Jackrabbits rally to take series from WIU

Sunday, March 22

Macomb, Ill.

12:00 PM

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

3/22/2015 4:42:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

MACOMB, Ill. – South Dakota State scored in six of the final seven innings, overcoming a pair of three-run deficits to defeat Western Illinois, 9-7, in Summit League baseball action Sunday afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.

In winning two of three games in the series, the Jackrabbits improved to 9-11 overall and 2-4 in league play. Western Illinois dropped to 4-14 overall, 2-4 in The Summit League.

After struggling to come up with a hit in several key situations during a 14-inning loss on Saturday, the Jackrabbits delivered clutch hits on a number of occasions in Sunday's contest.

Trailing 6-3 through three innings, the Jackrabbits chipped away with single runs in the next three frames. Paul Jacobson doubled in Cody Sharrow for the fourth-inning run, with Sharrow and Luke Ringhofer adding two-out, run-scoring singles in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game at 6-all.

Jacobson gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the game in the top of the seventh, plating two unearned runs with a two-out single to right-center. Jacobson was 3-for-5 and drove in three runs, while Sharrow added a 3-for-5 day at the plate with an RBI and three runs scored.

Jackrabbit relievers Joe Erickson and Blake Fiedelman aided in the comeback, combining to throw four consecutive scoreless innings before the Fighting Leathernecks scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to pull back to within a run at 8-7.

SDSU countered with a run in the top of the ninth as Al Robbins led off the inning with a single and later scored on a squeeze bunt by Zach Coppola.

Talon Jumper earned his second save of the series for the Jackrabbits by pitching a scoreless bottom of the ninth. Fiedelman was credited with the victory after striking out two and allowing one hit and one walk in 2 1/3 innings.

Western Illinois had taken a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a run-scoring single by Adam McGinnis and a two-run single by Kendall King.

SDSU tied the game at 3-all in the top of the third by taking advantage of two Fighting Leatherneck errors. Sharrow opened the inning by reaching on an error and later scored on a groundout by Coppola. Eric Danforth scored on the second error of the inning and Ringhofer followed with an RBI groundout.

Both Coppola and Ringhofer knocked in two runs each as SDSU finished with a 13-11 advantage in hits.

The Fighting Leathernecks regained the lead in the home half of the third on a two-run home run by Chris Tschida that knocked SDSU starter Chad Hodges out of the game. WIU added a run against Erickson later in the inning as Colton Pogue plated J.J. Reimer with an infield single.

Tschida and Reimer each tallied two hits to lead WIU.

The Jackrabbits return to action Friday, when they open a three-game Summit League series at Fort Wayne.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 9, WESTERN ILLINOIS 7
SDSU 003 111 201 9-13-2
WIU 033 000 010 7-11-3
SDSU: Chad Hodges, Joe Erickson (3), Blake Fiedelman (6), Marcus Heemstra (8), Talon Jumper (9) and Luke Ringhofer, Reid Clary. WIU: Preston Church, Jordan Pannell (6), J.T. Baksha (7), Sam Cottingham-Beard (7), Pete Minella (8), Nick Smith (9) and Adam McGinnis, J.J. Reimer.
W-Fiedelman. L-Pannell (1-1). Save-Jumper (2).
HR: WIU-Chris Tschida (1).