Completed Event: Baseball at Omaha on May 22, 2025 , Loss , 6, to, 7 , 10 inn.
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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks, Gents meet in Summit League opener
4/3/2008 1:00:00 AM | Baseball
BROOKINGS, S.D. ? Forced to shift south because of extended wintry weather and unplayable field conditions, the South Dakota State University baseball team is scheduled to open Summit League play in Omaha, Neb., with a four-game series against Centenary (La.).
The series is slated to get under way Friday with a 2:05 p.m. matchup at the Creighton University Sports Complex. Saturday, a doubleheader consisting of a nine-inning game followed by a seven-inning contest, begins at 12:05 p.m. The series concludes Sunday with a 12:05 start time.
The Jackrabbits enter the series with a 7-16 overall record, while Centenary is 16-6. SDSU is coming off a weekend in which it won two of three games at Northern Colorado. The Gents had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 6-0 loss at Louisiana State on Wednesday.
THE SERIES: This weekend's series will mark the first time SDSU and Centenary have met in baseball.
In the preseason Summit League coaches' poll, the Gents were picked to finish third in the eight-team league. SDSU was selected to finish fourth.
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Unfavorable weather and field conditions forced the Jackrabbits to reschedule their home opener, which was originally slated for April 1 against North Dakota at SDSU's new on-campus facility, Huether Field. That game has been moved to April 29 at 2:05 p.m.
Next week's midweek game against Creighton (Neb.) may be moved, depending on field conditions. Check GoJacks.com for further schedule updates.
COVERING THE RABBITS: For the third straight season, more than 30 SDSU baseball games will be broadcast live over the Jackrabbit Baseball Radio Network. Friday's game, Saturday's first game and Sunday's game will be carried live on Brookings-based KJJQ 910 AM, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play. Sunday's game also will also be carried on KCCR 1240 AM in Pierre.
Every broadcast, including Saturday's second game, will also be available via the Jackrabbit Extra, a subscription service through GoJacks.com, the official website of South Dakota State University athletics.
Monthly subscriptions for the Jackrabbit Extra, which includes live audio streaming, as well as various video features, are available for $9.95 per month or $99.95 for an entire year of coverage. An audio-only subscription also is available for $4.95 per month, with programming consisting only of live radio broadcasts.
Action photos of Jackrabbit games also will be posted online throughout the season and made available for purchase under the “Photos” heading at GoJacks.com.
IN TRANSITION: The 2008 season marks the final year of a four-year transition process toward reclassification of the Jackrabbit athletics program from NCAA Division II to full Division I status. By meeting annual criteria outlined by the NCAA, SDSU will be eligible for Summit League and NCAA postseason competition during the 2009 season.
SUMMIT LEAGUE DEBUT: After playing the past three seasons as an independent, the Jackrabbits begin play in The Summit League this spring. Due to the transition to Division I not yet being complete, SDSU is not eligible for the conference tournament until next season.
DEJA VU: SDSU is faced with a similar arrangement on the first weekend of April as it was last season when it moved a series against North Dakota State to Omaha and the CU Sports Complex.
The Jackrabbits swept an abbreviated two-game series April 6-7 against the Bison, winning by scores of 6-3 and 10-3. The two victories put the Jackrabbits over the .500 mark for good as they ended the season by winning 22 of their last 29 games.
REMEMBERING KEVIN MORSCHING: The Jackrabbits will remember their former teammate, reliever Kevin Morsching, with a special tribute during their pre-game infield practice.
Morsching, the brother of current SDSU pitcher Kirby Morsching, was a reliever for two seasons. He died last August following a skateboarding accident in Brookings.
The Rapid City native would have been a junior this year, and likely would have been the closer out of the bullpen.
Last fall, the squad all wore Morsching's number ? 16 ? on their practice jerseys.
FISHER ON HOMER STREAK: Jackrabbit first baseman Tyson Fisher will bring a streak of four consecutive games with a home run into Friday's series opener.
Fisher, a senior from Fortuna, Calif., was named Summit League Co-Player of the Week after hitting .286 with a double, four home runs and 10 runs batted in last week in four games at Creighton (Neb.) and Northern Colorado. His three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning in the first game of a twinbill at UNC on March 29 gave the Jackrabbits the lead for good in a 9-7 victory.
In the field, Fisher played errorless defense in 48 total chances. He recorded a career-high 19 putouts in an 11-inning loss at Creighton on March 25.
Fisher, who shared the weekly honor with Oral Roberts (Okla.) outfielder Brendan Duffy, already has exceeded his home run total from last season, when he hit four round-trippers while playing through a wrist injury.
200 HITS: South Dakota State seniors Nick Adams and Tyson Fisher both reached the 200-hit milestone in March, becoming the ninth and 10th members of the Jackrabbit 200-hit club.
Adams notched hit No. 200 in the first game of a doubleheader March 15 at Air Force and enters this weekend's series fourth on the Jackrabbit career hits list with 218. The left-handed batter from Lenexa, Kan., passed Doug Sehr (216 hits from 1991-94) for fourth place last weekend and needs six hits to pass Billy McMacken (223 hits from 1987-90) for the third spot.
Adams also ranks eighth in career games played. The outfielder has played in 181 career games and made 132 consecutive starts before being held out of the starting lineup in the middle game of the three-game series at Minnesota on March 22.
Fisher, a first baseman from Fortuna, Calif., recorded his 200th career hit in the opening game of the Missouri series on March 18, and has tallied 208 career hits entering play Friday to rank eighth. He stands two hits shy of passing Chris Studer (209 hits from 1999-2002) for seventh place and four away from passing Ryan Krogman (211 hits from 1991-94) for sixth place.
Fisher has been the team's leading hitter each of the past two seasons, posting averages of .363 in 2006 and .387 in 2007.
Two more seniors could join the 200-hit club by season's end: infielder Korby Mintken has tallied 189 career hits and outfielder Tim Hanigan stands at 170.
MARTIN FINDING HIS STROKE: After sitting out the first three weeks of the season because of illness, junior catcher Tony Martin swung a hot bat last week. In four games, the Omaha native batted .450 (9-for-20), including a 5-for-7 performance with four runs batted in and four runs scored in the series opener at Northern Colorado on March 28. He also hit his first two home runs of the season as he raised his season batting average from .185 to .298.
IRONMEN: The Jackrabbit bullpen has been led in the first half of the season by the left-right tandem of Matt Baerlocher and Kirby Morsching. Both pitchers have made 11 appearances this season, with one start.
Baerlocher appeared in both games of the doubleheader at Northern Colorado on March 29, allowing two runs in 4 2/3 innings over the two games.
Morsching has appeared in five of the team's last six games, logging 8 2/3 innings in that span. He picked up his team-leading second save of the season in the first game of the twinbill at Northern Colorado on March 29.
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