Jacks open 2011 season in Texas

After a record-breaking 2010 season, the South Dakota State University baseball team will take to the diamond for the first time in 2011, opening the season this weekend with three games at the UTA Invitational in Arlington, Texas.
The Jackrabbits, who tied the school record for wins last season with a 39-21 overall record, open play Friday against host Texas-Arlington. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark on the UTA campus. The Mavericks, who finished the 2010 season 29-31 overall and 19-14 in the Southland Conference, are off to an 0-3 start this year after being swept by Houston last week.
On Saturday, the Jackrabbits will square off against Dallas Baptist (Texas) in an 11 a.m. contest. The Patriots are off to a 4-0 start after sweeping Indiana State last weekend and recording a victory at Oklahoma State earlier this week. A Division I independent, DBU won two of three games against SDSU last season in Dallas and finished the year 28-27 overall.
SDSU closes out play Sunday with an 11 a.m. matchup against Missouri State. The Bears have posted a 1-3 record so far this season after opening the season at the Texas State Tournament last week. MSU defeated the host team, but dropped games to Air Force, Washington and Nebraska.
Links to live stats from each game will be available through GoJacks.com.

THE SERIES: Friday's game against Texas-Arlington will mark the first time the two squads have met in 26 years. UTA won both previous meetings against the Jackrabbits, sweeping a two-game series on its home field in 1985.
SDSU will attempt to even its all-time series against Dallas Baptist. Last year's first-ever series between the two teams featured 78 runs scored in the three games, with DBU recording wins of 12-9 and 21-5, while the Jackrabbits registered a 23-8 victory behind a Division I-era record nine home runs.
The Jackrabbits and Missouri State have met five times since the series began in 2007, with all previous games played in Springfield, Mo. SDSU has won the last three meetings, winning the series finale in 2007 and sweeping a two-game set in 2009.

SUMMIT LEAGUE RACE: After earning a share of the Summit League regular season baseball title last season, the South Dakota State University baseball team has been picked to finish second in the 2011 race, according to a poll of league coaches announced earlier this month.
Oral Roberts, which has won 13 consecutive league titles, received seven of the eight first-place votes to earn the No. 1 spot in the poll. SDSU received the other first-place vote to place second, followed by Oakland and Southern Utah in a tie for third place. The lower half of the poll consisted of Western Illinois, North Dakota State, Centenary (La.) and IPFW.
Conference play begins April 8-10, when the Jackrabbits travel to Western Illinois for a four-game series. In all, SDSU is slated to play 28 league games before hosting the Summit League Championships May 26-28 in Sioux Falls.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: South Dakota State University seniors Trever Vermeulen and Jesse Sawyer have each been honored on the preseason All-America baseball team selected by College Baseball Lineup.
A second-team selection as a relief pitcher, Vermeulen was named to his third preseason All-America team. A Mitchell native, Vermeulen was a first-team all-Summit League selection in 2010 after leading the league with single-season school records of 10 saves and 35 appearances. He compiled a 9-1 record, struck out 62 batters in 68 1/3 innings and posted a league-leading 1.45 earned run average.
Earlier in the preseason, Vermeulen was named to the 2011 Proline Athletic National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Second Team and the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Third Team, as chosen by Collegiate Baseball.
Sawyer was a third-team selection as a third baseman to the College Baseball Lineup Preseason All-America Team. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Sawyer holds the Jackrabbits' single-season home run record of 19 - accomplishing the feat in both 2009 and 2010. A two-time all-Summit League performer, Sawyer hit .359 with 73 runs batted in last season, while drawing a single-season school-record 50 bases on balls. .

