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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits take on Oral Roberts
4/23/2015 4:21:00 PM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team will attempt to tighten up the Summit League regular season baseball race when it travels to face league-leading Oral Roberts in a three-game weekend series.
The series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the ORU campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The middle game of the series is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday, with the finale set for 1 p.m.
Both teams have been playing well of late — SDSU has won 16 of its last 20 games, while Oral Roberts is 18-2 in its last 20 contests. Overall, the Golden Eagles enter the weekend 28-11 and 15-3 in The Summit League. SDSU is 24-15 overall and in sole possession of second place in the league standings at 11-7 — four games behind ORU with 12 to play.
Live audio and stats of this weekend's games will be available via ORUGoldenEagles.com.
THE SERIES: Friday's game will mark the 40th meeting between South Dakota State and Oral Roberts on the baseball diamond — a series that dates back to a 10-9 Golden Eagle victory on March 31, 1971. Overall, ORU holds a 30-9 series advantage.
The two squads played a three-game series April 3-5 at Erv Huether Field, with the visiting Golden Eagles winning two of the three games in a closely contested series.
PRESEASON POLL: The South Dakota State University baseball team has been picked to finish third in The Summit League during the upcoming 2015 season, according to a poll of league coaches released Feb. 5.
The Jackrabbits, who finished the 2014 season with a 28-29 overall record, including an 11-11 mark in league play, tallied 17 points in the poll. SDSU, which returns six position starters and nearly its entire pitching staff from a year ago, has been the top seed at the Summit League Baseball Championship each of the past two seasons, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2013.
Two-time defending regular-season champion Omaha was picked as the league favorite with 23 points, including three first-place votes. Perennial champion Oral Roberts, which has rejoined The Summit League after a two-year hiatus, received the other three first-place votes and finished second with 21 points.
Rounding out the poll were defending league tournament champion North Dakota State with 15 points, followed by Western Illinois with eight points and Fort Wayne with six points.
The Jackrabbits will again host the Summit League Baseball Championship, May 20-23 in Sioux Falls.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Three members of the South Dakota State University baseball team received preseason honors from Baseball America in the publication's Summit League preview released Feb. 11.
Senior right-hander Adam Bray was selected as Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Bray compiled a 5-7 record and 2.80 earned run average during the 2014 season, but led the league with 95 strikeouts — against only 17 walks – in 103 innings.
Infielder Tony Kjolsing was named Preseason Freshman of the Year. The Chaska, Minnesota, native opened the season as the Jackrabbits' starting third baseman and has hit a team-best two home runs in 2015.
In addition, junior center fielder Zach Coppola was tabbed as the fifth-best draft prospect among Summit League players. Coppola is the team's top returning hitter after batting .288 last season, while also recording a team-best 14 stolen bases.
JACKS SWEEP SUMMIT AWARDS: For the second time this season, South Dakota State University baseball players Reid Clary and Adam Bray were honored with weekly Summit League Awards. The awards were announced April 20 by league officials.
A senior catcher from Princeton, Illinois, Clary was named Summit League Player of the Week in helping lead the Jackrabbits to a 4-1 record last week. Clary batted .600 (9-for-15) and compiled a .933 slugging percentage with seven runs batted in in four starts. He recorded at least one hit and one RBI in each game, extending his streaks in both categories to seven games.
In the three-game weekend series against Omaha, Clary batted .727 (8-for-11) and slugged 1.182 with a pair of doubles and a home run. He also threw out four runners on the bases during the week — two caught stealing and two pickoffs.
Bray, a senior right-hander from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, earned his second consecutive Summit League Pitcher of the Week Award. In an April 17 start against Omaha, Bray went eight innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out six, walked one and scattered six hits en route to recording his 20th career victory.
APRIL 29 GAME MOVED: The South Dakota State University baseball team's game scheduled for April 29 against Creighton has been moved to Sioux City, Iowa.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Lewis and Clark Park. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Sioux Falls, but maintenance work is scheduled for that day at Sioux Falls Stadium. SDSU is still scheduled to host the Summit League Baseball Championship at Sioux Falls Stadium May 20-23.
Moving the game to Sioux City will mark a homecoming for three Jackrabbit players: Bishop Heelan High School graduates Paul and Philip Jacobson, along with Sioux City High East School alum Trey Lapke. In addition, Jackrabbit pitchers Marcus Heemstra (Rock Valley) and Ethan Kenkel (Storm Lake) are Northwest Iowa natives.
POWER OUTAGE, POWER SURGE: Sophomore Matt Johnson ended a long home run drought by the Jackrabbits when he connected on a three-run homer in the first inning of the second game of an April 1 doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan.
