VERMILLION, S.D. – Fighting Leatherneck softball dropped a pair of hard-fought to South Dakota on Friday (April 11). Western Illinois (18-18-1, 4-7) fell 3-2 in Game One and 4-1 in Game Two.

"We showed moments of greatness today but at times we were too complacent," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "We got comfortable with a lead and didn't attack the pitcher in the first game like I thought we should have. We weren't ourselves today. Defensively we played pretty well today. We just needed to come through offensively."

GAME ONE: WESTERN ILLINOIS 2, SOUTH DAKOTA 3:

The Leathernecks scored a pair of unearned runs in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Karissa Kouchis led the inning off by reaching on an error. Following a sac bunt and a wild pitch, Monica Rondón drew a walk to put runners at the corners. Emma Jarrell followed with a ground out to score Kouchis before Nina Maggio drove in Rondón from second.

Western Illinois threatened again in the third, loading the bases with nobody out but USD shut down the Leathernecks, preventing insurance runs from scoring.

South Dakota got on the board in the fifth with a solo home run, cutting the lead to 2-1.

In the seventh, the Coyotes loaded the bases and a two out, two-run single gave USD a 3-2 victory.

Hailey Bickford went 6.2, allowing three earned while striking out six batters. Briana Williams stole her 72nd career base in the loss.

GAME TWO: WESTERN ILLINOIS 1, SOUTH DAKOTA 4:

South Dakota took the lead in the first on a two-run home run and never relinquished the lead.

The Leathernecks began chipping away in the fourth thanks to a Tierney Bottino walk followed by Taylor Messer's first career double. With runners at second and third, Emma Jarrell flied out to left and the ensuing throw home was off the mark, allowing Bottino to score on an error.

Western was unable to keep the deficit at 2-1 however, as the Coyotes used another two-run home run to extend the lead to 4-1 heading into the seventh.

The Leathernecks attempted a two-out rally sparked by back-to-back singles from Nina Maggio and Sammy Marshall, but Western couldn't keep the rally going.

Kayla Kirkpatrick suffered the loss in the circle, scattering seven hits while walking two and striking out one.

The Leathernecks wrap up the three-game conference series on Saturday (April 12). First pitch for the series finale is scheduled for 12 p.m.