SEASON PREVIEW: With nearly its entire starting lineup returning from last season's record-setting squad, the Jackrabbit baseball team enters the 2011 campaign with high expectations.
Infield
Four players who earned all-Summit League recognition last season return to the SDSU infield, anchored by seniors and first-team all-league performers Joel Blake and Jesse Sawyer at the corner infield spots.
Blake was a model of consistency both at the plate and in the field as he moved from the outfield to first base in 2010. The Langley, British Columbia, native led all of NCAA Division I with a school-record 33 doubles, while batting .391 with eight home runs and 66 runs batted in. He also turned in a .996 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 468 total chances.
Sawyer repeated as a first-team all-league honoree in 2010, tying his own school record with 19 home runs, while hitting .359 with 73 runs batted in. The Calgary, Alberta, native, recorded team bests with .700 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage after drawing a school-record 50 walks as he was pitched around most of the season.
Second-team all-Summit League selection Eric Cain completes the left side of the infield. Cain turned in a breakthrough 2010 season by leading the team with a school-record 83 runs batted in and ranking second with 16 home runs.
Behind the plate, second-team all-league performer Zach Briggs also returns. Briggs batted .330 with nine home runs and 45 RBI in 51 starts. He will be backed up by Blake and sophomore Nick Andrews.
The second base starting position is expected to be up for grabs between sophomores Andrew Melton and Daniel Marra. Melton started 29 games last season, batting .305 with two home runs and 24 RBI to go along with a .982 fielding percentage. Marra missed all of last season due to injury after seeing limited action during his freshman season in 2009.
Outfield
Senior Billy Stitz returns to lead the Jackrabbit outfielders after rewriting the record book in 2010. A four-year starter in center field, Stitz shattered the SDSU single-season hits record with 111 in 2010, breaking the previous mark by 31. He also set Jackrabbit single-season marks for at-bats (283), runs (75) and total bases (163), and should put his name atop the career charts in many of the same categories in 2011.
Flanking Stitz are Beau Hanowski in left field and Daniel Telford in right field. Hanowski, a junior, became the everyday left fielder midway through the 2010 season and responded by hitting .337 with 27 runs batted in, and adding eight stolen bases. Telford is the leading candidate to replace all-league performer John Lee after batting .311 with five home runs and 40 RBI in 2010. A sophomore, Telford split time between left field and designated hitter during his freshman season.
Zach Rhodes, who also handled designated hitter duties last season, may see more action in the outfield in 2011. A left-handed hitter, Rhodes batted .350 with eight home runs, 14 doubles and 38 RBI, finishing the season with a strong performance in the Summit League Championship.
Bench
With an experienced lineup, the Jackrabbits will look for ways to find playing time for some of their newcomers.
Redshirt freshman Phil Paquette and junior college transfer Andrew Phelan will vie for time at the corner outfield spots, along with senior Zach Higgins.
On the infield, true freshmen Aaron Machbitz and Kolton Emery are expected to factor into the mix at first base and second base, respectively, with Machbitz also a candidate to see time at designated hitter.
Senior Erik DeJong can play either corner infield position and also likely will see action as a setup man out of the Jackrabbit bullpen.
Pitching
The Jackrabbits return one of the top closers in the nation and three-fourths of their regular starting rotation, but questions remain due to injuries and inexperience.
Anchoring the pitching staff is All-America reliever Trever Vermeulen. In 2010, Vermeulen posted a 9-1 record with 1.45 earned run average and a school-record 10 saves in earning third-team All-America recognition from Pro-Line Athletic and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Senior Blake Treinen proved to be a front-line starter as he earned first-team all-Summit League recognition while compiling a 7-1 record. In his first season competing at the collegiate level, Treinen struck out 82 batters in 75 1/3 innings.
Sophomore Stephen Bougher was the lone Jackrabbit pitcher to earn a start in every Summit League series, finishing the year with a 2-4 overall record.
Fellow sophomore Shane Kraemer made 10 starts overall and ended the year with a 4-3 record. The left-hander fanned 41 batters in 50 innings. However, Kraemer is expected to be sidelined by injury for the first couple of weeks, and is expected to be replaced in the rotation by senior Alex Oberle.
Oberle proved to be a valuable swing man for the Jackrabbits last season as he appeared in 23 games - four starts - and ranked second on the team in victories with an 8-5 record.
Junior Austin Busse also has filled the role of long reliever and spot starter during his first two seasons at SDSU, posting a 1-1 record in 17 appearances in 2010.
SDSU is expected to get a boost in its bullpen around the start of Summit League play when freshman Marcus Heemstra joins the team following the completion of the men's basketball season. Freshman Eric Dzurisin and senior Matt Spinar round out the pitching staff.
The Jackrabbits likely will be without the services of sophomore Layne Somsen and redshirt freshman Brett Young for most, if not all of the 2011 season, after both suffered arm injuries.
Rule Changes
Whether the Jackrabbits can match their offensive prowess from the 2010 season is in question due to a change in bats which reduces the rebound velocity, thereby giving the bats more of a wood bat feel.
"Nobody knows how its going to play out style-wise, but our approach is going to be doing exactly what we've been doing," SDSU head coach Ritchie Price said. The Jackrabbits ranked in the top 10 among Division I programs in a number of offensive categories last season, including: batting average (fourth, .350), scoring (fourth, 9.6 runs per game), doubles (fifth, 163), hits (seventh, 769) and slugging percentage (eighth, .553).
Another rule change this season is designed to speed up the game as a limit of 90 seconds between innings is to be enforced.
The Schedule
SDSU is scheduled to play a mix of mid-major and major-conference opponents during the non-conference portion of its schedule, which includes 19 consecutive road games to open the season.
The Jackrabbits will travel Nebraska and Iowa in March, while playing a home-and-home series with Minnesota in April. Other non-conference games include series at Tennessee-Martin, Austin Peay (Tenn.), Creighton (Neb.) and Northern Colorado.
"I like the fact we're playing more home games and there's fewer long road trips, so I'm hoping that will keep us fresher later in the year," Price said.
The Jackrabbits open what is expected to be a competitive Summit League slate with a four-game series Apr. 8-10 at Western Illinois.
SDSU will serve as the host for the Summit League Championship scheduled for May 26-28 in Sioux Falls.
"Our guys are really excited to get to play in front of our home crowd," Price said. "It will be a good environment and good venue for the event. For our older guys, guys who been through so much, it will be a good culmination to their careers."

