SPEARFISH, S.D. – Laci Peskey and Caitlyn Hoff each had great outings, while Gracie Oswald hit a walk-off in game two to start BHSU’s opening series with two wins.
The Yellow Jackets found themselves down in both games and absorbed two three-run homers in route to a massive sweep in front of the home crowd.
The Yellow Jackets continue to sit in second place in the RMAC with a 12-2 conference record.
QUICK DETAILS – GAME 1
Final Score: Black Hills State 5, Chadron State 4
Team Records: Black Hills State 13-6 (11-2 RMAC), New Mexico Highlands 7-10 (4-9) RMAC)
Pitching Decision: Win: Peskey (11-1), Loss: Haug (3-5)
Attendance: 173
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
• After no runs were scored in the first inning, Laci Peskey ran into trouble early in the second as Ashland Baca hit a double down the left field line and Jazlyn Arvizo answered with another double to score her. Peskey settled down and struck out the next three batters, but Chadron State took a 1-0 lead.
• There were only three baserunners in the next 2.5 innings, until the bottom of the fourth, when BHSU, who had only one hit up to that point finally got going. Lily Simmons struck out to start the inning, before Desi Hernandez was hit by a pitch and reached first. Ashlynn Pauwels hit a single to advance Hernandez to second and Carly Reyes Mims hit a single to score Hernandez, get Pauwels to third and reached second on the throw to third. Alyssa Wong would lay a perfect sacrifice bunt that scored Pauwels and Mims would move to third before Maley struck out to end the inning, but BHSU took a 2-1 lead.
• After Peskey struck out two more batters to bring her total to 10 Ks through five innings, Fouras led off the bottom half of the inning with a strikeout, before Dowden singled and Whitlock hit a bunt single to get two on with one out. Simmons grounded out but advanced both runners, and Hernandez hit a two-out single to score both Dowden and Whitlock. Hernandez was able to make it all the way to third on the throw, which allowed a Pauwels single to score her and give BHSU a massive 5-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth.
• Unfortunately, the top of the sixth started about as bad as possible for Peskey, who had been dominant all game. She walked the leadoff batter, then allowed a double to Lauren Zimmerman, before Baca crushed a three-run home run to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 1 at 5-4. Peskey struck two of the next three batters out to get out of the inning and the Yellow Jackets couldn’t get a run in the bottom half of the inning leaving Peskey to close out the game in the top half. She got the first two pinch hitters out before hitting Kenzi Garner to get her to first, but was able to get J’lyssa Martinez to fly out to end the game giving BHSU their 13th win of the season.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS – GAME 1
• Ashlynn Pauwels: 2-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI
• Desi Hernandez: 1-for-2, 2 runs, 2 RBIs
• Laci Peskey: 7 IP, 7 H, 4 ERs, 12 Ks, W
QUICK DETAILS- GAME 2
Final Score: Black Hills State 4, Chadron State 3
Team Records: Black Hills State 14-6 (12-2 RMAC), Chadron State 7-11 (4-10 RMAC)
Pitching Decision: Win: Hoff (3-4), Loss: Akins (2-2)
Attendance: 152
HOW IT HAPPENED- GAME 2
• Each team went 1-2-3 in the first 1.5 innings, before BHSU started the second inning off with a single from Pauwels and Simmons also had a single. Wong hit a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners, before Maley hit a sacrifice foul out to advance Pauwels home and give BHSU the early 1-0 lead.
• Hoff took a perfect game into the top of the fourth, before she allowed a triple to Aliyah Rothstein and then walked Martinez, which brought up Baca, who for the second time today hit a three-run homer to give Chadron the 3-1 lead. Hoff settled down and got the next two batters out to end the inning, but BHSU had only had three hits through four innings.
• Finally, in the fifth, BHSU’s offense came alive. Taylor Dowden hit her second home run of the season to lead off the inning and cut the lead from 3-2, before Whitlock singled and stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. Desi Hernandez hit a single for her third RBI of the day and BHSU had tied the game at 3-3 heading into the sixth.
• No one scored in the sixth or the top of the seventh, which allowed BHSU to take the plate with a chance to win in the bottom of the seventh. Akins, who had been dealing all day, ran into some trouble. She got Dowden to fly out, before Whitlock singled and advanced on a pass ball to put her at second. Reyes Mims struck out to make it two outs, but Akins walked both Hernandez and pinch hitter Katelyn Jarzobski to make it bases loaded two outs for pinch hitter Gracie Oswald. On an 0-1 count, Oswald hit an incredibly soft grounder up the middle and second basemen Sydney Loyet attempted to field it and quickly throw it to Angelina Quezada covering second to get Jarzobski out, but the throw was off target and Jarzobski reached, and Whitlock made it home to give BHSU the walk-off win 5-4.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS- GAME 2
• Tyler Whitlock: 2-for-4, 2 runs
• Gracie Oswald: 0-for-1, 1 Walk-Off RBI
• Caitlyn Hoff: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ERs, W
UP NEXT
BHSU continues their series versus Chadron State tomorrow morning at 11 AM and 1 PM. BHSU looks to capture their fourth straight conference series win.
