Coyotes walk-off Summit League tournament opener

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (USD) — In a back-and-forth contest, it was the No. 4-seed Coyotes who had the last laugh with a two-run, two-out two RBI single from senior Delaney White to lift South Dakota past Kansas City, 5-4, into the double elimination portion of the bracket in Minneapolis.

“You really want to be playing your best softball at this time of year. We need to be a little cleaner. But! I loved the way we continued to respond,” said head coach Robert Wagner following the walk-off win. “The team showed a ton of grit and I’m proud of them for continually responding to every challenge.”

PITCHING DECISIONS

**Win:**Madison Evans (12-13)

**Loss:**Delilah Robles (12-17)

The Coyotes got into the run column first with an RBI single from Allie Cromer in the first to score Autumn Iversen. Kansas City responded with a pair of runs of their own in the top half of the second inning to take their first lead, 2-1.

Both aces then settled into a groove as both pitchers kept the other side scoreless for BLANK-straight innings.

Trouble came once again for Madison Evans in the top of the fifth as the Roos would load the bases with just one out. Evans would work her magic yet again and work a 4-2 fielder’s choice to keep the KC lead at 2-1.

After the first five innings seeing just the three runs in the first and second innings, the action picked up with six combined runs in the final two frames to open the league tournament in Minneapolis.

In the sixth inning, South Dakota recorded two quick outs to start the inning, the Coyotes were down to their final four outs to work with trailing by a run. Kiya Johnson would deliver the spark needed with a two-out double to left field. An infield single from Sara Iburg and a stolen base later put both Johnson and Iburg into scoring position. When it mattered most, Abi Brown delivered the clutch two-out RBI single to give USD their first lead since it was 1-0 in the first.

The drama would intensify in the final frame.

A double started the inning with one away for Kansas City in the seventh. With two runners on and just one away, the Roos used incredibly aggressive base running to steal a couple of runs to retake the lead at 4-3.

Down to their final three outs, the Coyotes had the top of the line up to get things going. An infield single from  would get the tying run on but South Dakota would be down to their final out with just a runner on first. A single from , accompanied by a KC throwing error, would put both runners in scoring position for White.