NATIONAL LEADERS: Individually, several Jackrabbit players ranked among the top 30 Division I players in the national statistical rankings in a variety of categories during the 2010 season:
Joel Blake
• Doubles: 1st, 33
• Doubles per Game: 3rd, .55
• Hits: 19th, 99
Eric Cain
• Runs Batted In: 11th, 83
• Runs Batted In per Game: 15th, 1.38
John Lee
• Runs: 22nd, 74
• Runs per Game: 28th, 1.25
Jesse Sawyer
• Bases on Balls: 23rd, 50
• Runs: 28th, 72
Billy Stitz
• Hits: 3rd, 111
• Doubles: 15th, 26
• Doubles Per Game: 30th, .43
• Runs: 17th, 75
• Runs per Game: 30th, 1.25
Trever Vermeulen
• Earned Run Average: 4th, 1.45
• Saves: 28th, 10

RECORD WATCH: Four Jackrabbit seniors - Joel Blake, Jesse Sawyer, Billy Stitz and Trever Vermeuelen - are on pace to further rewrite the SDSU record book this season.
"They've all made a huge impact on the program in establishing SDSU as legitimate Division I team," head coach Ritchie Price said.
Following is a look at where the SDSU quartet currently stand in a number of career categories:
Joel Blake
• Doubles: Tied for first with 54 (tied with Greg Geary, 2002-05)
Jesse Sawyer
• Bases on Balls: 10th with 80 (record: 123, by Dave Lane, 1983-86);
• Home Runs: Third with 38 (record: 43, by Greg Geary, 2002-05);
• Runs Batted In: outside top 10 with 131 (record: 192, by Billy McMacken, 1987-90);
• Slugging Percentage: Second at .700 (record: .713 by Billy McMackenm, 1987-90)
Billy Stitz
• At-Bats: Fifth with 670 (record: 779, by Nick Adams, 2005-08);
• Doubles: Tied for fifth with 48 (record: 54, by Blake (2009-present), Geary (2002-05));
• Games Played: outside top 10 with 162 (record: 207, by Nick Adams, 2005-08)
• Hits: Third with 234 (record: 256, by Greg Geary, 2002-05);
• Runs Batted In: outside top 10 with 137 (record: 192, by Billy McMacken, 1987-90);
• Runs Scored: outside top 10 with 143 (record: 173, by Korby Mintken, 2005-08);
• Total Bases: Fifth with 357 (record: 439, by Greg Geary (2002-05)
Trever Vermeulen
• Appearances: Sixth with 61 (record: 71, by Gary Olechoski, 2003-06);
• Earned Run Average: Second at 2.26 (record: 2.09 by Bob Ehrke, 1954-56);
• Saves: Second with 13 (record: 14, by Gary Olechoski, 2003-06)

