FARGO, N.D. – Vanessa Anderson and Dani Renner each connected for three-run home runs and Jacquelyn Sertic retired the last 15 batters in a row as North Dakota State defeated South Dakota State 6-1 to claim its fifth straight Summit League Softball Championship and ninth overall before a league record 507 spectators Saturday, May 12, at the Ellig Sports Complex.
 
NDSU (33-17) became first league team to win five straight softball titles. The Bison improved to 33-6 in league tournament play. The NCAA selection show is scheduled to 9 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.
 
Things didn't start out well for tournament MVP Sertic as Abbey Murphy led off South Dakota State's bottom half of the first inning with a home run to left field on the first pitch to put the Jackrabbits on top 1-0.
 
North Dakota State exploded in the top of the third. Vanessa Anderson lined a home run into the Chain Link Monster in right center field to make it 3-1. It was the seventh home run of the season for Anderson.
 
Dani Renner then came to the plate with two on and two out. Renner rifled the first pitch she saw over the left center fence for a three-run home run to extend the lead to 6-1.  It was her third home run of the season. Renner went 2-for-2 with four RBIs in two pinch-hit appearances.
 
However, things became interesting in the bottom of the third when South Dakota State (34-16) loaded the bases with a pair of singles, a walk and nobody out.
 
Sertic, a senior right-hander from Sparks, Nev., went to work. She need only 14 pitches to strike out struck out the next three batters. It started a trend for Sertic, who retired the next 15 batters in order.
 
Sertic struck out 12, allowed three hits and walked two. She finished the tournament with a 3-0 record and 0.37 earned run average. Sertic struck out 36 and walked seven in 19 innings pitched. She went over 300 strikeouts in a season for the second time in her career.
 
Zoe Stavrou and Madyson Camacho each had a pair of hits as the Bison collected nine overall.
 
Sertic was joined on the all-tournament team by catcher Tabby Heinz, Anderson, Renner and Stavrou.