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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks open Summit slate at Centenary
4/2/2009 1:00:00 AM | Baseball
BROOKINGS, S.D. ? The South Dakota State University baseball team will open the Summit League season this weekend with a four-game series against Centenary (La.) in Shreveport, La.
The series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Shehee Stadium, followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The series finale is set for noon Sunday.
SDSU enters the matchup 4-14 overall. The Jackrabbits have not played since being swept in a three-game series March 20-22 at Washington State.
Centenary, meanwhile, is off to a 17-4 start to the 2009 season. The Gents, who also will be playing their league opener, posted their first victory of the season against then-No. 1 Texas A&M on Feb. 25.
THE SERIES: South Dakota State turned in its first sweep of a Summit League opponent in its first-ever try, opening the 2008 league slate with a four-game whitewashing of Centenary last April. The games were moved to the CU Sports Complex in Omaha, Neb., due to adverse weather and field conditions in Brookings.
SDSU opened the series with a 6-5, 11-inning victory on April 4, then swept a doubleheader on April 5 by scores of 13-6 and 8-1 as Jared Koch pitched a complete-game victory in the second game of the twinbill. The Jackrabbits completed the sweep with a 7-1 victory on April 6.
Tony Martin led the Jackrabbit hitting attack with a .600 batting average (6-for-10), while Jesse Ayala went 9-for-16 with five doubles for a .563 average. Tyson Fisher hit home runs in each of the first two games of the series, extending his home run streak to an SDSU-record six games.
ROAD WARRIORS: This weekend's trip to Louisiana will mark the eighth different state in which the Jackrabbits have played a game this season.
After having its scheduled four-game home series against North Dakota postponed last weekend, SDSU has not yet played a game at Erv Huether Field this season. The Jackrabbits are now scheduled to open the home season April 17-19, hosting a four-game Summit League series against North Dakota State.
REVISED SCHEDULE: SDSU and North Dakota have rescheduled one of the doubleheaders lost last weekend due to the weather. The two teams are now scheduled to play a twinbill at Erv Huether Field on April 20, starting at 2 p.m.
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.
CAREER UPDATES: Several Jackrabbit players are moving up the career charts in the pitching and fielding categories this season.
Senior left-hander Caleb Thielbar is poised to put his name atop several pitching categories in the coming weeks. A native of Randolph, Minn., Thielbar will tie Billy McMacken (1987-90) for most career starts with 39 if he makes his scheduled start on Sunday. He also is 2.1 innings pitched away from tying Trevor Schulte's career mark of 218.1 innings set from 1991-94.
In addition, Thielbar is currently tied for fifth in career appearances with 49 and will join the Jackrabbit top 10 for career victories with his next win. He enters the weekend with a 16-17 career record.
Reliever Kirby Morsching begins the weekend ranked third in career appearances with 56, including a team-high nine so far this season. Morsching also ranks in a tie with Brandon Groebner (1994-97) for sixth place on the Jackrabbit career saves chart with eight.
Fellow senior right-hander Isaac Johnson is fourth in career appearances with 54.
In the fielding department, senior catcher Tony Martin has moved into eighth place in career putouts with 631. He stands 12 away from tying Russ Langer (1998-2001) for seventh place in Jackrabbit history.
CANADIAN CONNECTION: SDSU received some strong performances at the plate from a pair of Canadian newcomers. Jesse Sawyer and Joel Blake currently rank among the top three hitters on the team this season.
Sawyer, from Calgary, Alberta, leads the team with three home runs, while ranking second with a .313 batting average and 10 runs batted in. Sawyer, who has seebn action at designated hitter, first base and third base, was named Summit League Player of the Week on March 16. His three-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning of the Missouri State series finale on March 11 tied the game at 6-all, a game SDSU eventually won 7-6 in 12 innings. Sawyer also hit a two-run home run that stood up as the difference in the Jackrabbits' 4-2 victory March 15 at Creighton (Neb.).
Blake, a native of Langely, British Columbia, has been a consistent hitter this season, ranking third on the team with a .307 average and second in home runs with two. After putting together a seven-game hitting streak earlier this season, Blake enters the weekend on a six-game hitting streak.
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 continue to play away from home, traveling for an April 8 matchup at Northern Iowa before heading south again next weekend for a four-game series at perennial Summit League champion Oral Roberts.
The series begins with a 7 p.m. matchup Friday, April 10 at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the ORU campus in Tulsa, Okla. A 2 p.m. doubleheader is set for Saturday, April 11, with the series concluding with 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, April 12.