SDSU had gone 14 full games between home runs, dating back to when freshman Luke Ringhofer hit a two-run shot in the second game of a March 7 twinbill at Southern (La.).
Since Johnson's first home run of the season, the Jackrabbits have hit 12 home runs over the next 14 games, including three more by Johnson. SDSU connected on four solo home runs in the April 12 victory over North Dakota State, marking the most homers in a game by the Jackrabbits since the 2010 season.
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS: As part of the Jackrabbits' four-home-run game against North Dakota State on April 12, Matt Johnson and Newt Johnson hit back-to-back solo home runs in the third inning. The last time SDSU had hit back-to-back home runs was on April 30, 2011, in the first game of a doubleheader at Erv Huether Field as Jesse Sawyer and Zach Briggs accomplished the feat.
IN THE BIG INNING(S): Two times during their current homestand the Jackrabbit baseball team has scored double figures for runs in an inning.
The first occurrence came in the second inning of the second game of an April 1 doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan, when the Jackrabbits scored 10 times.
SDSU exceeded that total with an 11-run fourth inning April 14 against North Dakota. The Jackrabbits sent 16 men to the plate in that frame.
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: The Jackrabbits enter play this week unofficially leading all Division I baseball teams with 17 outfield assists. Incarnate Word (Texas) and Nevada-Las Vegas are tied for second with 15 outfield assists.
Junior center fielder Zach Coppola ranks fourth individually with eight outfield assists, adding to his total in the April 17 matchup with Omaha. Paul Jacobson ranks second on the team with five outfield assists, followed by three from Eric Danforth and one from Zach Holt. Danforth threw out two runners on the bases in the recent three-game series with Omaha.
100 AND COUNTING: Four Jackrabbits have reached a career milestone this season by recording their 100th career hit.
Junior outfielder Paul Jacobson became the first Jackrabbit to achieve the feat this season, when he tallied his 100th career hit March 11 in a game against Mississippi Valley State. A three-year starter, Jacobson enters the weekend with 125 career hits.
Junior center fielder Zach Coppola joined the 100-hit club March 14 at Omaha and enters the weekend with a team-best 135 career hits. Coppola had a 14-game hitting streak snapped in the series opener against Omaha on April 17, during which he batted .560 (28-for-50) and tallied five three-hit games. Coppola has reached base safely in 33 consecutive games and currently leads the Jackrabbits with a .397 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, 56 hits, 38 runs scored and a school-record 30 stolen bases.
Senior infielder Al Robbins became the third member of the team to record his 100th career hit, reaching the milestone March 21 at Western Illinois. Robbins enters the week with 121 career hits. He also has been on a hot streak of late, batting .370 (20-for-54) with 14 RBI over his last 17 games
Senior outfielder Eric Danforth became the fourth member of the 100-hit club this year, notching hit No. 100 April 4 against Oral Roberts. A Watertown native, Danforth has reached base safely in 27 straight games. Danforth has recorded a hit in 12-of-15 games — during which he is batting .375 (21-for-56), Danforth has tallied 113 career hits.
Catcher Reid Clary is closing in on 100 career hits, entering the week with 95 hits. Clary moved into the Jackrabbit career top 10 for putouts earlier this week with 650, passing Chris Studer (648 putouts from 1999-2002) for 10th place.
COPPOLA COLLECTING STEALS: South Dakota State center fielder Zach Coppola has already one of the Jackrabbits' longest-standing single-season records in 2015. A junior from Windsor Heights, Iowa, Coppola is a perfect 30-for-30 on stolen-base attempts this season, surpassing the previous record of 26 by Darrell Bren in 1988 with a three-steal performance April 18 against Omaha .
With 53 career stolen bases, Coppola has moved into fourth place on the Jackrabbit career charts, passing Korby Mintken (46 steals from 2005-08). Next on the list is Dave Wilner, who stands third with 57 stolen bases from 1986-88. Dave Lane holds the Jackrabbit career record of 75 stolen bases from 1983-86.
BRAY RECORD WATCH: South Dakota State right-hander Adam Bray, who is the scheduled starter for Friday's series opener at Oral Roberts, recently became the Jackrabbit career leader for strikeouts.
A senior from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Bray enters the week with 234 career strikeouts, passing Trevor Schulte (226 strikeouts from 1991-94) with a five-strikeout, complete-game performance against North Dakota State on April 10. Bray has struck out 50 batters in 61 1/3 innings so far this season, after fanning 95 batters in 103 innings in 2014.
Also in his April 10 outing, Bray broke a tie with current Minnesota Twins pitcher Caleb Thielbar (44 starts from 2006-09) for second place on the SDSU career starts list. Bray has logged 296 2/3 innings and is poised to pass Stephen Bougher, who threw 299 1/3 innings from 2010-13, for the Jackrabbit career mark later this week.
