Baseball season opens in Missouri

Friday, February 16

St. Louis, Mo.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Austin Peay

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

2/15/2018 9:01:00 AM | Baseball

By: Jason Hove

GAMES 1-3: South Dakota State (0-0) vs. Austin Peay (0-0)

When	Friday, Feb. 16 • 1 p.m. Central Time \| Saturday, Feb. 17 • 1 p.m. \| Sunday, Feb. 18 • noon
Where	Billiken Sports Complex \| St. Louis, Missouri
TV	None
Radio	Austin Peay Radio
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Series Notes	South Dakota State \| Austin Peay
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #EarnIt

After revamping its schedule on the fly, the South Dakota State University baseball team is set to open the 2018 season with a three-game weekend series against Austin Peay in St. Louis, Missouri.

The series opener is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at the Billiken Sports Complex on the Saint Louis University campus. The other two games in the series are slated for 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. Radio coverage will be available through LetsGoPeay.com.

Both squads had their original series canceled because of the threat of persistent rain throughout the weekend. The Jackrabbits were scheduled to play at Mississippi Valley State while Austin Peay was slated to host Maryland Eastern Shore.

SDSU ended its first season under head coach Rob Bishop in 2017 with a 26-24 overall record, including an 18-12 mark in Summit League for a third-place finish in the regular season standings. The Jackrabbits qualified for the league's postseason tournament for the eighth time in nine seasons.

Austin Peay notched a 28-30 overall record last season, including a 13-16 ledger in the Ohio Valley Conference.

FOR OPENERS: The Jackrabbits are 4-9 in Opening Day games during the Division I era, which began with the start of the 2005 season. SDSU ended a two-game losing streak in season openers last season by defeating Northern Illinois, 7-2 in a game played in Glendale, Arizona. The Jackrabbits also won the next day against Chicago State, 3-1, to start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2013.

THE SERIES: The Jackrabbits and Austin Peay have previously met in two other seasons, with the Governors?holding a 2-1 series advantage. The two squads split a two-game series March 8-9, 2011, in Clarksville, Tennessee, with Austin Peay winning the opener, 10-7, and SDSU claiming the finale, 8-2. The Jackrabbit victory was highlighted by a complete-game effort from Kolton Emery and a 3-for-5, three-RBI performance at the plate by Zach Rhodes.

Austin Peay grabbed the lead in the all-time series with a 3-1 victory in Clarksville on the opening weekend of play in 2015.

PRESEASON POLL: The Jackrabbit baseball team has been picked to finish second in the upcoming Summit League race, according to a poll of league coaches released Feb. 8.

SDSU received 20 points and one first-place vote, finishing behind defending champion Oral Roberts, which received the other five first-place votes and 25 total points. North Dakota State completed the top half of the poll with 17 points.
Rounding out the second half of the poll were Western Illinois (14 points), Omaha (9) and Fort Wayne (5).

The Jackrabbits, who return six position starters, are scheduled to open Summit League play March 16, when they open a three-game series at Oral Roberts. The 2018 Summit League Baseball Championship is slated for May 23-26 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In addition, SDSU shortstop Tony Kjolsing was selected as a Summit League Player to Watch. A senior from Chaska, Minnesota, Kjolsing batted .291 with four home runs and 21 runs batted in while playing in 32 games during the 2017 season.

SEASON PREVIEW: Featuring six returning position starters and a revamped pitching staff, the South Dakota State University baseball team expects to once again contend for Summit League titles during the 2018 season.

"We'll make some adjustments as we go, but I really like our team and I like our attitude and our effort in how we're approaching each day," said head coach Rob Bishop, who guided the Jackrabbits to a 26-24 overall record and 18-12 mark in The Summit League during his first season in 2017.

Bishop expects his 2018 squad to be deeper across the board, allowing the Jackrabbits to exploit a variety of matchups and excel in late-inning situations.

"It's going to have to be the collective group putting together good at-bats and being mature at the plate to make our offense go," Bishop said. "I feel optimistic about our team, and we have competitive guys who can make the necessary adjustments."

Following is a closer look at the various position groups:

Infield
The left side of the starting infield returns in senior shortstop Tony Kjolsing and senior third baseman Newt Johnson.

A native of Chaska, Minnesota, Kjolsing missed a month last season due to injury but managed to hit .291 with four home runs and 21 runs batted in, while also providing solid defense.

