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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits travel to North Dakota State
5/13/2010 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team will play its final Summit League road series of the regular season, traveling to Fargo, N.D., this weekend for a four-game series against North Dakota State.
The series kicks off Friday with a single game at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field. The two teams are slated to play a doubleheader Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., followed by the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Jackrabbits enter the weekend in third place in the Summit League standings with a 13-7 league record after winning three of four games last weekend against Oral Roberts (Okla.). Overall, SDSU is 30-16.
NDSU, meanwhile, is tied with Southern Utah for the fourth spot in the league standings at 9-10. The Bison enter the weekend 20-24 overall after taking three of four games from Oakland (Mich.) last weekend in Fargo.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio webcasts of all four games of the series are tentatively scheduled to be available free of charge at GoJacks.com — the official website of South Dakota State University Athletics. Coverage, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play, begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch each day.
Broadcasts will be contingent on the success of the Jackrabbit softball team, which is competing in the Summit League Championship this weekend in Fargo. At minimum, Sunday's series finale will be broadcast on GoJacks.com. A video feed of all four games will be available through the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service, but will not be included in the free promotion.
Check GoJacks.com throughout the weekend for updated broadcast schedules.
Please note that all broadcasts of select Jackrabbit baseball regular season games will be available only through the Jackrabbit Extra, which costs $9.95 per month for both video and audio content, or $4.95 per month for audio-only broadcasts.
Live statistics of this weekend's games will also be available at GoJacks.com.
THE SERIES: Friday's game marks the 132nd meeting between South Dakota State and North Dakota State in baseball, a series that began in 1956. SDSU holds an 86-45 series advantage, with the Jackrabbits holding a narrow 15-13 advantage since both schools moved to Division I at the start of the 2005 season. NDSU holds a 10-5 edge in games played in Fargo since 2005.
Last season, the Jackrabbits and NDSU split a four-game series played at Erv Huether Field in Brookings April 17-19, 2009. SDSU dominated the first two games of the series, winning by scores of 19-0 and 13-3. The Bison limited SDSU to one run in the final two games of the series, posting 1-0 and 3-1 victories.
SUMMIT LEAGUE RACE: SDSU was picked to finish third in the eight-team Summit League race, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league's coaches.
Oral Roberts, the winner of the last 12 Summit League titles, received seven of eight first-place votes to earn the top spot in the poll with 49 points. Centenary (La.) was picked second with 39 points, followed by SDSU with 36 points, including one first-place vote.
Rounding out the poll were: Southern Utah (30), North Dakota State (27), Oakland (16), IPFW (14) and Western Illinois (13).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: For the third time this season, the South Dakota State University baseball team has swept the Summit League's weekly awards.
Honored Monday as Summit League Player of the Week was junior first baseman Joel Blake, while Trever Vermeulen was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week and fourth time this season.
Blake, a native of Langley, British Columbia, batted .500 (7-for-14) with five runs batted in and five runs scored as SDSU defeated Oral Roberts in three of four games in a weekend series at Erv Huether Field. Five of Blake's hits were doubles as he increased his Jackrabbit single-season record total to 26. Blake, who hit safely in all four games, recorded an .857 slugging percentage and also walked three times to post a .588 on-base percentage.
A junior right-hander from Mitchell, Vermeulen made three appearances out of the bullpen and recorded victories in each of the first two games of the series as SDSU won in its last at-bat both days. Vermeulen also pitched in the third game of the series, logging a total of six shutout innings to lower his earned run average to 0.72. He struck out six batters, including the side in ninth inning of the series opener, and allowed only one walk.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: South Dakota State has positioned itself atop the Summit League n most offensive categories heading into the final two weeks of league play.
The Jackrabbits entered the week with a league-best .350 team batting average. Nine SDSU players with 100 or more at-bats are hitting better than .300, including three who are at or near the .400 mark: John Lee, .410; Eric Cain, .396, and Billy Stitz, .389.
SDSU enters this weekend's series averaging 9.7 runs per game, a figure that not only leads The Summit League but ranks sixtth nationally. The Jackrabbits also rank seventh in total runs scored (446) and are ninth in team batting average.
The Jackrabbits have reached double digits for runs scored 20 times. Three times this season, the Jackrabbits have scored 10 or more runs in an inning.
