SDSU pieces together 8-4 victory

Thursday, May 24

Tulsa, Okla.

noon

South Dakota State University

17-31

Western Illinois

17-31

Western Illinois

South Dakota State

Photo by: Bill Powell

5/24/2018 4:24:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

TULSA, Okla. – Korey Kuhlmann led a solid performance by the South Dakota State bullpen with 4 2/3 strong innings to help lead the Jackrabbits to an 8-4 victory over Western Illinois in an elimination game Thursday afternoon at the Summit League Baseball Championship at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

Both teams ended the day with 17-31 overall records. Western Illinois was seeded second, while the Jackrabbits entered the double-elimination tournament as the No. 4 seed.

A junior left-hander, Kuhlmann entered the game with two outs in the first inning and Western Illinois leading 1-0 after Jackrabbit starter Brady Moxham struggled with his control. The Leathernecks scored without the benefit of a hit thanks to a hit batter, stolen base and two wild pitches.

SDSU responded in a big way in the home half of the first as the first two batters in the Jackrabbit lineup, Anthony Schneider and Tony Kjolsing, each hit solo home runs off Ian Koch for a 2-1 lead. Schneider's seventh home run of the season tied him for the team lead, while Kjolsing's circuit clout was his sixth of the year.

Western Illinois scored single runs in each of the second and third innings on sacrifice flies off Kuhlmann to grab a momentary 3-2 lead.

However, the Jackrabbits gained the lead for good with a two-run bottom of the third. Schneider opened the inning by being hit a pitch and advanced to second on a walk to Nick Smith. With two outs, Josh Falk lined a single to center field that scored Schneider, and Smith wheeled all the way around from first when the ball was misplayed in the outfield.

Kuhlmann put up zeroes in both the fourth and fifth innings before giving way to Tyler Olmstead with one out in the sixth.

The game remained a 4-3 contest until the bottom of the seventh, when the Jackrabbits gained some breathing room with a four-run inning. Derek Hackman, Smith and Newt Johnson all walked to load the bases with two outs. After falling behind 0-2, Falk fouled off a number of pitches before drawing a walk that forced in a run and ultimately led to Western Illinois head coach Ryan Brownlee being ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Gus Steiger followed with his second hit of the day, a two-run single to left, and Falk scored the final run of the frame when he jarred the ball loose sliding into home after Landon Badger dropped a bunt single down the third-base line.

Olmstead was sent out to finish the game in the ninth, but Western Illinois tallied a run on a single with the bases loaded to draw within 8-4 and send the tying run to the plate. Derek Feige then entered and struck out Alex Dorethy looking to end the game. It was Feige's first save of the season and his career.

Kuhlmann walked one and struck out one while scattering five hits. Olmstead fanned two and walked one over 3 1/3 innings.

Hits were even at eight apiece. Steiger was the lone Jackrabbit with more than one hit, going 2-for-4. Montgomery and Deion Thompson each tallied two hits for Western Illinois.

Koch tossed 6 2/3 innings in his start for the Leathernecks, striking out eight and walking three.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will face North Dakota State in another elimination game at 6 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship. NDSU dropped a 6-4 decision to Oral Roberts in Thursday's late game.

NOTES

The Jackrabbits claimed the season series from WIU, 3-2, and lead the all-time series, 32-23
SDSU and Western Illinois are 2-2 against each other in Summit League postseason games, with Thursday's contest marking their first tournament matchup since 2014
The Jackrabbits upped their overall record in Summit League Baseball Championship games to 15-16, and SDSU has won at least one game in all nine of its tournament appearances
Steiger extended his hitting streak to eight games, during which he is batting .375 (15-for-40)
Steiger recorded his team-best 19^th multi-hit game of the season and has nine multi-hit performances in the last 13 games
Schneider went 11-for-19 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in in his last four games against Western Illinois
The back-to-back home runs by Schneider and Kjolsing marked the first time the Jackrabbits hit consecutive home runs since Josh Kunzmann (2-run) and Matt Johnson (solo) accomplished the feat in the second game of an April 15, 2017, doubleheader at Western Illinois
Of Kjolsing's 14 career home runs, nine have been hit in the month of May
Moxham became the sixth Jackrabbit pitcher to start 15 or more games in a season; Andrew Clemen was the most recent in 2016
Kuhlmann has won three decisions in a row
Newt Johnson played in his 194^th career game, moving him into sole possession of ninth place on the SDSU all-time charts