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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits close regular season at home
5/13/2015 5:15:00 PM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team closes out the 2015 regular season this weekend, hosting Fort Wayne in a three-game series at Erv Huether Field.
Thursday's series opener is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch, as well as Friday's middle game of the series. Saturday's series finale is set for 1 p.m., with the 12 members of the Jackrabbit senior class to be recognized during pre-game ceremonies at approximately 12:40 p.m.
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.
The Jackrabbits enter the weekend 31-20 overall and have locked up second place in the Summit League standings with a 17-10 mark. SDSU won the first two games of a three-game series at North Dakota State last weekend, before dropping an extra-inning contest to the Bison.
Fort Wayne enters the week with a 25-23 overall record, including a 12-15 record in The Summit League. The Mastodons have yet to win in the month of May, dropping seven consecutive games, including being swept in league series at North Dakota State (May 1-3) and versus Oral Roberts (May 8-9).
THE SERIES: Thursday's game will mark the 45th meeting between South Dakota State and Fort Wayne on the baseball diamond — a series that dates back to a 13-1 Jackrabbit victory at the Division I Independent Tournament in Sioux Falls on May 20, 2006. Overall, SDSU leads the series, 35-9.
FIRST SERIES: South Dakota State recorded its first Summit League series sweep of the season, claiming all three games of a weekend set March 27-29. The first game of the series was played in Westfield, Indiana, with the final two games played in Fort Wayne. SDSU won the first two games of the series handily before rallying for a victory in the finale.
JOHNSON HONORED BY SUMMIT: South Dakota State University first baseman Matt Johnson was named Monday as the Summit League Player of the Week for his efforts in leading the Jacrkabbit baseball team to wins in a three-game weekend series at North Dakota State.
A sophomore from Ankeny, Iowa, Johnson batted .667 (8-for-12), collecting at least two hits in all three games, and tallying five runs batted in and three runs scored. He opened the series May 8 by going 4-for-5 with a home run with a double, home run and three RBI. He added two hits and an RBI in each game of a May 9 doubleheader.
Johnson is the third different Jackrabbit player to earn the Summit League weekly award, joining two-time honoree Reid Clary (March 2, April 20) and Zach Coppola (March 9).
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 47 double plays, recording three in a game four times. SDSU has turned a double play in eight of the last 12 games for a total of 16 twin killings.
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 16 home runs over the next 25 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 long April homestand the Jackrabbit baseball team 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 leading all Division I baseball teams with 20 outfield assists.
Junior center fielder Zach Coppola ranks in a tie for second place nationally after recording his 10th outfield assist against Western Illinois on May 1. Paul Jacobson ranks second on the team with five outfield assists, followed by four from Eric Danforth and one from Zach Holt.
100 AND COUNTING: Five 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 141 career hits.
Junior center fielder Zach Coppola joined the 100-hit club March 14 at Omaha and enters the weekend with a team-best 154 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 since gone on another 15-game hitting streak, giving him a hit in 29 of 30 games, and has reached base safely in a Division I-era best 45 consecutive games. Coppola has failed to reach base safely in only one game this season — the Feb. 27 series opener at Stephen F. Austin (Texas).
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 135 career hits. He also has been on a hot streak of late, batting .354 (34-for-96) with 20 RBI over his last 30 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 had a streak of reaching base safely end at 36 games in the May 9 series finale at North Dakota State. Danforth has recorded a hit in 23 of 26 games — during which he is batting .394 (39-for-99), Danforth has tallied 131 career hits.
Catcher Reid Clary joined the 100-hit club with a home run May 2 against Western Illinois. Of Clary's 103 career hits, 32 have been for extra bases (26 doubles, two triples and four home runs.
Clary also has moved into the Jackrabbit career top 10 for putouts, and is currently ninth with 698 putouts. He also ranks in a tie for seventh on the SDSU career charts with 11 sacrifice flies.
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 37-for-37 on stolen-base attempts this season, surpassing the previous single-season record of 26 by Darrell Bren in 1988 with a three-steal performance April 18 against Omaha. Coppola has stolen 42 consecutive bases dating back to 2014.
With 60 career stolen bases, Coppola has moved into a tie for second place on the SDSU charts with Cole Irish (1993-96). Dave Lane holds the Jackrabbit career record of 75 stolen bases from 1983-86.
Coppola currently leads the Jackrabbits with a .391 batting average, .489 on-base percentage, 75 hits and 49 runs scored.
BRAY RECORD WATCH: South Dakota State right-hander Adam Bray, who is the scheduled starter for Friday's series opener against Fort Wayne has set three Jackrabbit career records during his senior season in 2015.
