dakota earlier in the day, setting up an early meeting between two teams many expected to contend for the title.
Cook returned to the circle for the Tommies, but Omaha jumped ahead early with a first-inning home run and RBI triple for a 2-0 lead.
Cook helped her own cause with a solo home run in the second inning, but Omaha answered with three more runs to take a 5-1 advantage after two innings.
Morgan Klein drove in Wichman with an RBI single in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 5-2, but the Mavericks broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the run-rule victory.
Cook pitched three innings and allowed eight runs, while Kleinfeldt surrendered four runs, one earned, in relief.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Madi Mangulis (8-7)
L: Cook, Ella (14-9)
Batting:
2B: Akayla Barnard 1 ; Emma Christensen 1
HR: Amanda Vacanti 2
RBI: Emma Vike 1 ; Akayla Barnard 1 ; Amanda Vacanti 4 ; Ella Berlage 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Abby Gentry 1 ; Akayla Barnard 1 ; Amanda Vacanti 2 ; Emma Christensen 1 ; Bria Riebel 1 ; Quinn Marnocha 1
CS: Emma Christensen 1
HBP: Emma Christensen 1
Batting:
2B: Lienhard, Laken 1 ; Stierlen, Abbi 1
3B: Carby, Cassidy 1
HR: Trotter, Zoe 1
RBI: Lienhard, Laken 2 ; Cook, Ella 1 ; Stierlen, Abbi 1 ; Trotter, Zoe 1
SH: Moore, Ruby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carby, Cassidy 1 ; Cook, Ella 1 ; Wichman, Miley 1 ; Trotter, Zoe 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P/UT
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballSS
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
Ut.
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Postgame: Tommie Women's Basketball, Summit League Semifinals v NDSU
Sunday, March 08
Postgame: Tommie Women's Basketball, Summit League Quarterfinals v ORU
Friday, March 06
