Jacks travel for three at Western

The South Dakota State University baseball team will wrap up a string of 22 games away from home to open the season by playing a three-game Summit League series this weekend at Western Illinois.
Friday's series opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium on the WIU campus in Macomb, Illinois. Games Saturday and Sunday are both slated for first pitch at 1 p.m.
The Jackrabbits enter the weekend series with a 3-16 overall record, having played in all four continental U.S. time zones so far this season. SDSU is 1-2 in Summit League play after winning its league opener at Oral Roberts last weekend before dropping the final two games.
Western Illinois, meanwhile, has posted a 4-14 overall record so far this season, including a 2-1 mark in league play after taking two of three games from visiting North Dakota State last weekend.

THE SERIES: This weekend's matchups will mark the 39th, 40th and 41st meetings between SDSU and Western Illinois on the baseball diamond. SDSU holds a 24-14 advantage in the series, which dates back to the 2006 campaign.
The Jackrabbits won the season series, 4-2, in 2015, claiming two games in each of the two three-game series played between the two squads. Both of Western Illinois' victories came in extra-inning games — a 2-1, 14-inning win at Macomb on March 21 and a 9-4, 12-inning victory at Erv Huether Field on May 1. SDSU closed out the home series with two victories decided by the 10-run rule — 19-9 on May 2 and 12-2 on May 3.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State has had a player honored as a Summit League player of the week each of the past two weeks.
Catcher Luke Ringhofer was honored March 14 as co-Summit League Player of the Week in helping lead the Jackrabbits to a pair of victories at Northern Colorado.
A sophomore from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Ringhofer hit safely in four of the five games in which he had an official at-bat, including a pair of multi-hit games against Northern Colorado as the Jackrabbits claimed the three-game series. For the week, he batted .412 (7-for-17) with a home run, four runs batted in and six runs scored. He also walked six times.
Ringhofer shared the weekly award with Omaha shortstop Clayton Taylor. Omaha right-hander Corey Binger was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week.
Junior pitcher Landon Busch was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on March 21 his efforts in the Jackrabbits' series-opening win at Oral Roberts.
A junior from Brookings, Busch earned the win after tossing three shutout innings March 18 as the Jackrabbits rallied for a 3-2, 12-inning victory. Busch finished his outing with five strikeouts, including striking out the side in the bottom of the 12th to preserve the win.
Since moving out of the starting rotation into a relief role, Busch has allowed only one run over his last three appearances, covering 11 innings. He has allowed only one run in that span for a 0.82 earned run average, and has struck out 16 batters while allowing only six hits.

PRESEASON POLL: The South Dakota State University baseball team has been picked to finish third in the Summit League standings during the upcoming 2016 season, according to a poll among the league's six head coaches that was released Feb. 11.
The Jackrabbits received one first-place vote and tallied a total of 17 points for their third-place showing in the preseason poll. Defending regular season and tournament
champion Oral Roberts received the other five first-place votes to be tabbed as the favorite with 25 points. Tournament runner-up Fort Wayne was second with 19 points.
Rounding out the poll were Omaha (15), North Dakota State (8) and Western Illinois (6).
The 30-game Summit League schedule kicks off March 18, when the Jackrabbits open a three-game series at Oral Roberts. ORU will host the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship May 25-28 at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

LAST WEEKEND LEFTOVERS: Following are a few notes following last weekend's series at Oral Roberts:
• Senior shortstop Cody Sharrow recorded a .667 batting average (6-for-9) in the three-game series at Oral Roberts;
• Luke Ringhofer extended his hitting streak to seven games after going 7-for-12 (.583 batting average) with a home run and two doubles for a 1.000 slugging percentage;
• Relievers Landon Busch (21 strikeouts in 17 innings) and Chris Halbur (9 K's in 8.1 innings) are averaging more than a strikeout per inning pitched this season;
• Jackrabbit pitchers matched a season high with 11 strikeouts in the 12-inning victory at Oral Roberts on March 18 (first set Feb. 27 versus Eastern Kentucky);
• SDSU was outscored a combined 9-2 in the first innings of the final two games of the series;
• Ringhofer and Newt Johnson hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning of the March 19 game at Oral Roberts, becoming the first Jackrabbit tandem to hit consecutive round-trippers since Matt Johnson and Newt Johnson in a home game against North Dakota State on April 12, 2015;
• SDSU and Oral Roberts went to extra innings for the third time in their last seven games dating back to April 4, 2015
• The Jackrabbits did not attempt a stolen base in the three-game series at Oral Roberts, but is 16-of-19 in steal tries as a team this season.

