Jackrabbits roll into Alabama

Wednesday, March 6

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Alabama

3/5/2019 10:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game 11: South Dakota State (5-5) at Alabama (11-2)

When	Wednesday, March 6 \| 3 p.m. Central
Where	Sewell-Thomas Stadium \| Tuscaloosa, Alabama
TV	SEC Network+
Radio	Alabama Broadcast
Live Stats	G oJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Alabama \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

For the second time in less than a week, the South Dakota State University baseball team will take on an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.

Wednesday, the Jackrabbits will make the trek to the University of Alabama for a mid-week matchup against the Crimson Tide. Game time is set for 3 p.m. (note time change) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The game will be televised through SEC Network+.

SDSU enters the week with a 5-5 overall record after winning two of three games on the first leg of its Spring Break trip in Conway, Arkansas, last weekend. The Jackrabbits split a two-game set against host Central Arkansas, while adding a 6-3 victory over SEC foe Missouri in the first game of the day on March 2.

Alabama has posted an 11-2 overall record after defeating UAB, 4-3, Tuesday afternoon. The Crimson Tide is on a seven-game winning streak that included a weekend road sweep of South Alabama.

THE SERIES: Wednesday's game will mark the first-ever meeting on the baseball diamond between South Dakota State and Alabama.

Since moving to the Division I ranks at the start of the 2005 season, the Jackrabbits have combined for a 2-7 record against current SEC members. SDSU's win over Missouri last weekend was its first against an SEC foe since a 3-2 victory over nationally ranked Arkansas on March 9, 2010, in Fayetteville.

SDSU also played Arkansas and Missouri twice each during the 2008 season, as well as taking Mississippi State twice to open the 2016 campaign.

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits moved back to the .500 mark by winning two of three games played in Conway, Arkansas. A scheduled fourth game of the weekend was canceled due to inclement weather.

Game 1: Central Arkansas 8, SDSU 3 | Recap | Box Score
Game 2: SDSU 6, Missouri 3 | Recap | Box Score
Game 3: SDSU 7, Central Arkansas 5 | Recap | Box Score

HOLTZ HONORED: South Dakota State University outfielder Logan Holtz was honored Monday as Summit League Player of the Week after helping lead the Jackrabbits to two wins last weekend.

A senior from Urbana, Iowa, Holtz batted .545 (6-for-11) with four runs batted in and two runs scored during the week. In a March 2 victory over Missouri, he recorded a career-best three hits in five trips to the plate and drove in the first two Jackrabbits runs as SDSU prevailed, 6-3. Later that same day, Holtz added two more RBIs as the Jackrabbits rallied for 7-5 victory over host Central Arkansas.

In extending his hitting streak to five games, Holtz raised his season batting average to a team-best .385. He has reached base safely in all nine games in which he has played this season.

Holtz is the second Jackrabbit to be honored with a weekly award by The Summit League this season, joining left-handed pitcher Brady Stover, who was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 18.

A CALL TO ARMS: South Dakota State pitchers combined to strike out 34 UT Martin batters in 26 innings and post a 2.42 team earned run average during their season-opening three-game series.

Brady Stover led the way with nine strikeouts over five innings in the Feb. 15 season opener, while freshman Nic McCay posted eight strikeouts in five innings during his collegiate debut Feb. 17.

Tyler Olmstead matched the team season high of nine strikeouts in six innings of a Feb. 23 start against Florida International that resulted in a no-decision. Olmstead has fanned a team-best 22 batters in 15 innings so far this season.

SDSU has received at least five innings from its starting pitchers in seven of 10 games so far this season.

Jackrabbit relievers made strong contributions this past weekend in games against Central Arkansas and Missouri. Six pitchers combined to throw 12 innings out of the bullpen without allowing an earned run. Brett Mogen did not allow an earned run over four innings in a March 1 relief appearance at Central Arkansas, while Cody Carlson pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings to earn the save March 2 against Missouri. Bret Barnett blanked UCA over two innings to earn the win in relief later that same day.

Barnett has not allowed a run in six innings over three appearances so far this season. He leads the pitching staff with two victories.

FROOM MAKES COMEBACK: Ryan Froom completed the long road back from injury by making his first appearance in nearly two years in the Feb. 16 game against UT Martin.

A sixth-year senior, Froom struck out five, walked four and surrendered three hits over five innings in finishing with a no-decision. Froom's last appearance was March 25, 2017, at Oral Roberts, when he suffered an arm injury. He missed the remainder of the 2017 season and was granted an injury hardship. Froom also sat out the entire 2018 campaign before rejoining the team this past fall.

Froom got back into the win column March 2 as the Jackrabbits knocked off Missouri, 6-3.

After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, Froom pitched four consecutive shutout frames before tiring in the sixth. He finished with a season-high six strikeouts, while allowing three runs on four hits with five walks in 5 2/3 innings.

