Completed Event: Baseball versus Arizona State on May 30, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 17
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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits close regular season with WIU
5/20/2010 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team will play its final home series of the season, hosting Western Illinois in a pair of doubleheaders Friday and Saturday at Erv Huether Field.
Action begins at noon each day. Friday's doubleheader will consist of two nine-inning games, with Saturday's twinbill featuring a nine-inning game followed by a seven-inning contest. The Jackrabbits' six seniors will be honored on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits, who have secured one of four spots in next week's Summit League Championship in Tulsa, Okla., enter the weekend with a 34-18 overall record. SDSU's 34 victories are tied with the 2007 squad (34-19) for the most in the program's Division I era.
SDSU is tied with Oral Roberts for second place with a 16-8 mark in league play, one game behind Centenary (La.) in the loss column. The league-leading Gents play a four-game series at IPFW this weekend, while Oral Roberts is hosting North Dakota State.
The fourth and final spot is up for grabs between Southern Utah, IPFW, NDSU and Oakland.
Western Illinois, meanwhile, is last in The Summit League with a 5-18 conference mark. The Fighting Leathernecks are 13-36 overall under first-year coach Mike Villano.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio webcasts of all four games of the series are scheduled to broadcast through the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com — the official website of South Dakota State University Athletics. Coverage, with Travis Kriens calling the play-by-play, begins at 11:45 a.m. each day.
Live statistics of this weekend's games will also be available at GoJacks.com.
THE SERIES: Friday's first game will mark the eighth meeting between South Dakota State and Western Illinois in baseball, a series that began in 2006. SDSU holds a 5-2 advantage, winning the first-ever meeting between the two programs on March 31, 2006, and sweeping a four-game series last season in Macomb, Ill.
The Fighting Leathernecks will be making their first appearance in Brookings. A four-game series scheduled to be played at Erv Huether Field in April 2008 was canceled due to a snow storm.
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).
RECENT ACTION: The Jackrabbits secured a berth in the upcoming Summit League Championship by winning three of four games at North Dakota State last weekend.
SDSU's starting pitchers accounted for 26.1 of the 33 innings pitched during the weekend, with the staff compiling a 3.27 ERA. Jackrabbit pitchers combined to strike out 24 batters and walk only four in the four games, and allowed only 29 hits, holding the Bison to a .238 team batting average.
Offensively, the Jackrabbits recorded 20 doubles in the four games, including a Division I-era record with 11 two-baggers in the series opener on May 14. Jesse Sawyer and Zach Rhodes tied an individual single-game high with three doubles in the opener.
Beau Hanowski was the top performer at the plate for SDSU, going 5-for-10 with a pair of doubles. Eric Cain hit .444 (8-for-18) with six runs batted in, including the go-ahead two-run single in the top of the seventh inning as the Jackrabbits rallied for a 4-2 victory.
SDSU made a return trip to the state of North Dakota on Tuesday, splitting a doubleheader in Grand Forks against the University of North Dakota.
The Jackrabbits were held to five hits in the doubleheader, but Andrew Melton and Eric Cain each hit solo home runs in the third inning of Game 2 to lead SDSU to a 2-1 victory. Trever Vermeulen pitched the final three innings to break the single-season school record for saves with 10.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Several Jackrabbit players have been honored as Summit League players of the week during the 2010 season.
Three times this season, SDSU has swept the weekly player and pitcher of the week awards, most recently first baseman Joel Blake and reliever Trever Vermeulen on May 10 after the Jackrabbits handed perennial conference power Oral Roberts its first-ever series loss in a four-game set. For Vermeulen, it was the fourth time this season and fifth time in his career he was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Two Jackrabbit players rank at or near the top of NCAA Division I statistical categories heading into this weekend's series with Western Illinois.
Junior pitcher Trever Vermeulen was leading the nation in earned run average at the start of the week, posting a miniscule 0.66 ERA. Vermeulen further lowered his ERA to 0.63 after pitching the final three innings in the Jackrabbits' 2-1 victory in the second game of a doubleheader at North Dakota on May 18. The right-hander from Mitchell has not a allowed a run — earned or unearned — to a Summit League opponent this season, a streak that covers 24.2 innings over 13 appearances.