Johnson, from Rapid City, turned in his best season at the plate during his Jackrabbit career in 2017 by posting a .302 batting average and sharing the team lead with 16 doubles and 40 runs batted in. He also connected on three home runs en route to being named to the all-Summit League Second Team.

Across the diamond, the Jackrabbits will need to replace their top power hitter from a year ago, first baseman Matt Johnson, who wrapped up his collegiate career in 2017 with a team-high 12 home runs as a second-team all-Summit selection.

Junior college transfer Josh Falk is the leading candidate to be the Opening Day starter at first base. Falk possesses perhaps the most power on the 2018 Jackrabbit squad.

Fellow junior college transfer Josh Kutzke is a candidate to see action at both corner infield spots, as well.

The Jackrabbits are likely to employ a rotation at second base. Skyler Wenninger and Nick Smith split time at the position last year, but also have the ability to play in the outfield.

Smith earned second-team all-Summit League recognition as a utility player during his sophomore campaign in 2017. Seeing action at second base, left field and designated hitter, he batted a team-best .340, led the team with 65 hits and tallied 10 doubles and seven stolen bases.

Wenninger took over the second base duties late in the 2017 season after filling in for Kjolsing at shortstop and returning from his own injury. The Luverne, Minnesota, product batted .281 with a home run and 15 RBIs, while posting a .952 fielding percentage.

Freshman Gus Steiger could emerge as another option at second base, Bishop said, after impressing the Jackrabbit coaching staff during fall practices and early season workouts.

A question mark heading into the 2018 season is who will be the team's primary catcher. Luke Ringhofer, the Jackrabbits' starting receiver each of the last two seasons, opted to forego his senior season after being selected in the 22nd round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft by Baltimore.

Juniors Kolton Michalski and Ian Cote had limited playing experience — especially at the plate — through their first two years at SDSU, while freshman Derek Hackman also could contend for the starting role.

"The catcher position is going to be a really big spot for us," Bishop said. "I feel like Cote, Michalski and Hackman all have the talent to play defense back there, and they're all competitive guys."

True freshman Timmy Paris adds further depth at catcher.

Outfield
Besides Smith, three regular starters from the past two seasons return to patrol the SDSU outfield.

Senior Philip Jacobson made 41 starts a season ago and responded by hitting .295 with a home run and 17 RBIs. A threat to steal, Jacobson added five stolen bases.

Another senior, Phil Velez, turned in a solid first season with the Jackrabbits in 2016 by batting .298, but will look to regain his form at the plate after dipping to a .183 batting average in 30 starts last season. Velez has been solid defensively throughout his career, however, committing only one error in 182 defensive chances over the past two seasons.

Sophomore Landon Badger earned the Opening Day start in center field last season and got out of the gates quickly at the plate before finishing the 2017 campaign with a .219 batting average and 13 runs batted in. He also stole five bases.

Also in the mix for extensive playing time in the outfield are senior Anthony Schneider and junior college transfer Logan Holtz. Schneider handled the designated hitter duties for much of the 2017 season and ranked second on the squad with five home runs. He also tallied a team-high 10 stolen bases and ranked third on the squad with a .401 on-base percentage.

Pitching
The Jackrabbits will mix in a number of new pitchers to a staff whose strength was in the bullpen a season ago.

"When you look at who threw significant innings for us last year, we only return five guys. We're not young — we brought in about half transfers and half freshmen — so we have experience, but we don't have experience at the Division I level," Bishop said. "I still expect there to be some adjustments there even though I'm really happy with the talent that we have there, and couldn't be more satisified with the effort that those guys are putting forth."

Last season, Jackrabbit relievers combined to throw nearly as many innings during Summit League play as the starters — a trend Bishop is hoping doesn't repeat itself.

Newcomers are expected to fill two-thirds of the starting rotation when it comes to league play in March as sophomore right-hander Brady Moxham and fellow JUCO transfer Korey Kuhlmann, a left-hander, are penciled in to pitch Saturdays and Sundays, respectively.

Sophomore southpaw Brady Stover, who started 10 games a season ago, will be counted on to headline the rotation. In 2017, Stover compiled a 2-3 record, including a win at nationally ranked Oklahoma State, and struck out 39 batters in 39 1/3 innings. However, he struggled with his command in the second half of his freshman season and was relegated to bullpen duties down the stretch.

