Jefferson softball moves to 5-0 in defense of Class AA state title
The Sioux Falls Jefferson softball team is handling the pressure of defending a state championship well, getting off to a 5-0 start in 2026.
Defending a state championship is never easy, but the Sioux Falls Jefferson softball team is off to as good a start as it could ask for. The Cavaliers are 5-0 after a pair of dominant wins on Friday, April 17, and have a few big matchups lined up soon. Jefferson is doing it on both sides of the ball, with the pitching tandem of Tya Devericks and Makenzie Bierman allowing five runs in as many games and the offense posting 53 runs and three games in double figures.
That balance was on display Friday, with the Cavaliers beating Eden Prairie (MN) 5-2 and St. Louis Park (MN) 16-0. Devericks punched out 11 batters in the first game and Macy Bryant hit for the cycle in the second.
"The girls just continue to build on what we've done, but we're here now and this is a new team and we're playing for the 2026 season," Jefferson head coach Ed Whiting said. Pitching has been a staple for this program in the three years softball has been a sanctioned sport in South Dakota. Even with Whitney Portner having graduated, Whiting still feels the tandem of Devericks and Bierman is tops in the state.
"We had three of the top pitchers in the state," Whiting said. "Mak Bierman, she's a quality pitcher and in a lot of programs she'd be an ace as a freshman a year ago. But she came in relief a couple times for us.