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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbit baseball team hosts IPFW
5/7/2009 10:15:00 AM | Baseball
With a berth in the upcoming Summit League Championship squarely in its sights, the South Dakota State University baseball team will attempt to continue its late-season surge this weekend when it hosts IPFW in a four-game series.
The series opener is set for a 3 p.m. start Friday at Erv Huether Field. A doubleheader is slated for a noon start on Saturday, while the series finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children in grades K-12.
The Jackrabbits enter the Summit League series winners of their last eight league contests. SDSU has vaulted into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings with an 11-8 conference mark and stands two games behind Southern Utah for third place. Overall, the Jackrabbits are 18-26.
IPFW, meanwhile, stands in last place among the eight league teams at 3-17 in Summit League games. The Mastodons have compiled a 10-34 overall record so far in 2009.
THE SERIES: Friday's series opener will mark the 13th time SDSU and IPFW have met on the baseball diamond.
The Jackrabbits won each of the first nine games in the series that began when SDSU recorded a 13-1 victory at the 2006 Division I Independent Tournament in Sioux Falls. During IPFW's only other trip to Brookings, SDSU swept a four-game series to close out the 2007 home schedule.
IPFW cracked the win column last season against the Jackrabbits, winning two of the three games played May 9-10 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Mastodons won the opener, 5-2, before the two teams split a doubleheader on May 10, with SDSU winning Game 1, 8-6, and IPFW taking the nitecap, 2-0. The series finale was rained out.
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 was 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).
LAST WEEKEND: The Jackrabbits ran their Summit League winning streak to eight games after sweeping a four-game series from Oakland University (Mich.) May 1-3 at Erv Huether Field.
SDSU opened the series with a 15-6 victory on May 1, tying a season-high with 21 hits. Joel Blake hit a pair of home runs, including an eighth-inning grand slam, as the Jackrabbits overcame a 5-3 deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Jackrabbits swept a doubleheader on May 2, winning the opener 12-4, before rallying for a 6-5 victory in Game 2. Stephen Turner went 4-for-5 and was a double shy of the cycle, while also driving in two runs. John Lee added four hits and four RBI, with Jesse Ayala contributing three hits, including a home run.
In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Zach Briggs dumped a two-run single down the right field line with one out in the seventh inning to cap a four-run seventh inning as the Jackrabbits won in their last at-bat. Blake hit a two-run homer to pull SDSU to within a run, and the rally continued as Lee singled and Jesse Sawyer followed with a double.
Freshman Layne Somsen earned his first collegiate victory as he recorded his second complete game of the season.
SDSU completed the sweep with another come-from-behind victory on May 3. Trailing 3-0, Sawyer tied the game with a three-run run home run in the fifth inning. The Jackrabbits took the lead for good in the seventh inning on a two-run home run by Stephen Turner, and extended the lead to 8-5 on solo home runs by Lee and Tony Martin in the eighth inning.
Caleb Thielbar pitched the final four innings to earn the victory. The senior southpaw struck out four, while scattering six hits.
Of the 41 runs the Jackrabbits scored in the series, 25 came in the sixth inning or later.
SAWYER SIZZLING: South Dakota State University third baseman Jesse Sawyer received regional and national accolades following an impressive week at the plate for the Jackrabbit baseball team from April 20-26.
Named the Summit League Player of the Week on April 27, Sawyer also was recognized by College Baseball Insider as its Central Region Player of the Week and was named a member of the National All-Star Lineup by the College Baseball Foundation. In addition, Sawyer was honored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as its National Co-Hitter of the Week.
A sophomore from Calgary, Alberta, and a product of the Prairie Baseball Academy, Sawyer homered in six of the Jackrabbits' eight games during the week, including three two-home-run games. In leading SDSU to a 7-1 record, Sawyer hit .500 (14-for-28) with nine home runs and 15 runs batted in, tallying a 1.536 slugging percentage. He also walked seven times for a .641 on-base percentage and scored 19 runs.
Sawyer put together a streak of five consecutive games with a home run ? one shy of the school record. He homered in all four games of home-and-home doubleheaders against North Dakota on April 20 and 22, and extended his streak in the opening game of a four-game series at Summit League opponent Western Illinois on April 24. He closed the WIU series with two home runs on April 26.
TGIF: Joel Blake has been a terror at the plate the last two Fridays, combining to go 8-for-13 with five home runs, two doubles, 12 runs batted in and seven runs scored in games against Western Illinois and Oakland.