The series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Shehee Stadium, followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The series finale is set for noon Sunday.
SDSU enters the matchup 4-14 overall. The Jackrabbits have not played since being swept in a three-game series March 20-22 at Washington State.
Centenary, meanwhile, is off to a 17-4 start to the 2009 season. The Gents, who also will be playing their league opener, posted their first victory of the season against then-No. 1 Texas A&M on Feb. 25.
THE SERIES: South Dakota State turned in its first sweep of a Summit League opponent in its first-ever try, opening the 2008 league slate with a four-game whitewashing of Centenary last April. The games were moved to the CU Sports Complex in Omaha, Neb., due to adverse weather and field conditions in Brookings.
SDSU opened the series with a 6-5, 11-inning victory on April 4, then swept a doubleheader on April 5 by scores of 13-6 and 8-1 as Jared Koch pitched a complete-game victory in the second game of the twinbill. The Jackrabbits completed the sweep with a 7-1 victory on April 6.
Tony Martin led the Jackrabbit hitting attack with a .600 batting average (6-for-10), while Jesse Ayala went 9-for-16 with five doubles for a .563 average. Tyson Fisher hit home runs in each of the first two games of the series, extending his home run streak to an SDSU-record six games.
ROAD WARRIORS: This weekend's trip to Louisiana will mark the eighth different state in which the Jackrabbits have played a game this season.
After having its scheduled four-game home series against North Dakota postponed last weekend, SDSU has not yet played a game at Erv Huether Field this season. The Jackrabbits are now scheduled to open the home season April 17-19, hosting a four-game Summit League series against North Dakota State.
REVISED SCHEDULE: SDSU and North Dakota have rescheduled one of the doubleheaders lost last weekend due to the weather. The two teams are now scheduled to play a twinbill at Erv Huether Field on April 20, starting at 2 p.m.
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.
CAREER UPDATES: Several Jackrabbit players are moving up the career charts in the pitching and fielding categories this season.
Senior left-hander Caleb Thielbar is poised to put his name atop several pitching categories in the coming weeks. A native of Randolph, Minn., Thielbar will tie Billy McMacken (1987-90) for most career starts with 39 if he makes his scheduled start on Sunday. He also is 2.1 innings pitched away from tying Trevor Schulte's career mark of 218.1 innings set from 1991-94.
In addition, Thielbar is currently tied for fifth in career appearances with 49 and will join the Jackrabbit top 10 for career victories with his next win. He enters the weekend with a 16-17 career record.
Reliever Kirby Morsching begins the weekend ranked third in career appearances with 56, including a team-high nine so far this season. Morsching also ranks in a tie with Brandon Groebner (1994-97) for sixth place on the Jackrabbit career saves chart with eight.
Fellow senior right-hander Isaac Johnson is fourth in career appearances with 54.
In the fielding department, senior catcher Tony Martin has moved into eighth place in career putouts with 631. He stands 12 away from tying Russ Langer (1998-2001) for seventh place in Jackrabbit history.
CANADIAN CONNECTION: SDSU received some strong performances at the plate from a pair of Canadian newcomers. Jesse Sawyer and Joel Blake currently rank among the top three hitters on the team this season.
Sawyer, from Calgary, Alberta, leads the team with three home runs, while ranking second with a .313 batting average and 10 runs batted in. Sawyer, who has seebn action at designated hitter, first base and third base, was named Summit League Player of the Week on March 16. His three-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning of the Missouri State series finale on March 11 tied the game at 6-all, a game SDSU eventually won 7-6 in 12 innings. Sawyer also hit a two-run home run that stood up as the difference in the Jackrabbits' 4-2 victory March 15 at Creighton (Neb.).
Blake, a native of Langely, British Columbia, has been a consistent hitter this season, ranking third on the team with a .307 average and second in home runs with two. After putting together a seven-game hitting streak earlier this season, Blake enters the weekend on a six-game hitting streak.
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 continue to play away from home, traveling for an April 8 matchup at Northern Iowa before heading south again next weekend for a four-game series at perennial Summit League champion Oral Roberts.
The series begins with a 7 p.m. matchup Friday, April 10 at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the ORU campus in Tulsa, Okla. A 2 p.m. doubleheader is set for Saturday, April 11, with the series concluding with 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, April 12.
Sunday, May 31
Saturday, May 30
Saturday, May 30
Thursday, May 28