Coyotes win first two games in Miami; now 10-2
MIAMI—South Dakota softball moved to 10-2 with a pair of wins to start the FIU Softball Invitational Friday. The Coyotes shutout Brown 2-0 before belting two grand slams in a 13-3 win against FIU in the nightcap.
Kynlee Marquez and Grace Garcia combined for a six-hit shutout against Brown in the opener. Marquez started and pitched into the fifth inning. Garcia replaced her with runners on second and third and one out and induced two ground balls back to her in the circle to get out of the inning unscathed. Garcia allowed just one hit and struck out three to pick up her first collegiate save.
The offense was sparked by freshman left fielder Rylee Nicholson who led off the third inning with a single and the fifth inning with a double and came around to score both times. Courtney Wilson doubled her home in the third inning. Tatum Villotta capped an eight-pitch at bat with a sacrifice fly to right field that plated Nicholson in the fifth.
That fly ball by Villotta to right against Brown didn’t deter FIU from playing a five-person infield with no right fielder against Villotta in the second game. Villotta beat the shift with a 3-for-5 performance that included an inside-the-park grand slam home run that busted the game wide open in the seventh. Villotta sent the first pitch she saw to the wall in right and beat the race home for her first collegiate homer.
Two innings prior, it was Aleesia Sainz’s grand slam to straightaway center that gave South Dakota its first lead against the Panthers at 7-3. The blast came with two outs and on the ninth pitch of the at bat. It was Sainz’s fifth home run of the season and her first collegiate grand slam.
It had been a back-and-forth affair with FIU heading into the fifth inning. One of the key performances early came from Wilson. She made an incredible throw home from center field for a double play that limited the damage to two runs in the second inning. Then came to bat in the top of the third and put the Coyotes on the board by driving an 0-2 offering to center that plated Villotta from second. It was a crucial swing in the action. Wilson finished with five hits on the day and leads the team with a .381 average.
Freshman Clara Edwards took the win against FIU in the circle to move to 5-2. She allowed just five hits and all three runs against her were unearned. Edwards struck out a season-high eight, walked four and tossed her fifth complete game.
South Dakota has the two early games Saturday. They start with Drexel at 9 a.m. (ET) and follow with Stony Brook at 11:30 a.m. (ET)
