BROOKINGS, S.D. – In its third appearance in the Summit League Softball Championship, South Dakota began the day with a 9-1 run-rule victory over No. 1 seed Omaha, forcing a winner-take-all game two. The Mavericks won their third consecutive postseason championship with a 4-2 victory over the Yotes.
Game 1 – W, 9-1 (5 innings)
Ella McGee led off with a triple in the bottom of the first, her first of three hits in the game, and later scored on a Delaney White single to left field. Abi Brown hit a three-run home run for the second time in as many games, putting the Yotes ahead 4-0 early on.
The Mavericks got one run back in the second on a solo homer, but that was all they could muster against Clara Edwards, who went 5.0 innings with three strikeouts and only five hits.
Autumn Iversen doubled to start the inning for the second time in a row as the Yotes’ leadoff hitter. McGee singled up the middle for her second hit of the game, moving Iversen to third, who scored on Tatum Villotta’s single in the next at-bat.
In the fourth inning, Brooke Carey hit her second home run of the season over the left center fence, continuing the trend of leadoff hitters with extra base hits. USD added two more runs with back-to-back RBI singles from Delaney White and Madison Evans, putting the Yotes up 8-1.
Edwards quickly dispatched the Mavs in the fifth with a 1-2-3 inning, and Iversen sealed the 9-1 run-rule victory with an RBI single that scored Carey from third.
McGee went 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs, Brown went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Iversen and White each had two hits.
Game 2 – L, 2-4
The Mavericks scored first in game two, with three in the second inning on a two-RBI single and a sacrifice fly.
The Yotes had a chance to score early in the second inning when they loaded the bases with one out. However, Omaha was able to force back-to-back outs, keeping the Yotes scoreless.
USD was limited to two baserunners from the third to sixth innings. Carey doubled down the right field line to start the seventh inning, trailing 4-0. Sara Iburg hit her first career home run, cutting the deficit in half to 4-2, and bringing the top of the order up with one out. The Mavericks sealed the 4-2 victory by forcing the next two Coyotes to ground out and pop out.
Jones was a perfect 3-for-3 in her final game as a Coyote, while Carey was 2 for 3. Edwards pitched the first 4.0 innings, allowing three runs and eight hits, and McKenna Young pitched the final 2.0 innings with three strikeouts.
Clara Edwards, Abi Brown, Rylie Jones, and Madison Evans were among the Yotes’ Summit League All-Tournament Team selections.
The Coyotes advanced to the Summit League Championship game for the third time in program history (2015, 2019), finishing the season with a 32-24 record.