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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits play three at UCA
2/26/2009 1:00:00 AM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team resumes action with a three-game weekend set at Central Arkansas.
The series begins with a 3 p.m. matchup Friday at Bear Stadium in Conway, Ark. Games Saturday and Sunday are set for respective starting times of 2 and 1 p.m.
The Jackrabbits opened the season last weekend by winning one of three games at Murray State (Ky.). SDSU dropped the first two games before salvaging the final game of the series, 3-2.
A member of the Southland Conference, UCA is off to a 2-3 start after opening the season by winning two of three games at home last weekend against Tennessee-Martin, before dropping a pair of mid-week games at Mississippi.
THE SERIES: For the second year in a row, the Jackrabbits and Central Arkansas will meet in a February series. The two squads opened the 2008 campaign with the Bears winning the first-ever baseball series between the two schools three games to one.
UCA took the series opener by a 5-4 count on Feb. 22, 2008, before the Jackrabbits evened the series by winning the first game of a doubleheader on Feb. 23, 3-2. The Bears claimed 12-3 and 5-3 victories to close out the series.
PRICE ERA BEGINS: SDSU enters a new era of leadership as the Jackrabbits will play the 2009 season under interim head coach Ritchie Price.
Price served as infield and third base coach for the Jackrabbits in 2008, and was elevated to interim head coach following the resignation of Reggie Christiansen in June 2008.
A native of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Price has been around college baseball nearly his entire life. His two brothers ? Ryne and Robby ? have played at the University of Kansas, where their father, Ritch, is currently the head baseball coach.
Ritchie Price also played at Kansas, setting Jayhawk career records for games played (255), at bats (1,022), hits (312), runs scored (204), sacrifices (35) and hit by pitches (53). Price's graduating class owns the most wins of any class in Kansas baseball history.
In 2006, Price helped lead the Jayhawks to a Big 12 championship, as Kansas went 4-0 to win the conference title. After earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, Price's squad went 1-2, earning a win over Hawaii in the opening game.
Price was one of the ironmen of college baseball, starting 252 consecutive games at shortstop. Although no official records are kept by the NCAA, his streak likely ranks among the best in college baseball history. He was a four-time all-Big 12 selection, and was named the conference's best defensive shortstop in 2004 by Baseball America.
Following his highly successful career with the Jayhawks, Price was an 18th-round draft pick of the New York Mets in Major League Baseball's first-year player draft. Not only did Price play rookie ball with the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League, but he also spent a week in Class A, playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League.
Price graduated from Kansas in 2007 with a degree in communication studies.
SUMMIT LEAGUE RACE: South Dakota State has been picked to finish fourth in the eight-team Summit League race, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league's coaches.
SDSU received one first-place vote and 30 points, while defending conference champion Oral Roberts was picked to win its 12th consecutive Summit League title with seven first-place votes and 49 points.
Southern Utah was picked second with 49 points, followed by Centenary in third place with 35.
Rounding out the fifth through eighth spots were: Western Illinois (29), Oakland (17), IPFW (13) and North Dakota State (11).
TRANSITION OVER: The NCAA Division I Management Council Administrative Committee, acting on behalf of the DI Management Council, announced in late June 2008 that South Dakota State University has met the requirements to become an active member of NCAA Division I, starting at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year.
Previously a member of Division II, SDSU successfully completed the five-year process of moving its athletics programs to comply with Division I membership requirements. Requirements include compliance with Division I rules for the final four years, meeting minimum financial aid and contest scheduling limits, engaging in a rules compliance review and successfully completing the athletics certification process.
SDSU officials submitted an extensive self-study to the NCAA in the spring of 2007 and a peer-review team completed the study during a campus visit in October 2007.
MARTIN SWINGS HOT BAT: Senior catcher Tony Martin led the Jackrabbits at the plate in the season-opening series at Murray State by going 8-for-14 (.571 batting average) in the three-game series. His five-hit game in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader was the second of his career.
Martin led the Jackrabbits with a .365 batting average in 2008.
BULLPEN STRONG: Jackrabbit relievers combined to post a 0.96 earned run average at Murray State, allowing only seven hits and one earned run in 9 1/3 innings. Blaine Alberta made his collegiate debut in Sunday's first game with three scoreless innings, while Matt Spinar pitched two scoreless innings in the Feb. 20 season opener.
Kirby Morsching allowed the lone run during his relief stint in the series finale. However, Morsching was credited with the victory after the Jackrabbits scored the winning run of a 3-2 victory in the top of the eighth inning.
CANADIAN CONNECTION: SDSU received some strong performances at the plate from a pair of Canadian newcomers.
Joel Blake, a native of Langely, British Columbia, was second on the team with a .545 batting average (6-for-11) and led the team with three runs scored while splitting time between left field and designated hitter.
Jesse Sawyer, from Calgary, Alberta, hit the team's lone home run against Murray State, going 3-for-11 (.273 avg.) in the series. Sawyer saw action at designated hitter and first base in the season-opening series.
Two other Canadians are on the roster this year: freshman infielder Daniel Marra (Toronto), freshman outfielder Daniel Telford (Newmarket, Ont.).
THE ROSTER: The 2009 SDSU baseball roster features 28 players from 11 different states plus Canada. Of the 28 players, six are from South Dakota, five are from Minnesota, three hail from Iowa, with two each from California and Texas. Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oregon are represented by one player each. In addition, four players are from Canada. By class, seven are seniors, five are juniors, seven are sophomores and nine are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will continue their play on the road, traveling for a matchup March 3 at Nebraska. Game time is set for 1:35 p.m. at Hawks Field in Lincoln, Neb.
From there, SDSU will head to Minneapolis for the Metrodome Tournament hosted by the University of Minnesota on March 6-8. The Jackrabbits will play one game each day, opening against Western Michigan at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 6. SDSU will square off against Illinois State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, before closing the event with a 3:05 game versus Minnesota on Sunday, March 8.
To read this week's entire release, download the document below.
Sunday, May 31
Saturday, May 30
Saturday, May 30
Thursday, May 28