The Crystal, Minnesota, native was a mainstay in the Jackrabbit rotation starting with his sophomore season in 2015. He currently ranks sixth in program history with 37 games started and also enters the week in eighth on the SDSU career charts with 207 1/3 innings pitched.

POWER SURGE: Through their first 10 games of the 2019 season, the Jackrabbits have out-homered the opposition, 10-2, highlighted by a three-home run performance in the Feb. 15 opener against UT Martin.

Eight different players have accounted for the Jackrabbit home runs, with Braeden Brown and Logan Holtz leading the squad with two each.

Holtz and Ryan McDonald connected on back-to-back homers in the fifth inning of a Feb. 16 game against UT Martin. It was the first career home run for each and marked the second time in five games dating back to last season that the Jackrabbits hit consecutive home runs. Anthony Schneider and Tony Kjolsing led off a May 24 Summit League Baseball Championship game against Western Illinois with back-to-back homers.

Despite the fast start in the home run department, the Jackrabbits have not hit a long ball in their last four games.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four first-year players filled spots in the starting lineup in the Jackrabbits' Feb. 16 game against UT Martin. Drew Beazley batted out of the leadoff spot as the designated hitter, while Luke Ira (third base), Ryan McDonald (catcher) and Jamie Berg (center field) also were on the lineup card. McDonald led SDSU at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a home run.

Ira, who has started all 10 games, is tied for the team lead with four extra base hits, while posting a .317 batting average and .488 slugging percentage. He has recorded a hit in seven games, including a team-best five multi-hit performances.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State has been picked to finish second in the upcoming Summit League baseball race, according to a poll conducted among conference coaches that was announced Feb. 7 by league officials.

The Jackrabbits received one first-place vote, finishing with 21 points. Defending league champion Oral Roberts again paced the six-team race with five first-place votes and 25 points. North Dakota State completed the upper half of the poll with 17 points.

Rounding out the poll were: Western Illinois, 12 points; Omaha, 9 points, and Purdue Fort Wayne, 6 points.

In addition, the Jackrabbits' Nick Smith and Brady Stover were recognized among the Summit League's top players to watch.

A two-time all-Summit League honoree, Smith has posted a batting average of better than .300 each of the past two seasons. Smith, a senior from Chanhassen, Minnesota, hit at a .303 clip with 18 runs batted in en route to first-team honors as a utility player during the 2018 campaign.

Stover, a junior from Huxley, Iowa, posted a 3-2 record in 2018 with a 4.57 earned run average in 10 appearances, including nine starts. The left-hander struck out 63 batters in only 43.1 innings, setting an SDSU single-season record with an average of 13.09 strikeouts per nine innings. He also limited the opposition to a .203 batting average.

Summit League play is slated to begin March 15, when SDSU opens a three-game series at Western Illinois.

The top four teams during the regular season will advance to the 2019 Summit League Baseball Championship, which is scheduled for May 22-25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to nearly 600 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.

Now in his third season with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 49-61 record at SDSU. In his first season, Bishop's 2017 squad returned to the winning side of the ledger with a 26-24 overall mark, including an 18-12 record for a third-place finish in The Summit League standings. SDSU won its opening-round game in the Summit League Baseball Championship, 6-5, over second-seeded North Dakota State.

In 2018, SDSU overcame a slow start to post a winning record in Summit League play at 14-13 and went on to reach the title game of the Summit League Baseball Championship. The Jackrabbits finished with an 18-32 overall record during a campaign in which they played only six home games.

Overall, Bishop holds a 598-383-1 record (.609 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 10 times during his brief tenure, including six all-league selections in 2018. Utility player Nick Smith and third baseman Newt Johnson received all-Summit League recognition in both 2017 and 2018.

Prior to becoming head coach at SDSU, Bishop 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. Bishop's teams won at least 30 games each of his 10 seasons, including four 40-win seasons. He ended his tenure at Miles City with a 377-151 overall record. He also served as athletic director his last five years 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 with a 38-18 record.

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

THE ROSTER: The 2019 SDSU baseball roster features 33 players from seven different states and one Canadian province. Of the 33 players, 11 are from Iowa, nine are from South Dakota and eight hail from Minnesota. Arizona, Nebraska, Washington and Wisconsin are represented by one player each, as is Manitoba.

By class, 10 are seniors, nine are juniors, five are sophomores, two are redshirt freshmen and seven are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will wrap up their Spring Break trip by returning to the state of Arkansas for a four-game series at UA Little Rock March 8-10.
Friday, March 8
• SDSU at UA Little Rock, 3 p.m.
Saturday, March 9
• SDSU at UA Little Rock [DH], 1/4 p.m.
Sunday, March 10
• SDSU at UA Little Rock, 1 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-