CLEMEN CLIMBS THE CHARTS: Although he has moved into a starting role this season, Jackrabbit pitcher Andrew Clemen could move into the SDSU career top 10 for appearances this season.
A senior from Des Moines, Iowa, Clemen has made 56 appearances — 50 of which have been out of the bullpen — in his Jackrabbit career. He needs to pitch in eight more games during the 2016 campaign to move into the top 10.
Clemen also stands eighth on the SDSU career charts for strikeouts per nine innings at 9.03, striking out 110 batters in 109 2/3 career innings. The SDSU record, with a minimum of 60 innings pitched, is 11.40 by Pete Torgerson during his lone season in a Jackrabbit uniform in 1989. Dick Barnes ranks second with an average of 9.99 strikeouts per nine innings from 1964-66, with Bob Ehrke (1952-54) third at 9.70 K's per nine innings.
During the 2015 season, Clemen posted the fifth-highest single-season ratio in school history with an average of 10.76 strikeouts per nine innings, fanning 47 batters in 39 1/3 innings.

JACOBSON NEARS TOP 10: Senior outfielder Paul Jacobson is in line to move into the SDSU career top 10 for games played midway through the 2016 season.
Jacobson, who has been the team's primary leadoff hitter since early in the 2015 season, enters the weekend having played in 177 career games, including 158 starts, putting him 13 games away from sliding into the 10th spot. Jacobson, who has moved to right field this season after serving as the team's primary left fielder the previous three seasons, is the lone Jackrabbit to start all 19 games this season.
Jacobson's uncle, Pat Schmidt, ranks in a tie for seventh in games played by a Jackrabbits with 193 from 1992-95. Eric Cain holds the Jackrabbit record of 218 games played from 2009-12.

COACH SCHRAGE: Veteran baseball coach Dave Schrage (pronounced Schrag) enters his 28th season as a collegiate head coach — and fifth at South Dakota State University — during the 2016 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.
The Jackrabbits again contended for a Summit League title during the 2015 season, posting an overall record of 33-23 and a second-place mark of 18-11 in league play. SDSU put together win streaks of six and eight games midway through the season to move into the upper division of The Summit League.
Under Schrage's leadership, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 117-125-1 record and qualified for the Summit League postseason tournament each of the last three seasons.
Schrage enters the weekend with a 713-789-2 career mark. He recorded his 600th career victory in his first season at SDSU, and tallied career win No. 700, when the Jackrabbits defeated Omaha, 5-1, on April 17, 2015, at Erv Huether Field. Schrage's 100th win at the helm of the SDSU program came on April 11, 2015, in a 5-4 home win over North Dakota State.
In 27-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has averaged more than 25 victories per season, including seven campaigns with 32 or more wins. He has coached players who have earned all-conference honors 75 times and 42 of his former student-athletes have gone on to play professionally, including 2015 draft picks Zach Coppola (Philadelphia Phllies) and Adam Bray (Los Angeles Dodgers).
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. After posting a .500 record (28-28) his first season in South Bend, Schrage put Notre Dame back in contention for postseason play with a 33-21-1 record in 2008 and a 36-23 mark in 2009. The Fighting Irish led the BIG EAST Conference in fielding in both 2008 and 2009, while consistently ranking at or near the top in batting, on-base percentage and earned run average.
Schrage has previously found success in building programs at the mid-major level, including a four-year stint at Evansville (Ind.) from 2003-06, during which he guided the Purple Aces to a 130-108 record. Evansville improved its win total each of his four years, from 24 in 2003 to 43 in 2006. Schrage earned Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors for the third time in 2006 as Evansville won both the regular season and tournament conference titles, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Purple Aces advanced all the way to the finals of the Charlottesville Regional, knocking off host Virginia before falling to South Carolina in the championship.
A Chicago native, Schrage directed a dramatic turnaround in his home state during a three-year run at Northern Illinois from 2000-02. After inheriting a team that was 4-51 the year before he arrived, Schrage's squad turned in a 20-game improvement with a 24-33 record in his first season and then led the Huskies to a winning season in 2001 with a 28-27 overall mark. He was named runner-up for National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in 2000.
Schrage began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant under his predecessor at Notre Dame, Paul Mainieri, at St. Thomas University (Fla.) in 1984. He later returned to his alma mater, Creighton University (Neb.), as an assistant coach for two seasons.
From 1986-87, Schrage coached the Queensland Rams club team in Brisbane, Australia, before returning stateside as he gained his first head coaching job at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. From 1988-90 he led the junior college program to a 61-66 mark.
Schrage then spent nine seasons as head coach at the University of Northern Iowa, where he was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997. His teams improved from two league victories in UNI's first season in the MVC in 1992 to 18 during the 1997 campaign.
As a collegiate player, Schrage was an all-conference outfielder at Creighton, batting .400 as a junior and .433 his senior season. He also was an Academic All-America honoree during his senior campaign in 1983, and graduated that spring with a bachelor of science degree in finance. Schrage was honored on the MVC's Centennial Celebration baseball team and is the only person in league history to earn all-conference honors and be named MVC Coach of the Year in baseball.