Junior first baseman Joel Blake began the week in second place among Division I players with 29 doubles. Blake, who has set the Jackrabbit single-season doubles record each of his two seasons at SDSU, notched his 30th double of the season in the first game of the May 18 twinbill at North Dakota to tie him with Ellis Lowe of Campbell (S.C.) for the national lead.
In addition, sophomore shortstop Eric Cain ranked seventh nationally with 72 runs batted in and an average of 1.44 RBI per game, while Billy Stitz stood 10th with 90 hits.
As a team, the Jackrabbits entered the week ranked in the top 10 in six different offensive categories:
• Scoring, sixth, 9.5 runs per game;
• Doubles per game, eighth, 2.82;
• Batting average, 10th, .348;
• Doubles (total), 10th, 141;
• Hits (total), 10th, 641;
• Runs (total), 10th, 477.
TREINEN STRIVES FOR PERFECTION: Junior right-hander Blake Treinen will attempt to remain undefeated as he is scheduled to start Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader.
A native of Osage City, Kan., Treinen has posted a 6-0 record so far this season, including a 4-0 record and 3.74 ERA in Summit League play. In 33.2 innings against league foes, Treinen has struck out 39 batters. He matched a Jackrabbit single-game high during the Division I era with 12 strikeouts against Oral Roberts on May 8, then fanned 10 in his last outing, May 15 at North Dakota State.
Treinen has pitched at least 5 1/3 innings in all 10 starts this season. In Summit League play, he has pitched six or more innings in all five starts, including three seven-inning stints.
KOCH SOLIDIFIES STAFF: Senior Jared Koch has turned in a pair of strong pitching performances in recent weeks as he rejoined the starting staff after missing the entire 2009 season due to injury.
Koch, who is slated to start Game 2 of Friday's twinbill, went 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in starts against Oral Roberts and NDSU. He struck out five and walked only one in 11 innings.
A native of Cherokee, Iowa, Koch went 3-4 as he filled the No. 3 spot in the Jackrabbit rotation for much of the 2008 campaign.
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 .367 so far in 2010. Blake has already notched 30 doubles this season, breaking his own school record of 21 set in 2009. His 51 career doubles in less than two full seasons already ranks second on the Jackrabbit career charts. Blake broke a tie with Russ Langer (50 doubles from 1998-2001) in the first game of the May 18 doubleheader at North Dakota, and trails career leader Greg Geary (54 doubles from 2002-05) by three.
After tying for the then-school record with 80 hits in 2009, Blake has upped his career hits total to 161 in only 107 career games.
Returning all-conference third baseman Jesse Sawyer leads the team with 14 home runs and a .679 slugging percentage, while ranking on the team with 56 runs batted in. Sawyer, who hit a single-season school-record 19 home runs in 2009, has 33 home runs in 108 career games.
Newcomer Zach Rhodes is hitting .324 (47-of-145) with five home runs, 30 runs batted in and 38 runs scored, while playing mostly as the team's designated hitter. He has twice tied a Division I-era individual record with three doubles — in the second game of an April 28 doubleheader against North Dakota and May 14 at North Dakota State.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Telford has moved into a regular starting role in left field or at designated hitter this season. He is hitting .311 and has added five home runs and 37 RBI in 132 at-bats.
Left-handed pitcher Shane Kraemer has helped solidify the Jackrabbit pitching staff, posting a 4-3 record and 6.04 earned run average in 16 appearances, including nine 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.
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 73 runs batted in, while also tallying 85 hits, 13 home runs and 137 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 34 multi-hit games to post a league-best 91 hits so far this season. With his hot hitting, Stitz has upped his career hit total to 214, putting him in eighth place on the Jackrabbit career hits list. In addition, Stitz has set a single-season SDSU record with 242 at-bats while hitting out of the leadoff spot in 50 of 52 games.
In addition, Stitz has run his consecutive games started streak to 112, dating back to the 2008 season. Stitz has started 109 games in center field, while drawing three 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 60-48 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 30 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 Jackrabbits will make their way to Tulsa, Okla., for the Summit League Championship May 27-29 at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the Oral Roberts University campus.
A schedule for the double-elimination tournament follows:
Thursday, May 27
• Game 1, 3 p.m.