SDSU has registered double figures in the hit column in 31 of 46 games so far this season, including games of 26 at Air Force on March 7 and 25 at Dallas Baptist in the first game of a doubleheader on April 3. In the Dallas Baptist game, SDSU hit nine home runs — the most by a Jackrabbit team in a game during the Division I era that began during the 2005 season. Three different Jackrabbit players — Jesse Sawyer, Eric Cain and Zach Rhodes — each hit two round-trippers in the game.
LEE STREAKING: Senior outfielder John Lee brings an 11-game hitting streak into Friday's series opener at North Dakota State. Lee's current streak matches the longest by a Jackrabbit player this season, previously recorded by Eric Cain and Beau Hanowski.
Lee opened the season with an eight-game hitting streak (Feb. 26-March 9) and added a 10-game hitting streak (April 9-20) before starting his current streak. Overall, he has hit safely in 22 of the last 24 games.
The left-handed hitting Lee is batting .375 (15-for-40) during his most recent streak, with three home runs, 14 runs batted in and 14 runs scored. He hit a pair of home runs in the first game of a May 8 doubleheader against Oral Roberts.
NEW ROTATION: None of the four Jackrabbit starting pitchers for last weekend's series threw a pitch for SDSU last season.
True freshmen Stephen Bougher and Shane Kraemer book-ended the rotation last week, with Bougher drawing the series-opener assignment on Friday and Kraemer pitching the series finale on Sunday.
Blake Treinen, who started Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, is off to a 5-0 start in his first season pitching for the Jackrabbits. Game 2 starter Jared Koch was a member of the SDSU rotation in 2008, but sat out the entire 2009 season due to injury. Koch has started five games this season, but none in Summit League play.
CANADIAN CONNECTION: The Jackrabbits have received strong performances from a group of Canadian imports so far this season.
Three products of the Prairie Baseball Academy have been mainstays in the batting order so far this season.
Joel Blake, who has split time between first base, left field and catcher this season, is batting .377 so far in 2010. Blake has already notched 26 doubles this season, breaking his own school record of 21 set in 2009. After tying for the school record with 80 hits in 2009, Blake has upped his career hits total to 155 in only 100 career games.
Returning all-conference third baseman Jesse Sawyer leads the team with 13 home runs and a .667 slugging percentage, while tying for second on the team with 52 runs batted in. Sawyer, who hit a single-season school-record 19 home runs in 2009, has 32 home runs in 102 career games.
Newcomer Zach Rhodes is hitting .339 (42-of-124) with four home runs, 27 runs batted in and 35 runs scored, while playing mostly as the team's designated hitter. He tied a Division I-era individual record with three doubles in the second game of an April 28
doubleheader against North Dakota.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Telford has moved into a regular starting role in left field or at designated hitter this season. He is hitting .339 and has added four home runs and 34 RBI in 115 at-bats.
Left-handed pitcher Shane Kraemer has solidified the Jackrabbit starting rotation, posting a 3-3 record and 6.39 earned run average in 15 appearances, including eight starts. He was the winning pitcher in relief in the Jackrabbits' first victory of the season, Feb. 27 against Murray State (Ky.), and made his first career start March 6 at Air Force.
Infielder Daniel Marra is sidelined by a hand injury that has prevented him from playing this season.
LIGHTS OUT: The SDSU bullpen set the tone for the season with a strong collective effort in the first series of the season, Feb. 26-28 at Murray State (Ky.).
The Jackrabbits allowed only one earned run in 12 1/3 innings during the three-game series, including seven innings of one-run baseball in the middle game of the series.
So far this season, the Jackrabbits are 23-1 when leading after six innings and a perfect 16-0 when leading after eight.
Junior Trever Vermeulen has been the anchor of the bullpen so far this season. The reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Week, Vermeulen is one-third of an inning away from meeting the required 50 innings to qualify for the national lead in earned run average at 0.72. A three-time Summit League Pitcher of the Week this season, Vermeulen has not allowed an earned run in his last 13 appearances (25.1 innings), nor has he allowed any run — earned or unearned — in Summit League play (10 appearances, 20 innings).
