Three-run ninth sends Jacks to Tulsa

Saturday, May 21

Fargo, N.D.

1:00 PM

South Dakota State University

21-33, 13-17

North Dakota State

29-25, 12-18

South Dakota State

North Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

5/21/2016 4:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

FARGO, N.D. – In a winner-take-all game, the South Dakota State University baseball team scored three times in the top of the ninth and held on for a 7-4 victory Saturday afternoon over North Dakota State and a berth in next week's Summit League Baseball Championship.

The Jackrabbits improved to 21-33 overall and 13-17 in league play. NDSU had its season come to an end with a 29-25 overall record and a 12-18 mark in The Summit League.

With the game tied at 4-all entering the ninth, Tony Kjolsing started the Jackrabbits game-winning rally with his third hit of the game, a double down the left-field line. Two of the next three SDSU hitters were retired before Matt Johnson stepped to the plate and lined a Sean Terres pitch to right field that drove in Kjolsing. After Matt Johnson stole second to put runners at second and third, Newt Johnson followed with a two-run single to shallow right that scored both Ringhofer and Matt Johnson for a 7-4 lead.

Freshman Will McAffer made the lead stand as he struck out a pair of Bison batters en route to his first collegiate save.

SDSU recovered to win after surrendering a four-run lead. The game was scoreless until the Jackrabbits scratched a run across in the top of the fourth on three singles, the last of which was a two-out hit by right fielder Josh Kunzmann.

The Jackrabbits took advantage of an extra out in the sixth to score three times. Matt Johnson led off the inning with a triple to center field off Bison starter Parker Trewin and scored on a sacrifice fly by Newt Johnson. The next SDSU runs came after Cody Sharrow struck out for what should have been the third out, but reached on a wild pitch. Kunzmann and Kjolsing then recorded back-to-back run-scoring doubles.

SDSU starter Ryan Froom held North Dakota State without a hit until the sixth, when the Bison comeback began. Logan Busch walked with one out and scored on Ben Petersen's two-out single to left field.

After coming back with a scoreless seventh, Froom exited after the first two Bison hitters in the eighth inning reached, including a double by Drew Fearing that scored Logan Busch. Reliever Chris Halbur retired the first batter he faced, but gave up the lead when Petersen connected on a two-run home run to left field that knotted the game at 4-all.

Froom, who did not factor in the decision, struck out five, walked two and allowed three runs on five hits in seven-plus innings.

Kjolsing and Matt Johnson each went 3-for-5 to lead the Jackrabbits' 11-hit attack. Ringhofer reached base three times via a pair of walks and a hit by pitch to extend his streak of reaching base safely to a school-record 46 consecutive games, eclipsing the mark of 45 games set in 2015 by Zach Coppola.

Fearing, Petersen and Taylor Sanders collected two hits apiece for NDSU.

The Jackrabbits will enter the Summit League Baseball Championship as the fourth seed and will face top-seeded Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The double-elimination tournament will be played at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the ORU campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with second-seeded Omaha and third-seeded Fort Wayne meeting in the opener at noon Wednesday.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 7, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 4
SDSU 000 103 003 7-11-1
ORU 000 010 030 4-8-1
SDSU: Ryan Froom, Chris Halbur (8), Will McAffer (9) and Luke Ringhofer. NDSU: Parker Trewin, Sean Terres (6) and Juan Gamez.
W-Halbur (1-0). L-Terres (1-3). Save-McAffer (1).
HR: NDSU-Ben Petersen (4).