Jackrabbits set for Summit Tournament

Wednesday, May 25

Tulsa, Okla.

6:00 PM

South Dakota State University

Oral Roberts University

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

5/23/2016 3:33:00 PM | Baseball

For the seventh time in eight seasons, and the fourth in a row, the South Dakota State has qualified for the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship.
The double-elimination tournament kicks off Wednesday, with the Jackrabbits meeting top-seeded and host Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. Third-seeded Fort Wayne and second-seeded Omaha meet in the tournament opener at noon Wednesday at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the Oral Roberts University campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Jackrabbits enter the tournament with a 21-33 overall record after posting a 13-17 record in league play. Oral Roberts won the league regular season title with a 22-8 mark and is 34-18 overall.
A complete tournament schedule is as follows.
Wednesday, May 25
• Game 1 #3 Fort Wayne (31-24) vs. #2 Omaha (28-26), noon
• Game 2 #4 South Dakota State (21-33) at #1 Oral Roberts (34-18), 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 26
• Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, noon
• Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 27
• Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 28
• Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m.
• Game 7 (if neccessary; 30 minutes after the end of Game 6
Radio coverage of all of SDSU's tournament games will be available locally on KJJQ?910 AM, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play, and through the Jackrabbits All-Access media portal at GoJacks.com. The pre-game show begins 15 minutes prior to scheduled first pitch each day.

SERIES HISTORY: South Dakota State went a combined 7-11 against the three other teams competing in the Summit League Baseball Championship during the 2016 regular season. The Jackrabbits won the season series against Fort Wayne, 4-2, but came up on the short side of the ledger against Omaha (2-4) and Oral Roberts (1-5).
Following are the Jackrabbits' all-time series and Summit League Baseball Championship records against the other three teams in the 2016 tournament field:

Opponent	All-Time Series	Summit Tournament
vs. Oral Roberts	ORU leads 37-12	ORU leads 6-0
vs. Omaha	Omaha leads 80-67-1	0-0
vs. Fort Wayne	SDSU leads 41-13	SDSU leads 2-1

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Jackrabbits have found success at the Summit League Baseball Championship, advancing to the title series four of the previous six times they qualified for the four-team tournament. Overall, SDSU holds a 12-11 record in Summit League Baseball Championship games.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some brief notes regarding the Jackrabbit baseball team heading into the Summit League Baseball Championship:
• Luke Ringhofer has reached base safely in 46 consecutive games, establishing a record streak by a Jackrabbit in the Division I era. Ringhofer, who has reached base by a hit, walk or hit by pitch in 52 of 54 games this season, surpassed Zach Coppola's record streak of 45 games set last year.
• Ringhofer has a season on-base percentage of .477 and has walked 40 times against only 16 strikeouts this season. In his two seasons, Ringhofer has drawn 74 bases on balls against 28 strikeouts.
• Matt Johnson's grand slam in the ninth inning of SDSU's 15-3 victory at Omaha on April 23 marked the first grand slam by a Jackrabbit since Jake Ratz connected against Alabama A&M on Feb. 21, 2014.
• Matt Johnson tied the SDSU record for longest hitting streak in the Division I era at 19 games, matching Tyson Fisher's streak in 2005. Johnson wound up batting .400 (28-for-70) with five home runs and 24 runs batted in during his streak, which began on March 29 and ended April 30.
• Four other Jackrabbits have strung together hitting streaks of at least 10 games this season: Luke Ringhofer (13), Phil Velez (10), Jesse Munsterman (10) and Cody Sharrow (10).
• Jesse Munsterman and Matt Johnson hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning of the May 13 game against Oral Roberts. Earlier this season, Luke Ringhofer and Newt Johnson hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning of the March 19 game at Oral Roberts.
• Newt Johnson (Feb. 27 vs. Virginia Commonwealth), Paul Jacobson (April 15 vs. North Dakota State) and Matt Johnson (April 16 vs. North Dakota State) all have two-home run games this season.
• The Jackrabbits defeated Minnesota, 7-6 in 10 innings, on May 17 to close out the home season. It was SDSU's sixth consecutive win over the Golden Gophers on South Dakota soil, dating back to a 2008 victory in Sioux Falls.