In its last three Summit League series openers, all of which have been played on a Friday, SDSU has scored 53 runs (19 vs. North Dakota State, 19 at Western Illinois and 15 vs. Oakland).
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: The Jackrabbits have put up some big offensive numbers during their current eight-game Summit League winning streak.
As a team, the Jackrabbits have out-scored the opponents by a 106-58 margin, hit .430 (132-of-307) as a team and tallied 26 home runs.
Individually, Tony Martin has led SDSU with a .514 batting average (18-for-35), with Stephen Turner hitting .500 (19-for-38) with six home runs and 22 runs batted in, along with a 1.105 slugging percentage.
As a team, the Jackrabbits have slugged .779 in their last four games, with Jesse Sawyer leading the way with a 1.118 slugging percentage.
TURNER ON A HOT STREAK: For the second week in a row, the South Dakota State University baseball team has the Summit League Player of the Week.
Senior first baseman Stephen Turner was honored Monday after helping lead the Jackrabbits to a 4-1 record and into the driver's seat for a berth in the league postseason tournament later this month. A native of Torrance, Calif., Turner extended his hitting streak to 14 games, compiling a .409 batting average (9-for-22) and an .818 slugging percentage last week.
In a four-game series against Oakland (Mich.) over the weekend, Turner hit .444 (8-for-18) with two home runs and six runs batted in. His go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning of the series finale propelled the Jackrabbits to a sweep of the series and a four-game lead for the final playoff spot with two weekends to play. In the second game of the series, Turner went 4-for-5 with a home run, triple and two singles.
During his 14-game hitting streak, Turner is hitting .433 (26-for-60) with seven home runs, 25 runs batted in and an .867 slugging percentage. Turner has put together seven multi-hit games during his current streak and has hit safely in 19 of the last 20 games.
LEE LOCKED IN: After a slow start to the 2009 season, Jackrabbit right fielder John Lee has turned into one of the team's most consistent hitters in recent weeks.
The Mason City, Iowa, native entered the month of April batting only .192. In 26 games, including 25 starts, since April 1, Lee has raised his batting average by 131 points to .323 by going 40-of-103 (.388) at the plate with eight doubles, three triples, six home runs and 22 runs batted in while batting second in the lineup. He has tallied a .699 slugging percentage and scored 30 times.
Lee began his collegiate career at Nebraska before returning home to play at North Iowa Area Community College.
PIECZYNSKI IN NEW ROLE: South Dakota State right-hander Sam Pieczynski has made the transition from setup man to starter during the 2009 season.
A junior from Des Moines, Iowa, Pieczynski made 22 career relief appearances before making his first career start at Centenary (La.) on April 4. After losing his first two decisions of the season, Pieczynski has turned in back-to-back winning performances. Working under a pre-determined pitch count, he pitched the first three innings of the April 17 game against North Dakota State, then pitched a career-best 6 1/3 innings in an April 20 victory over North Dakota.
Pieczynski is the scheduled starter for the series opener on Friday.
PITCHING PROWESS: Despite earning only a split of the four-game series against North Dakota State April 17-19, the Jackrabbit pitching staff put together its best series of the season.
SDSU did not allow more than three runs in any of the four games, compiling a team earned-run aveerage of 1.06 over 34 innings of work. Jackrabbit pitchers surrendered only 23 hits as the Bison batted only .187 for the series. In addition, SDSU hurlers combined for 24 strikeouts and only seven bases on balls.
In the series finale, senior left-hander Caleb Thielbar struck out a career-high 12 batters and walked only one in a losing effort.
Freshman Layne Somsen pitched the first complete game by a Jackrabbit this season in the second game of a doubleheader on April 18. The Yankton native allowed only one unearned run over seven innings, striking out four and walking four.
In the first game of the twinbill, Isaac Johnson mark his return to the starting rotation by giving up only one run in six innings. Johnson struck out two and walked one, while giving up four hits.
SDSU opened the series with a 19-0 victory over North Dakota State. Five pitchers combined on the first Jackrabbit shutout of the season: Sam Pieczynski worked the first three innings, followed by two innings each by Mike Robinson and Blaine Alberta. Trever Vermeulen and Matt Spinar worked the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
GRAND ENTRANCE: Freshman Zach Briggs hit the first grand slam by a Jackrabbit player this season, capping the scoring in SDSU's 19-0 rout of North Dakota State on April 17.
Briggs' eighth-inning blast also was his first collegiate home run. He added his second home run of the season in the second game of the April 22 doubleheader at North Dakota.
