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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits welcome in Western Illinois
4/30/2015 4:49:00 PM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team will attempt to end a rare two-game losing streak as it welcomes Western Illinois to Erv Huether Field on Friday for the start of a three-game Summit League series.
Friday's series opener is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch. Games Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts. All three games will be broadcast locally on KJJQ 910 AM and available free of charge through the Jackrabbit Extra media portal at GoJacks.com, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play.
Live stats are available through GoJacksLive.com.
The Jackrabbits enter the weekend 26-17 overall and in second place in the Summit League standings with a 13-8 mark. With losses April 26 at Oral Roberts and April 29 versus Creighton, SDSU has lost consecutive games for the first time since a four-game skid March 13-17 against Omaha (three games) and Creighton (one game). The Jackrabbits ended that slide with a March 20 win at Western Illinois.
Western Illinois is leading the race for the fourth and final berth in the upcoming Summit League Baseball Championship and comes into the series 14-26 overall and 7-14 in The Summit League. The Fighting Leathernecks have won four of their last five games, including winning two of three games last weekend at North Dakota State.
THE SERIES: Friday's game will mark the 36th meeting between South Dakota State and Western Illinois on the baseball diamond — a series that dates back to a 7-6 SDSU victory on March 31, 2006. Overall, SDSU leads the series, 22-13, including holding a 2-1 advantage so far this season.
PRESEASON POLL: The South Dakota State University baseball team was 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 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.
TURNING TWO: The Jackrabbit defense came up big in several key situations during its three-game series April 24-26 at Oral Roberts, turning a total of seven double plays. SDSU recorded three double plays in each of the first two games of the series. In fact, Oral Roberts hit into six double plays in a seven-inning span starting with the sixth, seventh and ninth innings of the series opener and concluding with the first three innings of Game 2.
For the season, the Jackrabbits have turned 39 double plays, recording three in a game three times.
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 14 home runs over the next 17 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 recent 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 entered play this week unofficially tied for the lead among all Division I baseball teams with 17 outfield assists, and added to that total with one April 29 against Creighton. Incarnate Word (Texas) and Nevada-Las Vegas also had been credited with 17 outfield assists prior to action this week.
Junior center fielder Zach Coppola ranks in the top five individually after recording his ninth outfield assist against Creighton. 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 a 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 130 career hits.
Junior center fielder Zach Coppola joined the 100-hit club March 14 at Omaha and enters the weekend with a team-best 141 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 37 consecutive games and currently leads the Jackrabbits with a .397 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, 62 hits, 40 runs scored and a school-record 32 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 125 career hits. He also has been on a hot streak of late, batting .348 (24-for-69) with 16 RBI over his last 22 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 31 straight games. Danforth has recorded a hit in 16 of 19 games — during which he is batting .366 (26-for-71), Danforth has tallied 118 career hits.
Catcher Reid Clary is closing in on 100 career hits, entering the week with 97 hits. Clary moved into the Jackrabbit career top 10 for putouts last week and is currently ninth with 666 putouts.
CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN: South Dakota State center fielder Zach Coppola has broken one of the Jackrabbits' longest-standing single-season records in 2015. A junior from Windsor Heights, Iowa, Coppola is a perfect 32-for-32 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. Coppola has stolen 37 consecutive bases dating back to 2014.
With 55 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 Western Illinois recently became the Jackrabbit career leader for strikeouts and innings pitched, and is poised to tie the SDSU standard for games started by a pitcher later this week.
A senior from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Bray enters the week with 240 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 56 batters in 68 1/3 innings so far this season, after fanning 95 batters in 103 innings in 2014.
Bray has logged 303 2/3 career innings, passing the mark of 299 1/3 innings set by Stephen Bougher from 2010-13 in his April 24 start against Oral Roberts. Bray enters the week with 47 career starts and will tie Bougher (48 starts) for the Jackrabbit career lead should he make his scheduled start on Friday.
A two-time all-Summit League honoree and the Summit League Pitcher of the Week in back-to-back weeks (April 13, April 20) this season, Bray also has moved into a tie for third place in career victories at SDSU by recording his 21st career win April 24 at Oral Roberts. Bray's career record stands at 21-15, matching the win totals of two other pitchers: Chad Coley (1990-93) and Matt Magers (1995-97).
MOORE TIES SAVES MARK: Senior closer J.D. Moore tied a Summit League record as he recorded his 30th career save in the Jackrabbits' 2-1 victory at Oral Roberts on April 25.
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.
Moore now shares the Summit League career saves record with Brett Davis, who tallied 30 saves for Illinois-Chicago from 1988-91.
Moore also has moved into sole possession of second place in career appearances at SDSU with 80 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 is tied for third on the team with 13 appearances — all in relief — and posted an 0-2 record with a 4.12 ERA. He had not allowed a run in seven of his last eight appearances, covering 12 1//3 innings, before taking the loss in an April 26 game at Oral Roberts. For the season, Heemstra has struck out 17 and walked six in 24 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 703-765-2 career mark, including a 107-103-1 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 are scheduled to play a final home non-conference game May 6 versus North Dakota, before moving on to North Dakota State for a three-game Summit League series May 8-10 in Fargo.
The May 6 matchup with North Dakota is slated for 4 p.m. at Erv Huether Field.
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