PRESEASON POLL: The South Dakota State University baseball team was picked to finish third in the Summit League standings during the 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).
Oral Roberts will host the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship May 25-28 at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

CLEMEN CLIMBS THE CHARTS: Although he has moved into a starting role in 2016, Jackrabbit pitcher Andrew Clemen has into the SDSU career top 10 for appearances this season.
A senior from Des Moines, Iowa, Clemen has made 65 appearances — 50 of which have been out of the bullpen — in his Jackrabbit career. With his start May 19 at North Dakota State, Clemen moved into a tie for sixth place in career appearances with Isaac Johnson (2006-09), Austin Busse (2009-12) and former teammate Talon Jumper (2012-15).
Clemen also stands ninth on the SDSU career charts for strikeouts per nine innings at 8.50, striking out 153 batters in 162 career innings. Clemen recorded a career-high eight strikeouts in his March 25 start at Western Illinois. He recorded the only complete game by a Jackrabbit pitcher so far this season, striking out four in a losing effort April 22 at Omaha.
The SDSU record for strikeouts per nine innings, 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.
With 153 career strikeouts, Clemen could make a run to move into the SDSU all-time top 10 for strikeouts. Billy McMacken (1987-90) currently holds the 10th spot with 156 career K's.

BUSCH BLANKING OPPONENTS: Upon moving to the bullpen at the beginning of March, Landon Busch was lights out against the opposition.
A junior left-hander, Busch had a string of 14 consecutive innings over which he did not give up a run during a stretch of four consecutive appearances in which he earned the win. Over his 11 relief outings, Busch has posted a 1.76 earned run average (9 ER?in 46.0 IP) and has struck out 50.
Busch returned to the starting rotation May 14 against Oral Roberts, pitching six innings and striking out five in a losing effort, which snapped his streak of seven consecutive winning decisions. That streak matched Blake Treinen (2010) and Caleb Thielbar (2007) for the longest individual winning streak by a Jackrabbit pitcher in the Division I era.
A Brookings native, Busch is in his first season pitching for the Jackrabbits. He spent his first two seasons (2013-14) at Kansas State before transferring to SDSU in the fall of 2014. He sat out the 2015 campaign due to NCAA?transfer rules.

JACOBSON JOINS TOP 10s: Senior outfielder Paul Jacobson has moved into several Jackrabbit career top 10s in recent weeks.
A Dakota Dunes native, Jacobson has played in 212 career games, including 193 starts, to rank third in the Jackrabbit annals. Jacobson, who has played both corner outfield positions this season, is the lone Jackrabbit to start all 51 games this season.
Eric Cain holds the Jackrabbit record of 218 games played from 2009-12.
With a team- and career-best 20 stolen bases so far this season, Jacobson has upped his career total to 44, putting him in a tied for sixth place on the Jackrabbit career charts with Darrell Bren (1988-89) and Jon Crow (1989-92). Jacobson stole 10 bases in both 2013 and 2015, and added four steals as a sophomore in 2014.
Jacobson also ranks fourth for career at-bats (739) and is tied for sixth in doubles (48). His 16 doubles so far this season lead the team and are a career high.
In addition, Jacobson became the 17th player in program history to record 200 career hits, reaching the milestone May 19 at North Dakota State. He enters the Summit League Baseball Championship with 201 career hits.

100-RBI CLUB: Two Jackrabbits reached a career milestone with their 100th career run batted in during the month of May.
With three runs batted in during the May 11 game at North Dakota, first baseman Matt Johnson joined Jackrabbits' 100-RBI?club.
A junior from Ankeny, Iowa, Johnson enters the weekend with 106 career runs batted in. He has tallied a team- and career-best 48 RBIs so far this season and leads the team with eight home runs.
Paul Jacobson, who has hit seven home runs this season, recorded his 100th career RBI on a second-inning sacrifice fly in the May 17 win over nationally ranked Minnesota. A four-year starter in the outfield, Jacobson has driven in a career-best 34 runs so far during the 2016 campaign.