Splitting time behind the plate and at designated hitter, Briggs has seen his playing time increase in recent weeks. His five RBI in the April 17 game versus North Dakota State set an individual career high.
CAIN IS ABLE: Freshman Eric Cain has taken over the starting shortstop duties for the Jackrabbits this season. The Littleton, Colo., native and graduate of Dakota Ridge High School has started 26 of the team's last 28 games and 37 overall.
After tallying only one run batted in over his first 75 collegiate at-bats, Cain has driven in 15 runs in his last 54 trips to the plate. He broke the drought with a 2-for-4, three-RBI day at the plate April 17 against North Dakota State and added a pair of hits and two RBI a day later against the Bison.
Cain hit his first career home run in the second game of the April 22 doubleheader at North Dakota, and added a solo shot April 28 versus Creighton.
CANADIAN CONNECTION: SDSU has received some strong performances at the plate from a pair of Canadian newcomers, Jesse Sawyer and Joel Blake.
Sawyer, from Calgary, Alberta, leads the team with 15 home runs, 45 runs scored and a .667 slugging percentage, while ranking fifth with a .321 batting average. Sawyer, who has seen action at designated hitter, first base, third base and left field, is a two-time Summit League Player of the Week (March 16, April 27). 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.
Blake, a native of Langely, British Columbia, was the team's most consistent hitter in the early going of the season, and currently is tied for second on the team with nine home runs. Blake set a Jackrabbit season high by hitting three home runs in the series opener at Western Illinois on April 24 and added two against Oakland on May 1.
Two other Canadians are on the roster this year: freshman infielder Daniel Marra (Toronto), freshman outfielder Daniel Telford (Newmarket, Ont.).
MORE FROM MARTIN: Senior Tony Martin has picked up where he left off offensively from a season ago, when he posted the second-highest batting average by a Jackrabbit player in the Division I era.
Martin, who hit .365 in 2008, again leads the team with a .358 average this season while recently splitting time between left field and catcher. A starter in all 44 games this season, he also leads the team with 62 hits and shares the team lead with 11 doubles.
The Omaha native also has a chance to reach the 200-hit plateau this season. He enters weekend play with 189 career hits.
CAREER UPDATES: Several Jackrabbit players are moving up the career charts in the pitching and fielding categories this season.
Senior left-hander Caleb Thielbar has put his name atop two career pitching categories in recent week weeks. Thielbar took over the career lead in innings pitched at the beginning of the month and enters the weekend with 251, passing Trevor Schulte's career mark of 218.1 innings set from 1991-94. With his start April 19 against North Dakota State, the Randolph, Minn., native broke a tie with Billy McMacken (39 from 1987-90) for most career starts. Thielbar made his 41st career start against Creighton on April 28.
In addition, Thielbar is currently fourth in career appearances with 60 and joined the Jackrabbit top 10 for career victories with his victory at Centenary on April 4. He enters the weekend with an 18-18 career record, tying him for seventh with Timm Gronseth (1985-89) on the career victories chart. Thielbar also has moved into third place in career strikeouts with 165, passing Steve Mousel (163 strikeouts from 1971-75) last weekend. Thielbar leads the staff this season with 69 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings, including a career-best 12 in his April 19 start against North Dakota State.
Senior right-hander Isaac Johnson stands in third place for career appearances with 62. Johnson is 3-0 since rejoining the starting rotation against North Dakota State, after making five consecutive relief appearances.
Reliever and fellow senior Kirby Morsching begins the weekend ranked fifth in career appearances with 58. Morsching, who has been sidelined from pitching duties in recent weeks due to injury, also ranks in a tie with Brandon Groebner (1994-97) for sixth place on the Jackrabbit career saves chart with eight.
In the fielding department, senior catcher/outfielder Tony Martin has vaulted into fifth place in career putouts with 733. In the past month, Martin moved past Russ Langer (643 putouts from 1998-2001), Chris Studer (648 from 1999-2002) and Josh Guse (663 from 1997-2000). Next on the list is Ryan Krogman, who recorded 814 putouts from 1991-94.
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.
ON DECK: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to close out the regular season by hosting a four-game Summit League series against Southern Utah.
Game times are set for 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, noon on Friday, May 15 for a doubleheader and 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 16.
Should SDSU qualify for the The Summit League Championships, the double-elimination tournament is set for May 21-23 in Tulsa, Okla.
