PHOENIX—South Dakota opened Grand Canyon University's Lopes Up Classic with a 4-2 win against Utah State and a 2-1 victory over Montana Friday at GCU Softball Stadium. The Coyotes have won three in a row to get to 5-5 on the season.
Â
Bela Goerke, who played her high school ball at nearby Sahuaro High School, hit the first pitch she saw over the wall in left field for a solo home run against Utah State.
Mia Kraimer topped that with her first collegiate home run, a three-run bomb in the fourth that gave the Coyotes a 4-0 lead.
Â
Utah State (4-7) threatened in nearly every inning, but only scored in the fourth on home runs from Hailey McLean and Claudia Medina. South Dakota pitcher
Kori Wedeking danced around four hits and four walks in six innings of work to get the win. The Aggies loaded the bases against USD reliever
Clara Edwards in the seventh but got McLean to groundout to end the game.
Â
Edwards battled Montana starter Grace Haegele in game two. Both posted zeros until South Dakota struck for two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Brylee Hempey started the inning with her first collegiate hit and
Alecea Mendoza drew a walk. That set the table for
Courtney Wilson who broke the ice with an RBI single to right two batters later.
Gabby Moser followed with a run-scoring groundout to shortstop and USD had the lead.
Â
The play of the day followed in the top of the sixth. Montana (0-11) loaded the bases with no one out. Edwards got a popout to short and a strikeout for the first two outs, but hit pinch hitter Kynzie Mohl to send a run home. The next batter, Riley Stockton, hit a ground ball up the middle that Coyote shortstop
Tatum Villotta dove for and flipped to Hempey for the force at second to end the inning.
Â
Had the ball gone through, Montana would have taken a 3-2 lead for sure. Villotta was flawless in six chances at short on the day.
Â
Edwards struck out five and allowed just four hits to improve to 2-2 on the year. Wilson and Moser finished the day with two hits.
Â
South Dakota faces Utah State again Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) and takes on Grand Canyon 7:30 p.m. (CT).
Â
Â