UST softball’s season met its end after losing to South Dakota State 7-5 in seven innings and Omaha 12-2 in five innings in the Summit League Softball Championship Thursday afternoon at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
Thursday was the Tommies’ first appearance in the conference postseason tournament since completing the Division I transition.
“I think that this team and what they’ve put together while they’ve been at St. Thomas, and the legacy they leave being part of this build extends beyond what just happened here today,” coach Jennifer Trotter said.
After the second loss, players rushed to the dugout, embracing their teammates in tears after their final game. UST softball will say goodbye to nine seniors and a graduate student, players that coach Trotter credits with building the program.
“They’ve been through a lot of stuff, and through it all, they stayed loyal. They stuck with it, and because of them, we’ve been able to continue to do this,” coach Trotter said. “So I just told them that I’m proud of them, and I love them, and they left the legacy of understanding and teaching their underclassmen what it is to work hard and to fight for each other and love each other.”
The Tommies finished the season with a 34-19 overall record (12-5 Summit), their best record in the Division I era. Eight conference honors were awarded to the team.
Senior Ella Cook was named Summit League Player of the Year, finishing among conference leaders with 51 RBIs, 14 home runs, and a 1.166 OPS while also ranking near the top in batting average (.360) and slugging percentage (.727). Cook’s plate dominance kept UST near the top of Summit League rankings all season.
Along with Cook, graduate student Laken Lienhard and senior Avery Wukawitz were named to the All-Summit League First Team. Sophomore pitcher Ava Kleinfeldt and seniors Kameron Monson and Cassidy Carby were selected to the Second Team. Monson was also named the Summit League Scholar Athlete of the Championship, touting a 4.0 GPA.
“This is a group that loves each other, and I hope that this won’t be one of their memories from this experience. There are a lot of better things to think about,” coach Trotter said.
Thursday’s first game for the Tommies was against No. 6 SDSU, who was coming off a 14-2 victory over No. 3 North Dakota State on Wednesday.
Kleinfeldt started the game for UST, throwing two strikeouts and holding the Jackrabbits to just one run in the first three innings.
SDSU was the first to get on the scoreboard after a second-inning RBI single from first-year Ella Berlage. UST responded in the bottom of the second with a double to center from Lienhard. The graduate student’s double brought sophomores Zoe Trotter and Miley Wichman in to take the 2-1 lead.
The Jackrabbits tied the game in the fourth after senior Emma Vike smacked an RBI single down the middle of the field. After Vike’s RBI, the Tommies brought in Cook to pitch.
The next few innings were full of back-and-forth action. Trotter homered to left in the bottom of the fourth to give the Tommies a 3-2 lead, and SDSU sophomore Amanda Vacanti responded by sending one over the fence to tie it up in the top of the fifth. A couple of Tommie singles in the bottom of the fifth brought the score to 5-3, Tommies in the lead.
The Jackrabbits dominated the sixth inning, recording two singles, a double and a three-run homer, courtesy of Vacanti. By the end of the game, the score was 7-5 in favor of SDSU.
With the loss, the Tommies cemented themselves as No. 1 Omaha’s opponent in the double elimination game scheduled for one hour later.
“SDSU is a team with a lot of experience at this stage, and right in this moment, maybe it showed a little bit,” coach Trotter said.
60 minutes later, the Tommies changed their white jerseys to purple and stepped onto the field to face No. 1 Omaha, the 2025 Summit League Softball Championship Champions.
Cook continued to pitch for the Tommies, but Omaha jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after a solo homer from senior Taylor Sedlacek and an RBI triple from senior Marra Cramer.
Cook led a second-inning charge for UST with a solo homer, but the Tommies were silent after the score. Omaha notched three more runs in the bottom of the second.
Other than an RBI single from senior Morgan Klein in the top of the fourth, UST was scoreless for the rest of the game. Omaha continued the pressure in the fourth inning, scoring six more runs and bringing the final score to 12-2. The game concluded after five innings, ending UST’s postseason.
“The biggest thing about this group is that they came in and they had to buy into our development plan. I think that’s the biggest thing, which is going to allow this program to continue to grow,” coach Trotter said.
Owen Bell can be reached at bell9606@stthomas.edu.
