Jackrabbits meet Summit-leading Omaha

Friday, April 5

Sioux Falls, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Omaha

Photo by: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images

4/3/2019 2:36:00 PM | Baseball

Games 25-27: Omaha (17-6-1, 9-0 Summit League) vs. South Dakota State (14-10, 7-2 Summit League)

When	Friday, April 5 • 2 p.m. \| Saturday, April 6 • 1 p.m. (doubleheader) Note schedule and location changes
Where	Karras Park Home of Ronken Field \| Sioux Falls, South Dakota
TV	None
Radio	GoJacks.com/watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Omaha \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

The top two teams in the Summit League baseball race square off this weekend as South Dakota State and Omaha meet for a three-game series in Sioux Falls.

The series was originally scheduled to be played in Brookings, but was moved due to adverse field conditions at Erv Huether Field. The series also has been condensed to two days, with the series opener slated for 2 p.m. Friday and concluding with a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. All games will be played at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field on the Augustana University campus.

Audio broadcasts of all three games will be streamed through GoJacks.com/watch, with live stats available through GoJacksLive.com. Pre-game audio coverage begins 15 minutes prior to scheduled first pitch each day.

SDSU enters the weekend in second place in the Summit League standings with a 7-2 mark in league play and a 14-10 overall record. The Jackrabbits played their first three Summit series on the road, winning two of three games against both Western Illinois and Oral Roberts before sweeping a series last weekend versus Purdue Fort Wayne.

Omaha, meanwhile, is undefeated in Summit League action with a 9-0 record after notching home sweeps against North Dakota State, Purdue Fort Wayne and Western Illinois.The Mavericks are 17-6-1 overall.

THE SERIES: South Dakota State and Omaha will play for the 162nd time when the two squads meet in Friday's series opener. The Mavericks hold an 82-78-1 lead in the series that dates back to 1949.The two programs were longtime rivals in the North Central Conference before both moved to Division I and The Summit League.

SDSU won four of six meetings last season and has claimed 12 of the last 15 meetings dating back to 2016.

Omaha claimed the first series of the 2018 season by winning two of three games on its home field. The Mavericks swept a doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 8-5 before SDSU claimed the series finale, 6-2, behind a 10-strikeout performance by Tyler Olmstead.

In the return series at Erv Huether Field in early May, the Jackrabbits swept the three-game series. A walk-off home run by Tony Kjolsing in the bottom of the 10th inning gave SDSU a 5-4 victory in the opener, and the Jackrabbits carried the momentum through the remainder of the series for 14-4 and 8-6 wins in the final two games.

LAST WEEK: Following are some highlights from last week's series sweep against Purdue Fort Wayne:

SDSU recorded its third consecutive one-run win with a 5-4 victory in the series opener. The Jackrabbits are 5-4 in one-run games this season.
SDSU has won 14 of the last 15 games against the Mastodons.
Sunday's game was moved to Notre Dame's Frank Eck Stadium after rain and snow fell in the Fort Wayne area on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits recorded their first three-game sweep in a Summit League road series since posting three consecutive wins at Fort Wayne in 2017 (May 12-14).
Landon Badger began Summit League play 0-for-22 at the plate before breaking out of his slump by recording six consecutive hits over the last two games of the series. He has reached in nine consecutive plate appearances, also drawing three walks.
Gus Steiger was hit by a pitch in the March 31 series finale to reach base safely for the 19th consecutive game.
SDSU set a season high with three triples (Badger, Logan Holtz, Braeden Brown) in the March 31 series finale.
The Jackrabbits also drew a season-high 11 bases on balls in the final game of the series, led by Nick Smith with three. Smith has walked a team-high 23 times this season.

HOT STREAKS: Three Jackrabbit infielders are the team's top hitters thanks to strong starts during the Summit League season.

Sophomore shortstop Gus Steiger leads the team with a .319 batting average and has hit safely in 14 of the last 16 games. During his recent hot streak, Steiger is batting .372 (29-of-78) with six doubles, three home runs and 16 runs batted in. He has collected two or more hits in nine of the 16 games, including four-hit performances March 8 at UA Little Rock and March 24 at Oral Roberts.

Freshmen Drew Beazley and Luke Ira rank second and third on the squad with respective averages of .317 and .298. Beazley, who was named Summit League Player of the Week on March 25, is batting a team-best .423 in league play, going 11-for-26 with four doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in, while posting an .808 slugging percentage.

