April 14, 2026
MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) earned their first home doubleheader sweep of the season Tuesday afternoon, defeating former member of the North Star Athletic Association Waldorf (Iowa) at Thue Field. The Trojans earned a 7-3 victory in the opener before powering past the Warriors 11-8 in game two.
DSU totaled 18 runs on 27 hits across the doubleheader. The Trojans recorded six extra-base hits in the first game, highlighted by back-to-back triples. DSU continued their offensive production with 17 hits in the second game, with five hits being extra-base hits (two doubles and three triples).
Dakota State improved their overall record to 12-26, the most wins since the 2022-23 season. It was also the first time since April 21, 2024, that the Trojans earned a home doubleheader sweep at Thue Field (which was against Waldorf). The Warriors (current member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference) dropped their 11
th straight game, falling to 3-31 overall record.
Prior to the first game, the Dakota State softball team held a ceremonial first pitch by former Trojan athlete to help raise cancer awareness in the Pink Out Game.
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Game 1: Dakota State 7, Waldorf 3 – FINAL
Dakota State used a strong first inning and timely extra-base hitting to secure the opening game.
Waldorf struck first in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Jenna Busch, but the Trojans answered immediately.
Quincy Hartley delivered the key swing of the game with a bases-clearing double to right field, giving DSU a 3-1 lead after one inning.
The game remained quiet until the fifth inning when Dakota State broke it open.
Alexia Hayden and
Emmalynn Rabe hit back-to-back RBI triples to extend the lead to 5-1.
Waldorf trimmed the deficit to 5-2 in the sixth, but the Trojans responded in the bottom half.
Gabrielle Ortega-Alves came through with a two-run single to push the advantage to 7-2.
The Warriors added one run in the seventh, but Dakota State closed it out behind a complete-game effort from
Maycee Bricker.
Bricker surpassed Dakota Novotny for the fourth most all-time innings pitched. Bricker accumulated 403 2/3 innings during her career at DSU (Novotny – 395 innings pitched from 2007-09).
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Game 1 Statistics
Dakota State
Waldorf
- Jenna Busch: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, double
- Gabby Bierly: 2-for-4, run
Pitching
- Maycee Bricker (DSU – W, 7-8), 7 innings, complete game, 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned runs), 2 strikeouts
- Reagan Ridout (Waldorf – L, 2-11): 6.0 innings, 10 hits, 7 earned runs
Game 2: Dakota State 11, Waldorf 8 – FINAL
The nightcap featured a much higher-scoring contest, with Dakota State using a huge fourth inning to rally past an early deficit.
Waldorf jumped out quickly, scoring four runs in the first inning highlighted by a three-run home run from Kenady Ridout to take a 4-0 lead.
Dakota State chipped away with single runs in the first and second innings before Waldorf added another in the third to make it 5-2.
The turning point came in the fourth inning when the Trojans erupted for eight runs on eight hits.
Hannah McFarland drilled a two-run triple, while
Julia Maldonado and
Ally Morrissey each drove in two runs during the rally as DSU surged ahead 10-5.
Dakota State added an insurance run in the fifth inning, while Waldorf mounted a late push with three runs in the seventh, but the Trojans held on for the sweep.
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Game 2 Statistics
Dakota State
Waldorf
- Kenady Ridout: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, HR
- Jenna Busch: 3-for-4, RBI, double
- Avery Mauldin: 2-for-4, RBI
Pitching
- Grace Kitterman (DSU – W, 4-11): 7 innings, 11 hits, 8 runs (6 earned runs), 2 strikeouts
- Makenzie Cope (Waldorf – L, 1-9): 3-plus innings, 8 earned runs
- Jaycee Plath (Waldorf): 3innings, 3 earned runs
Up Next
Dakota State resumes their Frontier Conference play Wednesday afternoon, visiting Bellevue (Neb.) in a doubleheader. The first game is set for 2 p.m. at Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex in Bellevue, Neb.
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