Jackrabbits drop tough doubleheader to JU

Tuesday, February 22

Jacksonville, Fla.

4 p.m. ET

South Dakota State University

Jacksonville

2/22/2011 8:24:00 PM | Softball

By: SDSU Sports Info

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - One tough inning doomed South Dakota State in a 9-0 Game 1 loss, but the Jackrabbits played tough in Game 2, only to come up on the short end of a hard-fought 4-3, eight inning game against the host Jacksonville Dolphins.

Six first-inning Jackrabbit walks, an error and a pair of Jacksonville hits let to seven Dolphin runs and set the stage for a 9-0 SDSU loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Tuesday at JU Softball Complex in Jacksonville, Fla.

The loss drops the Jackrabbits to 0-8 to start the season heading into the second game of the day. Jacksonville improves to 7-4 heading into the night cap.

Devon Reick went 2-for-3 in the opener for the Jacks; Pam Nicholson went 1-for-3 with a double and pitched 5.1 strong innings in relief, giving up four hits with six strikeouts and three walks, with the only blemish being a two-run walk-off homerun by JU's Olivia Kline in the bottom of the sixth. Kline also got the complete game shutout win for the Dolphins, scattering four hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Kori Seidlitz took the loss, giving up seven runs on two hits and five walks in a third of an inning pitched.

Jacksonville manufactured a run to take the early lead in Game 2, but the Jacks quickly answered in top of the second on Allison Huffman's first-career homerun, a shot over the fence in left to tie the game at 1-1.

The Dolphins plated one in the bottom of the second to start the back and forth battle, and SDSU quickly obliged with Emily Weber's first-career homerun in the third that tied the game at 2-2.

Jackrabbit pitcher Nicholson helped her own cause in the fourth with an RBI single to right that scored Tina Winter to put the Jacks up 3-2.

JU strung together three hits in the bottom of the fourth to come right back and tie the game at 3-3, where the scored stayed until the bottom of the eighth, when JU's Karson Tuck opened the inning with a double to deep right center field, and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for Amanda Schmidt, who singled to center to score Tuck and end the game with a 4-3 Dolphin win.

In addition to going 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, Nicholson pitched all 7.1 innings, giving up four runs on 12 hits with two walks and one strikeout. Allison Huffman and Emily Weber both finished the game 1-for-3, both hits being their first-career homeruns.

The Jackrabbits leave sunny Florida for snowy South Dakota on Wednesday, but return to action on March 4, against Weber State at the Hawaii Invitational Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii.