University of Toledo
South Dakota State
Softball Drops Two in Double-Header Against South Dakota State
3/7/2012 2:19:00 PM | Softball
Clearwater, FL - The Toledo softball team fell short in both games of a double-header against South Dakota State on March 6. UT lost 6-9 in the first game and 3-7 in the second game.
In the opening contest, the Rockets (4-12, 0-0 MAC) took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as Alyssa Smith scored on a Lindsey Tobias hit that was mishandled by the second baseman. South Dakota State quickly turned the tables, however, scoring five runs in the bottom-half of the inning.
UT got the score as close as 5-4 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, stemming from a one-run second inning and a two-run fourth inning. In the second, an RBI-single by Brooke Gates scored Morgan Smith, who had gotten on base via a fielder's choice and stole second base. Jillian Spink reached first safely to open the fourth inning off an error by the second baseman, and subsequently advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Allissa Turkovich registered an RBI base-hit that scored Spink. Gates was able to get on base on another error, which also allowed Turkovich to score.
SDSU added three runs in the bottom of the fourth, and another in the bottom of the sixth, to secure a 9-6 victory, after Toledo scored two runs in the fifth inning. The UT fifth inning got going with one out, as Lani Ernst and Tobias recorded consecutive base-hits. Spink then doubled, scoring Ernst and advancing Tobias to third, who then scored via fielder's choice on ground-out by Leigh Nebendahl for the team's sixth run.
The Rockets came out slow in the second half of the double-header, trailing SDSU 7-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning, when they finally put a run on the board. Tobias scored following another RBI-single by Nebendahl. Toledo added two additional runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Alyssa Smith knocked in Melissa Rons, and Gates scored on a hit by Kristen Roznoski.
The double-header was played in Clearwater, FL, but was separate from last weekend's Under Armour Invitational and this coming weekend's Under Armour Showcase. The Rockets will play five more games - against Canisius, Long Island, Villanova, Virginia Tech and Kennesaw State.
Contact: Brad Pettiford
E-Mail: brad.pettiford@utoledo.edu