• Game 2, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28
• Game 3: First-round losers, 11 a.m. [loser eliminated]
• Game 4: First-round winners, 3 p.m. [winner to championship]
• Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 7 p.m. [loser eliminated]
Saturday, May 29
• Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
• Game 7: Championship game (if necessary), 4:30 p.m. [winner advances to NCAA Tournament]
Action begins at noon each day. Friday's doubleheader will consist of two nine-inning games, with Saturday's twinbill featuring a nine-inning game followed by a seven-inning contest. The Jackrabbits' six seniors will be honored on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits, who have secured one of four spots in next week's Summit League Championship in Tulsa, Okla., enter the weekend with a 34-18 overall record. SDSU's 34 victories are tied with the 2007 squad (34-19) for the most in the program's Division I era.
SDSU is tied with Oral Roberts for second place with a 16-8 mark in league play, one game behind Centenary (La.) in the loss column. The league-leading Gents play a four-game series at IPFW this weekend, while Oral Roberts is hosting North Dakota State.
The fourth and final spot is up for grabs between Southern Utah, IPFW, NDSU and Oakland.
Western Illinois, meanwhile, is last in The Summit League with a 5-18 conference mark. The Fighting Leathernecks are 13-36 overall under first-year coach Mike Villano.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio webcasts of all four games of the series are scheduled to broadcast through the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com — the official website of South Dakota State University Athletics. Coverage, with Travis Kriens calling the play-by-play, begins at 11:45 a.m. each day.
Live statistics of this weekend's games will also be available at GoJacks.com.
THE SERIES: Friday's first game will mark the eighth meeting between South Dakota State and Western Illinois in baseball, a series that began in 2006. SDSU holds a 5-2 advantage, winning the first-ever meeting between the two programs on March 31, 2006, and sweeping a four-game series last season in Macomb, Ill.
The Fighting Leathernecks will be making their first appearance in Brookings. A four-game series scheduled to be played at Erv Huether Field in April 2008 was canceled due to a snow storm.
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).
RECENT ACTION: The Jackrabbits secured a berth in the upcoming Summit League Championship by winning three of four games at North Dakota State last weekend.
SDSU's starting pitchers accounted for 26.1 of the 33 innings pitched during the weekend, with the staff compiling a 3.27 ERA. Jackrabbit pitchers combined to strike out 24 batters and walk only four in the four games, and allowed only 29 hits, holding the Bison to a .238 team batting average.
Offensively, the Jackrabbits recorded 20 doubles in the four games, including a Division I-era record with 11 two-baggers in the series opener on May 14. Jesse Sawyer and Zach Rhodes tied an individual single-game high with three doubles in the opener.
Beau Hanowski was the top performer at the plate for SDSU, going 5-for-10 with a pair of doubles. Eric Cain hit .444 (8-for-18) with six runs batted in, including the go-ahead two-run single in the top of the seventh inning as the Jackrabbits rallied for a 4-2 victory.
SDSU made a return trip to the state of North Dakota on Tuesday, splitting a doubleheader in Grand Forks against the University of North Dakota.
The Jackrabbits were held to five hits in the doubleheader, but Andrew Melton and Eric Cain each hit solo home runs in the third inning of Game 2 to lead SDSU to a 2-1 victory. Trever Vermeulen pitched the final three innings to break the single-season school record for saves with 10.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Several Jackrabbit players have been honored as Summit League players of the week during the 2010 season.
Three times this season, SDSU has swept the weekly player and pitcher of the week awards, most recently first baseman Joel Blake and reliever Trever Vermeulen on May 10 after the Jackrabbits handed perennial conference power Oral Roberts its first-ever series loss in a four-game set. For Vermeulen, it was the fourth time this season and fifth time in his career he was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Two Jackrabbit players rank at or near the top of NCAA Division I statistical categories heading into this weekend's series with Western Illinois.
Junior pitcher Trever Vermeulen was leading the nation in earned run average at the start of the week, posting a miniscule 0.66 ERA. Vermeulen further lowered his ERA to 0.63 after pitching the final three innings in the Jackrabbits' 2-1 victory in the second game of a doubleheader at North Dakota on May 18. The right-hander from Mitchell has not a allowed a run — earned or unearned — to a Summit League opponent this season, a streak that covers 24.2 innings over 13 appearances.
Junior first baseman Joel Blake began the week in second place among Division I players with 29 doubles. Blake, who has set the Jackrabbit single-season doubles record each of his two seasons at SDSU, notched his 30th double of the season in the first game of the May 18 twinbill at North Dakota to tie him with Ellis Lowe of Campbell (S.C.) for the national lead.