JACKS IN THE PROS: Several former Jackrabbit players are currently in Spring Training in either Florida or Arizona.
Right-handed pitchers Blake Treinen and Layne Somsen are in Major League camps this spring — Treinen with the Washington Nationals and Somsen as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Treinen made 60 appearances for the Nationals during the 2015 season, posting a 2-5 record and 3.86 ERA in his second year in the Majors.
Somsen was promoted to Triple-A Louisville late midway through the 2015 season, seeing action both as a starter and out of the bullpen. In three seasons in the Reds organization, the Yankton native has compiled a 9-5 record and 2.57 ERA while averaging nearly a strikeout per inning pitched.
Adam Bray and Zach Coppola, who were selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, will be in minor league camps with their respective organizations. Bray was a 33rd round draft choice by the Los Angeles Dodgers and made his professional debut with Ogden (Utah) in Rookie ball last summer, going 2-2 with 33 strikeouts and only four walks in eight starts.
Coppola is a Philadelphia Phillies farmhand after being drafted in the 13th round. Coppola spent the summer of 2015 at Class A?Williamsport (Pa.), where he batted .271 with 19 stolen bases.
Former Jackrabbit left-hander Caleb Thielbar, who pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 2013-15, is currently a free agent.

THE ROSTER: The 2016 SDSU baseball roster features 37 players from eight different states plus one Canadian province. Of the 37 players, 12 are from Minnesota and South Dakota, seven are from Iowa, while Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Vermont are represented by one player each. In addition, one player is from the Canadian province of British Columbia.
By class, nine are seniors, nine are juniors, 11 are sophomores, three are redshirt freshmen and five are true freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play their home opener March 30, with a doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Erv Huether Field.
SDSU returns to Summit League action with a three-game series April 1-3 at Fort Wayne.

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Upcoming Event: Baseball at Oklahoma State on March 17, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Oklahoma State on March 18, 2026 at 4 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus North Dakota State on March 20, 2026 at 3 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus North Dakota State on March 21, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus North Dakota State on March 22, 2026 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Creighton on March 25, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Completed Event: Baseball at Oral Roberts on March 15, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 12 , 8 inn.

Completed Event: Baseball at Oral Roberts on March 14, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Baseball at Oral Roberts on March 13, 2026 , Loss , 3, to, 4

Completed Event: Baseball at Kansas State on March 11, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 9

Completed Event: Baseball versus Southern Illinois on March 8, 2026 , Loss , 4, to, 5

Completed Event: Baseball at Minnesota on March 7, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 3 , 10 inn.

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