COACH PRICE: Ritchie Price prepares for his third season as head coach of the South Dakota State University baseball team in 2011.
The youngest head baseball coach at the Division I level, Price has compiled a 65-51 career record with the Jackrabbits, including a breakthrough 39-21 season in 2010 as he was named Summit League Coach of the Year. SDSU tied a school record for most wins in a season, shared the regular season league title and earned the No. 1 seed for the Summit League Championship after becoming the first league team to win a four-game regular season series from perennial conference champion Oral Roberts. Also included in the record-tying 39 victories were a win at nationally ranked and returning College World Series qualifier Arkansas, a three-game season sweep of Big Ten Conference champion Minnesota and a win over the third-place team in the Big Ten, Iowa.
En route to their second consecutive appearance in the Summit League title series, the Jackrabbits re-wrote the record book in 2010, establishing new standards in eight different offensive categories, including batting average (.350), hits (769), runs scored (578), home runs (84) and runs batted in (549). SDSU was far from one-dimensional, however, as the Jackrabbits also set a new single-season record for fielding percentage at .972 and relief pitcher Trever Vermeulen became the first player in the Division I era to earn All-America recognition. The Jackrabbits' eight all-league honorees led The Summit League.
In 2009, Price 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, SDSU 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 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. During his tenure, two SDSU players have been drafted by Major League teams: left-handed pitcher Caleb Thielbar in the 18th round of the 2009 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and right-handed pitcher Blake Treinen in the 23rd round of the 2010 draft by the Florida Marlins.
A native of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Price comes from a baseball family. His two brothers - Ryne and Robby - also 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 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. Price started with the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League, but also spent a week in Class A, playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League.

THE ROSTER: The 2011 SDSU baseball roster features 29 players from 10 different states plus Canada. Of the 28 players, six are from South Dakota, while four are from each of the states of Colorado and Texas. Minnesota is represented by three players, while California, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington feature one player each. In addition, six players are from Canada. By class, nine are seniors, seven are juniors, seven are sophomores, two are redshirt freshmen and four are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will embark on their Spring Break trip, playing six games in the state of Tennessee. SDSU is scheduled to play a four-game series at Tennessee-Martin March 4-6, followed by a two-game set March 8-9 at Austin Peay.

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Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Nick Andrews

Joel Blake

Stephen Bougher

Zach Briggs

Austin Busse

Eric Cain

Erik DeJong

Kolton Emery

Beau Hanowski

Marcus Heemstra

Zach Higgins

Shane Kraemer

John Lee

Aaron Machbitz

Daniel Marra

Andrew Melton

Alex Oberle

Phil Paquette

Andrew Phelan

Zach Rhodes

Jesse Sawyer

Layne Somsen

Matt Spinar

Billy Stitz

Daniel Telford

Blake Treinen

Trever Vermeulen

Brett Young

Completed Event: Baseball versus Arizona State on May 30, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 17

Completed Event: Baseball at Nebraska on May 29, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 4

Completed Event: Baseball versus Oral Roberts on May 23, 2026 , Win , 9, to, 6

Completed Event: Baseball versus Oral Roberts on May 23, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 4

Completed Event: Baseball versus Northern Colorado on May 21, 2026 , Win , 2, to, 1

Completed Event: Baseball versus Oral Roberts on May 20, 2026 , Win , 7, to, 3

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