A native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Bray enters the week with 254 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 70 batters in 82 1/3 innings so far this season, after fanning 95 batters in 103 innings in 2014.
Bray has logged 317 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 also has surpassed Bougher for the career lead in games started by a pitcher with 49, taking over sole possession of the record May 8 at North Dakota State.
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 second place in career victories at SDSU by recording his 22nd career win in the May 8 victory at North Dakota State Bray's career record stands at 22-15, matching the win total set by Bougher. Schulte holds the SDSU career record with 26 wins.
Bray has been on a roll since setting the strikeouts record, compiling a 4-0 record with a 0.95 earned run average over his last five starts. He has allowed only four earned runs over 38 innings, posting 31 strikeouts and seven walks.
MOORE SETS SAVES MARK: Senior closer J.D. Moore broke a Summit League record as he recorded his 31st career save in the Jackrabbits' 3-2 victory at North Dakota State in the first game of a doubleheader on May 9.
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 broke the Summit League career saves record previously set by Brett Davis, who tallied 30 saves for Illinois-Chicago from 1988-91. Moore added to his saves total by notching save No. 6 of the season and No. 32 of his career in the first game of a twinbill at North Dakota on May 12.
Moore also has moved into sole possession of second place in career appearances at SDSU with 84 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 fourth on the team with 15 appearances — all in relief — and has posted an 0-3 record with a 4.67 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 20 and walked seven in 27 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.
CLARY ON BENCH LIST: Senior catcher Reid Clary was added recently to the official watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, which is presented annually to the top catcher in college baseball by BaseballSavings.com.
A native of Princeton, Illinois, Clary is batting .280 with three home runs and ranks third on the team with 31 runs batted in entering play this weekend. He also has thrown out 16 of 44 would-be base-stealers (36 percent).
A group of semifinalists will be announced May 14, with finalists named in early June. The award will be presented June 25 in Wichita, Kansas.
RINGHOFER NEARS FRESHMAN MARK: Freshman Luke Ringhofer has provided a potent bat in the middle of the Jackrabbit lineup during his first season with the Jackrabbits. A native of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Ringhofer currently leads the team with 40 runs batted in — a total that ties the program's freshman record in the Division I era. Nick Adams (2005), Billy Stitz (2008) and Daniel Telford (2010) all drove in 40 runs during their freshman seasons.
Ringhofer tied the record after recording seven RBI in a three-game series against Western Illinois May 1-3. He established a new career high — and most by a Jackrabbit this season — with six RBI in the May 2 victory over Western Illinois. He also brings a 16-game hitting streak into this weekend's series against Fort Wayne, tying him with Adams for the second-longest hitting streak during the D-I era.
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD: The Jackrabbits are well-represented in a variety of categories on the leaderboard of the most recent Division I baseball statistics. As a team, the Jackrabbits rank 27th in scoring with an average of 6.9 runs per game, while Zach Coppola ranks second individually with 27 stolen bases, 16th with a .489 on-base percentage and 19th in batting average at .391.
SUMMIT TOURNAMENT INFO: Tickets for the 2015 Summit League Baseball Championship are now on sale through the Sioux Falls Sports Authority.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament is scheduled to be played May 20-23 at Sioux Falls Stadium. South Dakota State has secured a berth in the tournament and will open play at 7 p.m. May 20 against an opponent to be determined.
Both all-session and single-session tickets are available and can be purchased in person at the Sioux Falls Sports Authority office (200 N. Phillips Ave., Suite 304), by phone at (605) 373-2041 or online AT http://sfsportsauth.wix.com/summit-baseball-2015#!tickets/c1n8o. Tickets for the May 19 pre-tournament banquet at the Sioux Falls Convention Center also are available.
Ticket prices are as follows:
• All-session – $45
• Adult single-game – $10
• Youth (12 and under) single-session – $5
• Banquet – $25
The schedule for the Summit League Baseball Championship, presented by First PREMIER Bank/First PREMIER Bankcard, is as follows:
Wednesday, May 20
Game 1: #1 Oral Roberts vs. opponent to be determined, 2 p.m.
Game 2: #2 South Dakota State vs. opponent to be determined, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 21
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 22
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 23
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7: Second championship game (if necessary), 4:30 p.m.
Please note the stadium will be cleared between games on May 20 and 21. All seating is general admission.
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 708-768-2 career mark, including a 112-106-1 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. A
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 begin play in the Summit League Baseball Championship with a 7 p.m. game May 20 in Sioux Falls.
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