Busch, Kjolsing lead SDSU to series-clinching win

Saturday, March 12

Greeley, Colo.

1:00 PM

South Dakota State University

2-13

Northern Colorado

3-13

South Dakota State

Northern Colorado

3/12/2016 8:10:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

GREELEY, Colo. – Tony Kjolsing drove in a career-high four runs with a pair of doubles and Landon Busch pitched four hitless innings in relief to propel South Dakota State to an 11-3 series-clinching victory over Northern Colorado in college baseball action Saturday afternoon at Jackson Field.

The Jackrabbits, who also won Friday's series opener, scored 11 consecutive runs after trailing 2-0 through three innings. Phil Velez drove in Nick Smith with the first SDSU run in the top of the fourth and the Jackrabbits took the lead for good with a three-run top of the fifth. Anthony Schneider plated Cody Sharrow with the tying run with a double and Luke Ringhofer followed with a two-run double that scored both Marcus Hahn and Schneider. Sharrow and Hahn started the SDSU rally by drawing consecutive walks.

Meanwhile, Busch silenced the Northern Colorado bats after entering the game in relief of Ryan Froom one batter into the fourth inning. The junior left-hander from Brookings faced only one batter over the minimum, allowing only one walk and striking out four en route to his first victory in a Jackrabbit uniform.

SDSU broke the game open in the late innings as Kjolsing delivered two-run doubles in both the seventh and eighth innings. Smith singled in a run to complete a three-run seventh inning, while Matt Johnson added a run-scoring single as part of a four-run eighth.

Kjolsing was one of five Jackrabbits with two hits in the game as SDSU tallied 12 hits as a team – one shy of its season high. The Jackrabbits' 11 runs scored were a season high.

For Northern Colorado, 3-13 overall, Dan Reese capped the scoring in the game with a solo home run in the ninth. Nick Tanner recorded two of the Bears' five hits.

The Jackrabbits, 2-13 overall, will go for a series sweep on Sunday. First pitch is slated for noon Mountain Time (1 p.m. Central).

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 11, NORTHERN COLORADO 3
SDSU 000 130 340 11-12-0
UNC 002 000 001 3-5-1
SDSU: Ryan Froom, Landon Busch (4), Greg Casper (8), Derek Feige (9), Austin Kost (9) and Luke Ringhofer, Ian Cote. UNC: Alex Werbach, Corey Nakakura (5), Austin Harms (7), Joe Love (7), Luke Haynes (8), Caden Maher (8) and Will Frei, Payton Tapia.
W-Busch (1-2). L-Werbach (0-1). Save-none.
HR: UNC-Dan Reese (1).