"All three of those guys are really talented, but they're all relatively unproven at our level," Bishop said of his trio of starters.

Other candidates to fill starting roles in extended series or midweek games include sophomores Tyler Olmstead and Brett Mogen, along with junior college transfer Austin Suhr.

Olmstead made five starts in 2017, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.86 earned run average. He missed a month before working his way back into the rotation, which included earning the start in the Jackrabbits' Summit League tournament opener against North Dakota State.

Mogen was a spot starter and long reliever for SDSU during his freshman season. Despite an 0-3 record, he ranked second on the team with 49 1/3 innings pitched and struck out 39.

"I feel like we probably have six or seven guys that I can see being starters at our level, whether it's this year or in the future in our program," Bishop said.

When handing the ball over to the bullpen, Bishop and second-year pitching coach Mitch Mormann will have a variety of options.

Senior Derek Feige led the pitching staff with five wins last season. The right-handed setup man shared the team lead with 23 appearances in compiling a 2.98 earned run average in 45 1/3 innings.

Left-hander Bryce Hanson also put together a breakthrough season in 2017, leading the team with 53 strikeouts in only 46 innings of work. The junior made 20 appearances, one of which was an emergency start.

Quinn Reimers also turned in a solid season out of the bullpen as a freshman. The Pierre native was a late addition to the Jackrabbit roster, but managed to tie for the team lead with 23 appearances, recording an 0-1 record with one save.

SDSU will have to replace all-Summit League closer Chris Halbur, who racked up a 3-0 record and 10 saves while finishing with a sub-one ERA. Junior college transfer Otis Roby is expected to start the season in the closer's role, with fellow transfer Alex Marro providing another power arm in the bullpen.

Schedule
The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play their first 28 games away from home and will face top-tier competition throughout the early portion of their schedule, including meeting Bradley, Southern Mississippi, UT-Arlington and host Stephen F. Austin in a tournament Feb. 23-25 in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The 30-game Summit League schedule begins March 16 as the Jackrabbits will travel to Oral Roberts for a three-game series.

"I think the biggest difference in our league is that the 4-5-6 teams from a year ago are going to be a lot better. I would expect the overall standings to be tighter top to bottom, Bishop said."

SDSU's home opener is set for April 4 against Dakota Wesleyan, followed by the league home opener two days later against Fort Wayne.

Oral Roberts will host the Summit League Baseball Championship May 23-26 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 500 victories, was named head baseball coach at South Dakota State University on Aug. 1, 2016. Bishop is the ninth head coach in program history and the fourth in the Division I era of Jackrabbit baseball.

Overall, Bishop holds a 575-346-1 record (.624 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach, including a 26-24 mark with the Jackrabbits. Prior to coming to SDSU, he spent six years at NCAA Division II member Montana State University-Billings, where he led the Yellowjackets to back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season titles in 2015 and 2016, attaining the program's first-ever 30-win season with a 30-20 record in 2016.

His squads also were honored as the top academic team in the GNAC each of his last three seasons.

Previously, Bishop spent 10 years at Miles City Community College in Montana, where his teams won MonDak conference championships every year. His squads also claimed five consecutive junior college region titles and a Northwest District championship in 2007 to advance to the NJCAA Division II College World Series. He also served as athletic director the last five years of his tenure at Miles City.

Bishop served as a graduate assistant at SDSU under head coach Mark Ekeland during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In his first season as a head coach, Bishop led Huron University to the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title in 2000.

A 1994 graduate of Jamestown College, Bishop earned NAIA All-America honors during the 1992 and 1994 seasons as an infielder.

THE ROSTER: The 2018 SDSU baseball roster features 33 players from six different states and one Canadian provinice. Of the 33 players, 12 are from South Dakota, 10 are from Iowa and seven hail from Minnesota. Arizona, Washington and Wisconsin are represented by one player each, as is Manitoba.

By class, seven are seniors, 11 are juniors, eight are sophomores and seven are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will again head south for four games in Nacogdoches, Texas, Feb. 23-25. SDSU is slated to play two games Friday (Feb. 23), facing Bradley at 11 a.m. and Southern Mississippi at 3 p.m. The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play host Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 24) before concluding the weekend with a 1 p.m. contest Sunday (Feb. 25) versus UT-Arlington.

-GoJacks.com-