In addition, Vermeulen leads The Summit League with nine saves, while limiting opponentsto a .213 batting average. In seven of the nine games he has recorded a save, Vermeulen has pitched more than one full inning.
Also out of the bullpen, junior transfer Alex Oberle has picked up six of his team-high seven victories in relief. Oberle's lone victory as a starter came in the Jackrabbits' win at nationally ranked Arkansas on March 9.
RAISING CAIN: Sophomore shortstop Eric Cain has emerged as a top threat in the SDSU lineup this season.
A native of Littleton, Colo., Cain has been honored as Summit League Player of the Week on two occasions this season. He set a career high with seven runs batted in March 20 at Northern Colorado and became the first Jackrabbit in the Division I era to record six hits in a game, accomplishing the feat in the first game of an April 3 doubleheader at Dallas Baptist (Texas). Cain had an 11-game hitting streak earlier this season.
Overall, Cain has established a new Jackrabbit single-season record with 66 runs batted in, while also tallying 76 hits, 12 home runs and 125 total bases.
STITZ IN BUNCHES: Jackrabbit center fielder Billy Stitz has collected hits in bunches throughout the 2010 season.
A junior from Burnsville, Minn., Stitz has turned in 31 multi-hit games to post a league-best 84 hits so far this season. With his hot hitting, Stitz has upped his career hit total to 207, putting him in a tie with former teammate Tony Martin (2006-09) for 10th place on the Jackrabbit career hits list.
In addition, Stitz has run his consecutive games started streak to 106, dating back to the 2008 season. Stitz has started 104 games in center field, while drawing two starts at second base.
LEE HONORED ACADEMICALLY: South Dakota State University outfielder John Lee has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Baseball Team.
A senior from Mason City, Iowa, Lee earned a spot on the 10-member University Division first team with a 3.89 grade-point average while majoring in chemistry. He will advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration later this month.
A two-year starter in right field for the Jackrabbits, Lee currently leads the team with a .411 batting average and 56 runs scored. He also has tallied seven home runs, 45 runs batted in and five stolen bases in 39 games.
Selections to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Team are based on votes by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America from South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore in athletic standing, maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.3 and be a starter or key reserve.
COACH PRICE: Ritchie Price returns for his second season as head coach of the South Dakota State University baseball team in 2010.
The youngest head baseball coach at the Division I level, Price has compiled a 56-46 coaching record. In 2009, he directed a dramatic mid-season turnaround during his inaugural season with the Jackrabbits. After starting the 2009 campaign with a 5-22 overall record and 1-6 mark in Summit League play, the Jackrabbits went 19-6 over the final five weeks of the regular season to earn the third seed in the Currington Mortgage Summit League Championship.
At the league tournament, the Jackrabbits dropped their opening game to Southern Utah but came back to defeat both Centenary (La.) and Southern Utah the next day to advance to the title series, where they lost to perennial Summit League champion Oral Roberts.
Overall, SDSU finished the 2009 season with a 26-30 record, including a 17-10 slate in Summit League regular season games.
Price began his association with the Jackrabbit baseball program by serving as infield and third base coach 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 comes from a baseball family. 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 Conterence 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, this is most certainly 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. He received his master's degree in health, physical education and recreation with an emphasis in sports pedagogy from South Dakota State in the summer of 2009.
THE ROSTER: The 2010 SDSU baseball roster features 28 players from 11 different states plus Canada. Of the 30 players, six are from South Dakota, while three are from each of the states of Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota. Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington are represented by one player each. In addition, six players are from Canada. By class, six are seniors, nine are juniors, eight are sophomores, one is a redshirt freshmen and six are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The South Dakota State University baseball team's final home series has been shortened by one day.
Instead of a four-game series played over three days, the Jackrabbits and Western Illinois now will play a pair of doubleheaders May 21 and 22 at Erv Huether Field. Start time is noon each day. The teams will play a pair of nine-inning games on May 21, followed by one nine-inning game and a seven-inning contest on May 22 to conclude the regular season.
The change to the schedule was made after Western Illinois was able to reschedule its series at Centenary (La.) for May 17-18. The series had been postponed following the death of a WIU player in a motorcycle accident last week.
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/ BaseballSunday, May 31
Saturday, May 30
Saturday, May 30
Thursday, May 28