Jacks come up just short to ORU

Saturday, May 14

Brookings, S.D.

2:00 PM

South Dakota State University

19-30, 12-14

Oral Roberts

31-16, 20-6

Oral Roberts

South Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

5/14/2016 5:47:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

For the second day in a row, a valiant comeback by the South Dakota State University baseball team came up just short as the Jackrabbits dropped a 7-6 decision to Oral Roberts Saturday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.

With the win, ORU clinched the Summit League regular season title and improved to 31-16 overall and 20-6 in league play. SDSU dropped to 19-30 overall and 12-14 in The Summit League.

Trailing 7-0 heading into the seventh-inning stretch, the Jackrabbits broke up Nick Wood's shutout bid as Newt Johnson doubled with two outs and Phil Velez followed with an RBI single.

Pinch-hitter Tony Kjolsing singled and scored in the eighth to pull the Jackrabbits to within 7-2.

SDSU rallied again in the ninth against three different Golden Eagle pitchers. Newt Johnson led off with a walk and moved to third on Velez's double down the left-field line. After a strikeout, Josh Kunzmann plated both Johnson and Velez, chasing reliever Korbin Polly from the game. The next ORU pitcher, Nathan Garza, walked both Paul Jacobson and Kjolsing to load the bases.

Facing Golden Eagle closer Brady Womacks, Luke Ringhofer delivered a two-run single to center that pulled the Jackrabbits to within 7-6. A single by Jesse Munsterman moved the tying run in Kjolsing to third and the winning run in Ringhofer to second with only one out.

Matt Johnson then stepped to the plate and lifted a fly ball to shallow left field that was caught by Trent Shelton, who then threw home to cut down Kjolsing to end the ballgame.

The game was scoreless until the fourth inning, when ORU scored a pair of runs against Landon Busch, who was making his first start for the Jackrabbits since February. Sam Grellner delivered the first run with a sacrifice fly and Shelton added a two-out single to score Brent Williams.

The Golden Eagles scored two unearned runs in the sixth, then added three runs against the Jackrabbit bullpen in the seventh, capped by a two-run single by Grellner.

Rolando Martinez was 3-for-4 to lead ORU's 12-hit attack. Cody Sharrow was 3-for-4 at the plate, including a pair of doubles, to pace the Jackrabbits' offensive output. Nine of SDSU's 11 hits came in the final three innings. Ringhofer and Velez each tallied two hits, with Ringhofer extending his streak of reaching base safely to 41 games.

Wood struck out four and scattered six hits over 7 1/3 innings to earn the victory.

Busch, who had his seven-game winning streak end, struck out five, gave up eight hits and did not walk a batter over six innings. Chris Halbur finished up with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

The two teams will play their series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday. Jackrabbit baseball seniors will be honored during pre-game ceremonies starting at 12:45 p.m.

ORAL ROBERTS 7, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 6
ORU 000 202 300 7-12-1
SDSU 000 000 114 6-11-1
ORU: Nick Wood, Trevor McCutchin (8), Korbin Polly (9), Nathan Garza (9), Brady Womacks (9) and Brent Williams. SDSU: Landon Busch, Ethan Kenkel (7), Chris Halbur (7) and Luke Ringhofer.
W-Wood (5-2). L-Busch (7-3). Save-Womacks (11).
HR: none.