The series opener is set for a 3 p.m. start Friday at Erv Huether Field. A doubleheader is slated for a noon start on Saturday, while the series finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children in grades K-12.
The Jackrabbits enter the Summit League series winners of their last eight league contests. SDSU has vaulted into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings with an 11-8 conference mark and stands two games behind Southern Utah for third place. Overall, the Jackrabbits are 18-26.
IPFW, meanwhile, stands in last place among the eight league teams at 3-17 in Summit League games. The Mastodons have compiled a 10-34 overall record so far in 2009.
THE SERIES: Friday's series opener will mark the 13th time SDSU and IPFW have met on the baseball diamond.
The Jackrabbits won each of the first nine games in the series that began when SDSU recorded a 13-1 victory at the 2006 Division I Independent Tournament in Sioux Falls. During IPFW's only other trip to Brookings, SDSU swept a four-game series to close out the 2007 home schedule.
IPFW cracked the win column last season against the Jackrabbits, winning two of the three games played May 9-10 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Mastodons won the opener, 5-2, before the two teams split a doubleheader on May 10, with SDSU winning Game 1, 8-6, and IPFW taking the nitecap, 2-0. The series finale was rained out.
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 was 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).
LAST WEEKEND: The Jackrabbits ran their Summit League winning streak to eight games after sweeping a four-game series from Oakland University (Mich.) May 1-3 at Erv Huether Field.
SDSU opened the series with a 15-6 victory on May 1, tying a season-high with 21 hits. Joel Blake hit a pair of home runs, including an eighth-inning grand slam, as the Jackrabbits overcame a 5-3 deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Jackrabbits swept a doubleheader on May 2, winning the opener 12-4, before rallying for a 6-5 victory in Game 2. Stephen Turner went 4-for-5 and was a double shy of the cycle, while also driving in two runs. John Lee added four hits and four RBI, with Jesse Ayala contributing three hits, including a home run.
In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Zach Briggs dumped a two-run single down the right field line with one out in the seventh inning to cap a four-run seventh inning as the Jackrabbits won in their last at-bat. Blake hit a two-run homer to pull SDSU to within a run, and the rally continued as Lee singled and Jesse Sawyer followed with a double.
Freshman Layne Somsen earned his first collegiate victory as he recorded his second complete game of the season.
SDSU completed the sweep with another come-from-behind victory on May 3. Trailing 3-0, Sawyer tied the game with a three-run run home run in the fifth inning. The Jackrabbits took the lead for good in the seventh inning on a two-run home run by Stephen Turner, and extended the lead to 8-5 on solo home runs by Lee and Tony Martin in the eighth inning.
Caleb Thielbar pitched the final four innings to earn the victory. The senior southpaw struck out four, while scattering six hits.
Of the 41 runs the Jackrabbits scored in the series, 25 came in the sixth inning or later.
SAWYER SIZZLING: South Dakota State University third baseman Jesse Sawyer received regional and national accolades following an impressive week at the plate for the Jackrabbit baseball team from April 20-26.
Named the Summit League Player of the Week on April 27, Sawyer also was recognized by College Baseball Insider as its Central Region Player of the Week and was named a member of the National All-Star Lineup by the College Baseball Foundation. In addition, Sawyer was honored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as its National Co-Hitter of the Week.
A sophomore from Calgary, Alberta, and a product of the Prairie Baseball Academy, Sawyer homered in six of the Jackrabbits' eight games during the week, including three two-home-run games. In leading SDSU to a 7-1 record, Sawyer hit .500 (14-for-28) with nine home runs and 15 runs batted in, tallying a 1.536 slugging percentage. He also walked seven times for a .641 on-base percentage and scored 19 runs.
Sawyer put together a streak of five consecutive games with a home run ? one shy of the school record. He homered in all four games of home-and-home doubleheaders against North Dakota on April 20 and 22, and extended his streak in the opening game of a four-game series at Summit League opponent Western Illinois on April 24. He closed the WIU series with two home runs on April 26.
TGIF: Joel Blake has been a terror at the plate the last two Fridays, combining to go 8-for-13 with five home runs, two doubles, 12 runs batted in and seven runs scored in games against Western Illinois and Oakland.
In its last three Summit League series openers, all of which have been played on a Friday, SDSU has scored 53 runs (19 vs. North Dakota State, 19 at Western Illinois and 15 vs. Oakland).
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: The Jackrabbits have put up some big offensive numbers during their current eight-game Summit League winning streak.
