From Jamestown Athletics
TUCSON, AZ. (jimmiepride.com) – The University of Jamestown softball team closed out its Arizona trip in style on Friday, defeating Dakota State (S.D.) University 11-3 in six innings and Dickinson State (N.D.) University 17-1 in five innings.
In Friday’s first game, the Jimmies scored first, getting two runs in the bottom of the second. Katie Reisdorfer (SR/Fresno, Calif.) stole home on the front end of a double steal and LaLa Romero (FR/Surprise, Ariz.) singled in Ally Battistoni (FR/Elizabeth, Colo.) for a 2-0 lead.
Dakota State retook the lead with three runs in the top of the third, but UJ struck back with three runs of its own in the bottom half. Reisdorfer hit a double to score Gracie Fisher (SO/Bemidji, Minn.), then Steph Cota (JR/Tucson, Ariz.) singled home Julia Byrne (JR/Andover, Minn.) and Sunny Halsey (FR/Honolulu, Hawaii)’s single scored Reisdorfer to make it 5-3.
The score remained 5-3 until Jamestown hung six on the board in the bottom of the sixth to end the game via the eight-run rule. Santina Zito (JR/Boise, Idaho)’s single scored Romero, then with runners on second and third, Fisher launched a three-run home run. With one out, Reisdorfer and Cota walked, and Halsey tripled to score the two runners and end the game.
Fisher, Reisdorfer, and Halsey all had two-hit games. Halsey worked the first three innings in the circle and got the win, allowing three unearned runs on three hits, striking out seven. Katie Merchant (JR/South Haven, Minn.) struck out five over the final three innings to preserve the win.
Jamestown scored seven runs in the first and fifth innings on the way to a season-high 17 runs in a win over Dickinson State.
Megan Neiles (SO/Winnipeg, MB) and Katie Merchant each drove in two while Gracie Fisher, Steph Cota, and Ally Battistoni also drove in runs to put the Jimmies up 7-0 after their first at-bat.
Merchant and Katie Reisdorfer brought in runs in the second, and Skylar Thorpe (FR/Petaluma, Calif.) made it 10-0 with a third-inning single.
The Blue Hawks got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, then another seven-run inning ended the game for Jamestown.
UJ took advantage of seven Dickinson State errors and had 12 hits. Thorpe and Fisher had two hits while Merchant and Neiles both drove in three runs.
Kat Miska (SR/Pequot Lakes, Minn.) pitched five innings and struck out four to get the win.
Jamestown (13-9) is scheduled to open the GPAC conference season with a doubleheader at Briar Cliff (Iowa) University next Saturday at 1 p.m.