A two-time all-Summit League honoree and the Summit League Pitcher of the Week each of the past two weeks, Bray also moved into a tie for fifth place in career victories at SDSU by recording his 20th career win April 17 against North Dakota State. Bray's career record stands at 20-15, matching the win totals of three other pitchers: Bob Reeves (1984-87), Jon Maras (1989-92) and Caleb Thielbar (2006-09).
MOORE NEARS SAVES MARK: Senior closer J.D. Moore moved one step closer to a Summit League record as he recorded his 29th career save in the Jackrabbits' 5-4 victory over North Dakota State on April 11.
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Moore has served as the team's primary closer since midway through his freshman season, when he led the team with five saves. Moore set a Jackrabbit single-season record with 13 saves during his sophomore season in 2013 and added eight more saves as a junior, when he did not allow a run — earned or unearned — in Summit League play en route to setting the SDSU career saves mark.
The current Summit League career record of 30 saves was set by Brett Davis of Illinois-Chicago from 1988-91.
Moore also has moved into sole possession of second place in career appearances at SDSU with 79 as he broke a tie with Gary Olechoski, (71 appearances from 2003-06) in a March 17 game at Creighton. All-American Trever Vermeulen holds the career appearances record with 89 from 2008-11.
HEEMSTRA ON THE HILL: After playing a key role on three Jackrabbit postseason-qualifying basketball teams, pitcher Marcus Heemstra is playing his first full season of baseball at South Dakota State.
A senior right-hander from Rock Valley, Iowa, Heemstra made a combined 21 pitching appearances between the 2011 and 2012 seasons before redshirting in 2013 as the Jackrabbit basketball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. Heemstra returned to the Jackrabbit baseball team in 2014, posting a 1.64 earned run average in seven appearances covering 11 innings.
Thus far in 2015, Heemstra has made 12 appearances — all in relief — and posted an 0-1 record with a 3.27 ERA. He has not allowed a run in seven of his last eight appearances, covering 12 1//3 innings. Heemstra pitched three scoreless innings in an April 3 matchup with Oral Roberts and added two shutout innings April 22 at Minnesota. For the season, Heemstra has struck out 15 and walked six in 22 innings.
Heemstra played in 118 career basketball games — with eight starts. He posted career-high averages of 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a senior.
COACH SCHRAGE: Veteran baseball coach Dave Schrage (pronounced Schrag) is in his 27th season as a collegiate head coach — and fourth at South Dakota State University — during the 2015 season. Schrage was hired to take over the reins of the Jackrabbit baseball program on Aug. 8, 2011.
After posting an 18-33-1 record in his first season at South Dakota State, including a 7-14 mark in The Summit League, Schrage directed a big turnaround in 2013, leading SDSU its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits, who ended the season with a 35-24 overall record, won four consecutive games to claim their inaugural Summit League postseason tournament title and advance to the Eugene Regional of the NCAA Tournament, where they were edged in a pair of one-run games.
SDSU again earned the top seed for the Summit League Baseball Championship during the 2014 season, finishing with an 11-11 mark in a tightly contested league race. Overall, the Jackrabbits finished with a 28-29 overall record. Six Jackrabbit players earned all-Summit League accolades.
Schrage enters the weekend with a 701-763-2 career mark, including a 105-101-1 record at SDSU. He recorded his 600th career victory on March 19, 2012, when the Jackrabbits posted an 11-8 victory at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, and reached the 700-win mark with a 5-1 victory over Omaha on April 17, 2015. In 26-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has averaged more than 25 victories per season, including six campaigns with 32 or more wins. He has coached players who have earned all-conference honors 69 times and 40 of his former student-athletes have gone on to play professionally, including Layne Somsen and Stephen Bougher from the Jackrabbits' 2013 squad.
Prior to South Dakota State, Schrage was head coach at Notre Dame for four seasons, leading the Fighting Irish to a 119-104-1 record from 2007-10.
THE ROSTER: The 2015 SDSU baseball roster features 37 players from eight different states plus two Canadian provinces. Of the 37 players, 10 are from South Dakota, eight are from Minnesota and Iowa, and five are from Illinois, while Colorado, Indiana, Missouri and Vermont are represented by one player each. In addition, two players are from Canada — one each from Alberta and Ontario.
By class, 12 are seniors, 11 are juniors, seven are sophomores and seven are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will take on Creighton in non-conference action April 29 in Sioux City, Iowa. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
SDSU returns to Erv Huether Field for a three-game Summit League series May 1-3 against Western Illinois.
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