SCHNEIDER NAMED TO ACADEMIC TEAM: South Dakota State University infielder Anthony Schneider was named earlier this month to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 6 Baseball Team.
A sophomore from Altoona, Iowa, Schneider was selected to the 12-member team with a 3.91 grade-point average while majoring in biology and pre-medicine. On the field, Schneider enters this weekend's Summit League series against Oral Roberts with a .276 batting average, three home runs and 21 runs batted in. He has started 36 of the team's 47 games and ranks second on the team with 12 stolen bases.
Schneider will advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration later this month. Selections to the Academic All-District 6 Baseball Team were based upon a vote of sports information directors in Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Candidates must be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing, a starter or key reserve on his team and carry at least a 3.3 GPA.

KJOLSING NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State second baseman Tony Kjolsing was named Monday as Summit League Player of the Week for his efforts in helping the Jackrabbits earn a berth in this week's Summit League Baseball Championship.
A sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota, Kjolsing hit safely in all four games last week, compiling a .500 batting average (8-for-16) with three runs batted in and five runs scored.
He opened the week by scoring three runs in the Jackrabbits' 7-6, 10-inning victory over nationally ranked Minnesota on May 17 at Erv Huether Field. Kjolsing followed that performance with three straight multi-hit games at North Dakota State May 19-21 to extend his hitting streak to six games, which is the longest current streak by a Jackrabbit player.
In the regular season finale on May 21, Kjolsing led off the ninth inning with his second double of the game and scored the go-ahead run in a 7-4 victory that clinched a berth in the league tournament for the Jackrabbits.
Kjolsing is the third Jackrabbit to earn Summit League Player of the Week recognition this season, joining Luke Ringhofer (March 14) and Paul Jacobson (April 25). In addition, Landon Busch was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on March 21.

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 two 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 contended for a Summit League title again 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 135-142-1 record and qualified for the Summit League postseason tournament each of the last four seasons.
Schrage enters tournament play with a 731-806-2 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.
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.
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: Last month, Layne Somsen became the third former South Dakota State pitcher in four seasons to be called up to the Major Leagues.
Somsen was promoted by the Cincinnati Reds after steadily working his way up the minor league system since being selected in the 22nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft. The Yankton native made his Major League debut May 14 at Philadelphia, pitching one scoreless inning.
Previously, Somsen made 83 appearances over parts of four seasons in the Reds organization, compiling a 9-5 record with a 2.51 earned run average. He also earned four saves while striking out 177 batters in 176 career innings pitched. At Triple-A Louisville (Ky.) this season, Somsen made eight appearances with a 1.29 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings.
Right-handed pitcher Blake Treinen is once again the only former Jackrabbit currently on a Major League roster. A member of Jackrabbit teams in 2010 and 2011, Treinen has pitched for the Washington Nationals for three seasons (2014-16) and has a 3-1 record with a 3.57 ERA in 2016, including earning the victory on Opening Day. Treinen made 60 appearances for the Nationals during the 2015 season, posting a 2-5 record and 3.86 ERA.
Two other former Jackrabbits are currently in the minor leagues.
Adam Bray, who was a 33rd round draft choice by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015, has been assigned to the Class A Great Lakes Loons in Midland, Michigan, where he is 2-0 on the young season with a 3.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. Bray 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.
Zach Coppola is a Philadelphia Phillies farmhand after being drafted in the 13th round last year. Coppola tallied a .386 batting average for the Class A Lakewood (N.J.) BlueClaws through his first 13 games, but has since been sidelined. He spent the summer of 2015 at Class A?Williamsport (Pa.), where he batted .271 with 19 steals.
Three other Jackrabbits are slated to pitch in the independent American Association this season. Chris Anderson (2014-15) recently signed with the Winnipeg Goldeyes, while Stephen Bougher (2010-13) has returned to pitch for the Sioux Falls Canaries. Left-hander Caleb Thielbar recently re-signed with the St. Paul Saints. Thielbar pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 2013-15.

THE ROSTER: The 2016 SDSU baseball roster features 36 players from eight different states plus one Canadian province. Of the 36 players, 12 are from South Dakota, 11 are from Minnesota, seven hail 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, eight are seniors, nine are juniors, 11 are sophomores, three are redshirt freshmen and five are true freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The winner of the Summit League Baseball Championship will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, which begins June 3 at campus sites.