North Dakota State won its second consecutive Summit League Softball Tournament title with a 13-3 win against South Dakota in the championship game Saturday at Ellig Sports Complex.
The Bison (43-9) pounded out 17 hits in just four at bats while pitcher Krista Menke limited the Coyotes (28-25-1) to three hits and struck out nine in five innings of work. Alex Sobrero had a lead-off home run in the first inning and was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Alyssa Reina and Maritza Lopez-Portillo also homered for the Bison.
South Dakota’s three hits came on consecutive at bats in the top of the fourth inning. Katie Cochran hit a three-run homer to right that cut the Bison’s lead to 8-3. Menke (32-4) retired the next five hitters in order to secure North Dakota State’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
It was Cochran and sophomore pitcher Rachel Cue who helped South Dakota reach the championship game. Cochran’s solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning was the only run in a 1-0 Coyote victory against IUPUI in an elimination game earlier in the day. The win avenged the team’s 11-9 loss to the Jaguars on Friday.
Cue (12-12) pitched her fourth shutout of the season and turned in one of the most dominant performances of her career. She gave up three singles and a walk and none of the runners advanced past first base.
Both Cochran and Cue were named to the 16-person all-tournament team. Teammates Katie Dinning and Morgan Hancock joined them.
Cochran was named to the team for the second consecutive year after batting 5-for-10 with two homers and four RBIs. Cue was 1-0 in two starts and three appearances at the tournament. She struck out 10 in 15 1/3 innings of work.
Dinning was 7-for-14 with two home runs, three RBIs and six runs scored during the tournament. She was 5-for-5 in an elimination game against South Dakota State Friday. Hancock hit three home runs and had nine RBIs in two games Friday. She was 4-for-9 and drew five walks in four games.
South Dakota finished the season with a Summit League record 77 home runs. The Coyotes batted .325 as a team and averaged more than six runs per game.
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