Jackrabbits post 30th win of season

Thursday, May 17

Greeley, Colo.

2 p.m. MT

South Dakota State University

Northern Colorado

5/17/2007 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

By: SDSU Sports Info

GREELEY, Colo. ? Nick Adams doubled home the game-winning run and Jacob Kougl nailed down his ninth save, lifting the South Dakota State University baseball team to its 30th win of the season Thursday with a 5-4 victory over Northern Colorado.

The Jackrabbits improved to 30-18 overall, including a 19-5 mark against fellow Division I independents. UNC dropped to 14-32. The two teams will close out their two-game series Friday, starting at 2 p.m. Mountain Time (3 p.m. Central) at Jackson Field.

The Bears got on the board first, scoring twice in the first inning against SDSU starter Matt Bowman. Doubles by Cory Morales, John Ray and Grady Gorman led to the only two runs against the Jackrabbit right-hander.

SDSU put together a four-run fifth inning, taking advantage of a UNC error. Tony Martin and Craig Parry opened the frame with singles, and both runners came around to score when Bear pitcher Dan Kazell threw the ball away after fielding a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Tim Hanigan. Hanigan later scored the go-ahead run on a groundout, with the final run of the inning scoring on back-to-back doubles by Korby Mintken and Tyson Fisher.

The game remained 4-2 until UNC scored twice in the seventh inning off Jackrabbit reliever Isaac Johnson. Grady Gorman's two-out single with the bases loaded plated both Morales and Ray to knot the game at 4-all.

The Jackrabbits put together the winning rally in the eighth. Tyson Fisher singled to lead off the inning against reliever Jason Banks, then scored when Adams doubled to the left-center gap.

Erik Bess pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Kougl worked out of a two-on, one-out situation in the ninth as he tied the Jackrabbit single-season record for saves with nine. Gary Olechoski set the current record during the 2006 season.

UNC was not retired in order the entire game, out-hitting the Jackrabbits by a 12-7 count. Morales, Ray and Gorman each tallied three hits. Tyson Fisher was the lone player for SDSU with more than one hit, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.

Notes: Bowman upped his single-season record for innings pitched to 95 2/3 with his six-inning outing ... SDSU is 4-0 against Northern Colorado this season ... the Jackrabbits reached the 30-win mark for the eighth time and the first time since a 34-13 campaign in 1996 ... Johnson improved to 5-0 despite giving up the tying run in the seventh inning