In addition, sophomore shortstop Eric Cain ranked seventh nationally with 72 runs batted in and an average of 1.44 RBI per game, while Billy Stitz stood 10th with 90 hits.
As a team, the Jackrabbits entered the week ranked in the top 10 in six different offensive categories:
• Scoring, sixth, 9.5 runs per game;
• Doubles per game, eighth, 2.82;
• Batting average, 10th, .348;
• Doubles (total), 10th, 141;
• Hits (total), 10th, 641;
• Runs (total), 10th, 477.
TREINEN STRIVES FOR PERFECTION: Junior right-hander Blake Treinen will attempt to remain undefeated as he is scheduled to start Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader.
A native of Osage City, Kan., Treinen has posted a 6-0 record so far this season, including a 4-0 record and 3.74 ERA in Summit League play. In 33.2 innings against league foes, Treinen has struck out 39 batters. He matched a Jackrabbit single-game high during the Division I era with 12 strikeouts against Oral Roberts on May 8, then fanned 10 in his last outing, May 15 at North Dakota State.
Treinen has pitched at least 5 1/3 innings in all 10 starts this season. In Summit League play, he has pitched six or more innings in all five starts, including three seven-inning stints.
KOCH SOLIDIFIES STAFF: Senior Jared Koch has turned in a pair of strong pitching performances in recent weeks as he rejoined the starting staff after missing the entire 2009 season due to injury.
Koch, who is slated to start Game 2 of Friday's twinbill, went 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in starts against Oral Roberts and NDSU. He struck out five and walked only one in 11 innings.
A native of Cherokee, Iowa, Koch went 3-4 as he filled the No. 3 spot in the Jackrabbit rotation for much of the 2008 campaign.
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 .367 so far in 2010. Blake has already notched 30 doubles this season, breaking his own school record of 21 set in 2009. His 51 career doubles in less than two full seasons already ranks second on the Jackrabbit career charts. Blake broke a tie with Russ Langer (50 doubles from 1998-2001) in the first game of the May 18 doubleheader at North Dakota, and trails career leader Greg Geary (54 doubles from 2002-05) by three.
After tying for the then-school record with 80 hits in 2009, Blake has upped his career hits total to 161 in only 107 career games.
Returning all-conference third baseman Jesse Sawyer leads the team with 14 home runs and a .679 slugging percentage, while ranking on the team with 56 runs batted in. Sawyer, who hit a single-season school-record 19 home runs in 2009, has 33 home runs in 108 career games.
Newcomer Zach Rhodes is hitting .324 (47-of-145) with five home runs, 30 runs batted in and 38 runs scored, while playing mostly as the team's designated hitter. He has twice tied a Division I-era individual record with three doubles — in the second game of an April 28 doubleheader against North Dakota and May 14 at North Dakota State.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Telford has moved into a regular starting role in left field or at designated hitter this season. He is hitting .311 and has added five home runs and 37 RBI in 132 at-bats.
Left-handed pitcher Shane Kraemer has helped solidify the Jackrabbit pitching staff, posting a 4-3 record and 6.04 earned run average in 16 appearances, including nine 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.
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 73 runs batted in, while also tallying 85 hits, 13 home runs and 137 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 34 multi-hit games to post a league-best 91 hits so far this season. With his hot hitting, Stitz has upped his career hit total to 214, putting him in eighth place on the Jackrabbit career hits list. In addition, Stitz has set a single-season SDSU record with 242 at-bats while hitting out of the leadoff spot in 50 of 52 games.
In addition, Stitz has run his consecutive games started streak to 112, dating back to the 2008 season. Stitz has started 109 games in center field, while drawing three 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 60-48 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 30 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 Jackrabbits will make their way to Tulsa, Okla., for the Summit League Championship May 27-29 at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the Oral Roberts University campus.
A schedule for the double-elimination tournament follows:
Thursday, May 27
• Game 1, 3 p.m.
• Game 2, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28
• Game 3: First-round losers, 11 a.m. [loser eliminated]
• Game 4: First-round winners, 3 p.m. [winner to championship]
• Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 7 p.m. [loser eliminated]
Saturday, May 29
• Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
• Game 7: Championship game (if necessary), 4:30 p.m. [winner advances to NCAA Tournament]
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Saturday, May 30
Saturday, May 30
Thursday, May 28