As a team, the Jackrabbits have out-scored the opponents by a 106-58 margin, hit .430 (132-of-307) as a team and tallied 26 home runs.
Individually, Tony Martin has led SDSU with a .514 batting average (18-for-35), with Stephen Turner hitting .500 (19-for-38) with six home runs and 22 runs batted in, along with a 1.105 slugging percentage.
As a team, the Jackrabbits have slugged .779 in their last four games, with Jesse Sawyer leading the way with a 1.118 slugging percentage.
TURNER ON A HOT STREAK: For the second week in a row, the South Dakota State University baseball team has the Summit League Player of the Week.
Senior first baseman Stephen Turner was honored Monday after helping lead the Jackrabbits to a 4-1 record and into the driver's seat for a berth in the league postseason tournament later this month. A native of Torrance, Calif., Turner extended his hitting streak to 14 games, compiling a .409 batting average (9-for-22) and an .818 slugging percentage last week.
In a four-game series against Oakland (Mich.) over the weekend, Turner hit .444 (8-for-18) with two home runs and six runs batted in. His go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning of the series finale propelled the Jackrabbits to a sweep of the series and a four-game lead for the final playoff spot with two weekends to play. In the second game of the series, Turner went 4-for-5 with a home run, triple and two singles.
During his 14-game hitting streak, Turner is hitting .433 (26-for-60) with seven home runs, 25 runs batted in and an .867 slugging percentage. Turner has put together seven multi-hit games during his current streak and has hit safely in 19 of the last 20 games.
LEE LOCKED IN: After a slow start to the 2009 season, Jackrabbit right fielder John Lee has turned into one of the team's most consistent hitters in recent weeks.
The Mason City, Iowa, native entered the month of April batting only .192. In 26 games, including 25 starts, since April 1, Lee has raised his batting average by 131 points to .323 by going 40-of-103 (.388) at the plate with eight doubles, three triples, six home runs and 22 runs batted in while batting second in the lineup. He has tallied a .699 slugging percentage and scored 30 times.
Lee began his collegiate career at Nebraska before returning home to play at North Iowa Area Community College.
PIECZYNSKI IN NEW ROLE: South Dakota State right-hander Sam Pieczynski has made the transition from setup man to starter during the 2009 season.
A junior from Des Moines, Iowa, Pieczynski made 22 career relief appearances before making his first career start at Centenary (La.) on April 4. After losing his first two decisions of the season, Pieczynski has turned in back-to-back winning performances. Working under a pre-determined pitch count, he pitched the first three innings of the April 17 game against North Dakota State, then pitched a career-best 6 1/3 innings in an April 20 victory over North Dakota.
Pieczynski is the scheduled starter for the series opener on Friday.
PITCHING PROWESS: Despite earning only a split of the four-game series against North Dakota State April 17-19, the Jackrabbit pitching staff put together its best series of the season.
SDSU did not allow more than three runs in any of the four games, compiling a team earned-run aveerage of 1.06 over 34 innings of work. Jackrabbit pitchers surrendered only 23 hits as the Bison batted only .187 for the series. In addition, SDSU hurlers combined for 24 strikeouts and only seven bases on balls.
In the series finale, senior left-hander Caleb Thielbar struck out a career-high 12 batters and walked only one in a losing effort.
Freshman Layne Somsen pitched the first complete game by a Jackrabbit this season in the second game of a doubleheader on April 18. The Yankton native allowed only one unearned run over seven innings, striking out four and walking four.
In the first game of the twinbill, Isaac Johnson mark his return to the starting rotation by giving up only one run in six innings. Johnson struck out two and walked one, while giving up four hits.
SDSU opened the series with a 19-0 victory over North Dakota State. Five pitchers combined on the first Jackrabbit shutout of the season: Sam Pieczynski worked the first three innings, followed by two innings each by Mike Robinson and Blaine Alberta. Trever Vermeulen and Matt Spinar worked the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
GRAND ENTRANCE: Freshman Zach Briggs hit the first grand slam by a Jackrabbit player this season, capping the scoring in SDSU's 19-0 rout of North Dakota State on April 17.
Briggs' eighth-inning blast also was his first collegiate home run. He added his second home run of the season in the second game of the April 22 doubleheader at North Dakota.
Splitting time behind the plate and at designated hitter, Briggs has seen his playing time increase in recent weeks. His five RBI in the April 17 game versus North Dakota State set an individual career high.
