SDSU sweeps season series from Gophers

Tuesday, April 20

Huether Field

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Minnesota

4/20/2010 8:00:00 PM | Baseball

By: SDSU Sports Info

Billy Stitz delivered a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to give South Dakota State the lead for good as the Jackrabbits completed a sweep of the season series against Minnesota with a 12-11 victory Tuesday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.

The Jackrabbits improved to 21-11 on the season, including 3-0 against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers dropped to 14-23 overall.

SDSU got out of the gates quickly, scoring three times in the first inning. Stitz led off with a single, Joel Blake walked and Jesse Sawyer launched a three-run home run to left center field - his ninth round-tripper of the season.

Minnesota batted around in the third inning, taking advantage of a Jackrabbit error to score six times. Michael Kvasnicka gave the Golden Gophers their first run of the game with a two-run double and Nick O'Shea followed with a two-run homer to left against SDSU starter Jared Koch.

The Jackrabbits battled back to tie the game with a three-run home half of the third thanks to a Minnesota error, then took a 9-6 lead in the fourth inning. Stitz again started the rally with a leadoff single and scored on a Blake double down the right field line. With two outs, John Lee and Eric Cain hit back-to-back run scoring singles to close out the rally.

The lead changed hands again as Minnesota scored twice in each of the fifth and sixth innings to take a 10-9 advantage. After an intentional walk to Kvasnicka loaded the bases in the sixth, Kyle Knudson doubled down the left-field line to put the Golden Gophers back out front.

SDSU's game-winning rally started with one out as Zach Briggs walked and Daniel Telford was hit by a pitch from reliever Tim Ryan. After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, Stitz greeted the third pitcher of the inning, Luke Rasmussen, with an opposite-field double to the wall in left field.

Jackrabbit reliever Trever Vermeulen worked around a leadoff double in the top of the eighth, and SDSU added a valuable insurance run as Lee delivered another clutch two-out hit to score Blake, who led off the frame with his second double of the game.

An SDSU error in the ninth allowed Minnesota to pull back to within a run and place the tying run in scoring position, but Vermeulen coaxed leadoff hitter Troy Larson into a groundout to second base to end the game and nail down his seventh save of the season.

Alex Oberle pitched three innings of relief to earn his team-leading sixth victory of the season.

The Jackrabbits held a 15-10 advantage in hits as Cain finished the day 4-for-5 and Stitz and Lee each were 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and two runs scored.

Andy Henkemeyer was 3-for-5 to lead Minnesota at the plate.

SDSU resumes Summit League play with a four-game series Thursday through Saturday at Southern Utah.

NOTES: Minnesota leads the all-time series, 26-8, but SDSU has won five of the last seven meetings ... the Jackrabbits improved to 4-1 against Big Ten Conference opponents this season ... Vermeulen lowered his ERA to 1.05 ... SDSU pitchers issued a season-high eight walks ... Vermeulen's seven saves this season are tied for third most in a season and his 10 career saves rank in a tie for third in SDSU history ... Lee extended his hitting streak to 10 games and raised his batting average to .433 ... Blake and Stitz each notched their 17^th doubles of the season, tying them for seventh-most in a single season by a Jackrabbit player ... Sawyer hit his first home run since April 3 at Dallas Baptist (Texas)

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 12, MINNESOTA 11
MINN 006 022 001 - 11 10 1
SDSU 303 300 21X - 12 15 2
MINN: Allen Bechstein, Billy Soule (4), Tim Ryan (7), Luke Rasmussen (7), Scott Matyas (8) and Kyle Knudson. SDSU: Jared Koch, Alex Oberle (5), Trever Vermeulen (8) and Zach Briggs.
W-Oberle (6-2). L-Ryan (0-2). SV-Vermeulen (7).
HR: MINN-Nick O'Shea (5); SDSU-Jesse Sawyer (9).