BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The South Dakota State capped at the Hilltopper Classic on Sunday with a pair of one-run victories in completing a 3-2 win over Valparaiso in a game that started on Saturday, and then walking off with a 1-0 win over Western Michigan in the tournament finale on Sunday.
The two wins boost the Jackrabbits record to 6-8 on the season, while the Valpo falls to an even 3-3 and Western Michigan to 2-8.
A power outage on Saturday evening forced the suspension of the Jacks gave against Valparaiso with the teams tied at 2-2 in the eighth inning, and with Tina Winter on third base and Jessica Markanich on second with one out.
When play resumed on Sunday, Devon Reick drew a walk to load the bases, setting up Lauren Chirnside, who reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Winter from third to put the Jacks on top 3-2.
The Crusaders threatened the bottom of the eighth, but Reick threw out the tying run at home from her spot in centerfield for the second out, before the final batter of the game fouled out to Marlee Peterson down the right field line to end the game.
Jennifer Sutton picked up the complete game win in the circle to improve to 2-1 on the season after giving up two runs on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Following the win over Valpo, the Jacks jumped right into an old fashioned pitcher's duel with Western Michigan between Kori Seidlitz and WMU's Becca Shemberger.
The two pitchers combined to give up just two hits in the game, with 17 strikeouts; 11 from Shemberger and six from Seidlitz and two walks, both from Seidlitz.
The game eventually came down to a pair of Bronco errors and a wild pitch, all in the bottom of the seventh inning. Petersen reached on the first error to start the inning, and then advanced to second on the wild pitch.
Alex Landon and Seidlitz both drew one-out walks to load the bases, setting the stage for Winter, who ended the game with a fielder's choice, which allowed Peterson a chance to score, which she did with the aid of an error by the catcher to end the game.
The Jackrabbits look to extend their winning streak next weekend with four games on the slate a the Gaucho Classic II, hosted by UC Santa Barbara. The Jacks open the tournament against Seattle on Friday at noon.