CAIN IS ABLE: Freshman Eric Cain has taken over the starting shortstop duties for the Jackrabbits this season. The Littleton, Colo., native and graduate of Dakota Ridge High School has started 26 of the team's last 28 games and 37 overall.
After tallying only one run batted in over his first 75 collegiate at-bats, Cain has driven in 15 runs in his last 54 trips to the plate. He broke the drought with a 2-for-4, three-RBI day at the plate April 17 against North Dakota State and added a pair of hits and two RBI a day later against the Bison.
Cain hit his first career home run in the second game of the April 22 doubleheader at North Dakota, and added a solo shot April 28 versus Creighton.
CANADIAN CONNECTION: SDSU has received some strong performances at the plate from a pair of Canadian newcomers, Jesse Sawyer and Joel Blake.
Sawyer, from Calgary, Alberta, leads the team with 15 home runs, 45 runs scored and a .667 slugging percentage, while ranking fifth with a .321 batting average. Sawyer, who has seen action at designated hitter, first base, third base and left field, is a two-time Summit League Player of the Week (March 16, April 27). 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.
Blake, a native of Langely, British Columbia, was the team's most consistent hitter in the early going of the season, and currently is tied for second on the team with nine home runs. Blake set a Jackrabbit season high by hitting three home runs in the series opener at Western Illinois on April 24 and added two against Oakland on May 1.
Two other Canadians are on the roster this year: freshman infielder Daniel Marra (Toronto), freshman outfielder Daniel Telford (Newmarket, Ont.).
MORE FROM MARTIN: Senior Tony Martin has picked up where he left off offensively from a season ago, when he posted the second-highest batting average by a Jackrabbit player in the Division I era.
Martin, who hit .365 in 2008, again leads the team with a .358 average this season while recently splitting time between left field and catcher. A starter in all 44 games this season, he also leads the team with 62 hits and shares the team lead with 11 doubles.
The Omaha native also has a chance to reach the 200-hit plateau this season. He enters weekend play with 189 career hits.
CAREER UPDATES: Several Jackrabbit players are moving up the career charts in the pitching and fielding categories this season.
Senior left-hander Caleb Thielbar has put his name atop two career pitching categories in recent week weeks. Thielbar took over the career lead in innings pitched at the beginning of the month and enters the weekend with 251, passing Trevor Schulte's career mark of 218.1 innings set from 1991-94. With his start April 19 against North Dakota State, the Randolph, Minn., native broke a tie with Billy McMacken (39 from 1987-90) for most career starts. Thielbar made his 41st career start against Creighton on April 28.
In addition, Thielbar is currently fourth in career appearances with 60 and joined the Jackrabbit top 10 for career victories with his victory at Centenary on April 4. He enters the weekend with an 18-18 career record, tying him for seventh with Timm Gronseth (1985-89) on the career victories chart. Thielbar also has moved into third place in career strikeouts with 165, passing Steve Mousel (163 strikeouts from 1971-75) last weekend. Thielbar leads the staff this season with 69 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings, including a career-best 12 in his April 19 start against North Dakota State.
Senior right-hander Isaac Johnson stands in third place for career appearances with 62. Johnson is 3-0 since rejoining the starting rotation against North Dakota State, after making five consecutive relief appearances.
Reliever and fellow senior Kirby Morsching begins the weekend ranked fifth in career appearances with 58. Morsching, who has been sidelined from pitching duties in recent weeks due to injury, also ranks in a tie with Brandon Groebner (1994-97) for sixth place on the Jackrabbit career saves chart with eight.
In the fielding department, senior catcher/outfielder Tony Martin has vaulted into fifth place in career putouts with 733. In the past month, Martin moved past Russ Langer (643 putouts from 1998-2001), Chris Studer (648 from 1999-2002) and Josh Guse (663 from 1997-2000). Next on the list is Ryan Krogman, who recorded 814 putouts from 1991-94.
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.
ON DECK: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to close out the regular season by hosting a four-game Summit League series against Southern Utah.
Game times are set for 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, noon on Friday, May 15 for a doubleheader and 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 16.
Should SDSU qualify for the The Summit League Championships, the double-elimination tournament is set for May 21-23 in Tulsa, Okla.
Baseball Highlights vs Omaha (05.22.2025)
Thursday, May 22
Baseball Highlights vs Oral Roberts (05.21.2025)
Wednesday, May 21
Baseball Weekly Update (05.19.2025)
Monday, May 19
Baseball Highlights vs Oral Roberts (05.17.2025)
Saturday, May 17