A freshman from Iowa City, Iowa, Ira has started all 24 games this season and leads the team with 12 multi-hit games while batting a robust .298. He delivered the game-winning RBI double in the top of the ninth inning as part of a two-hit performance in the March 24 series finale at Oral Roberts and shares the team lead with seven two-base hits.

McCAY HONORED: South Dakota State University freshman Nic McCay was honored as Summit League Pitcher of the Week on April 1 after tossing a seven-hit shutout to finish off a weekend sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne.

A right-hander from Carlisle, Iowa, McCay struck out 11 batters and walked only one as the Jackrabbits prevailed 8-0 in a March 31 game that was played at Notre Dame's Frank Eck Stadium. In improving to 4-1 on the season, McCay retired 12 consecutive Mastodon hitters in a stretch between the third and seventh innings. All seven hits he surrendered were singles.

McCay became the first Jackrabbit to pitch a nine-inning shutout since Stephen Bougher in 2012 at SIU Edwardsville.

McCay is the second South Dakota State pitcher to be honored as Summit League Pitcher of the Week in 2019, joining left-hander Brady Stover, who received the award on the season's opening weekend. In addition, Jackrabbit position players Logan Holtz (March 4), Gus Steiger (March 11) and Drew Beazley (March 25) have been selected as Summit League Player of the Week this season.

A CALL TO ARMS: South Dakota State starting pitchers have thrown at least five innings in 18 of the team's 24 games so far this season, including all nine Summit League contests.

Junior Tyler Olmstead has taken over the No. 1 starter's role in recent weeks and has tallied 40 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings. A second-team all-Summit League selection last season, Olmstead has pitched five-plus innings in five of his first six starts, including taking a shutout into the ninth inning of his March 16 outing against Western Illinois.

Freshman Nic McCay has hurled at least seven innings in three of his last four outings, including a nine-inning, 11-strikeout shutout performance in the March 31 series finale against Purdue Fort Wayne in which he ran his record to 4-1. McCay's 11 strikeouts are the most by a Jackrabbit pitcher this season and upped his team-leading total to 42. He also fanned 10 Western Illinois batters over seven innings on March 17.

McCay was the starting pitcher in the Jackrabbits' March 6 game at Alabama. He pitched the first two innings of the midweek game before turning the game over to the bullpen. In all, SDSU used 10 pitchers in the 6-5, 14-inning loss to the Crimson Tide, tying the mark for the most pitchers used in a Division I game this season.

Out of the bullpen, sophomore left-hander Bret Barnett has emerged as the top reliever on the staff. The Indianola, Iowa, native improved to 4-0 with a win in the March 29 series opener at Fort Wayne. He also lowered his earned run average to 0.56 as he has allowed only one run in 16 innings over 10 appearances. In sharing the team lead with three saves (with Drew Beazley), Barnett has struck out 16 batters and has limited the opposition to a .113 batting average (6-for-53).

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. It marked Froom's appearance since 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.

Froom again recorded the victory in the second game of a March 9 doubleheader at UA Little Rock, going seven innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking four.

Froom has logged five or more innings in six of his seven starts this season to enter the weekend with a 3-1 record. He has notched 30 strikeouts in 38.1 innings.

The Crystal, Minnesota, native became a mainstay in the Jackrabbit rotation starting with his sophomore season in 2015. He currently ranks in fourth place in program history with 41 games started and 232 innings pitched, while moving into a tie for 10th place in career strikeouts with 156. Billy McMacken also recorded 156 career strikeouts for the Jackrabbits from 1987-90.

GOING?DEEP: Through the first 24 games of the 2019 season, the Jackrabbits have out-homered the opposition, 17-16, starting with a three-homer performance in the Feb. 15 season opener against UT Martin.

Nine different players have accounted for the Jackrabbit home runs, with Gus Steiger leading the squad with four. Josh Falk has hit three, while Drew Beazley, Braeden Brown and Logan Holtz have each hit two.

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.

SDSU hit a total of 10 home runs in its first six contests. The Jackrabbits then went 10 full games without a long ball until hitting three in the first three innings of the second game of a March 16 doubleheader against Western Illinois. Freshman Drew Beazley notched his first career home run, while Steiger and Falk each hit their second round-trippers of the season.

Steiger tallied his team-leading fourth home run in the March 24 series finale at Oral Roberts.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State was picked to finish second in the 2019 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.

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.

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 in 2018.

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.

HOME OPENER POSTPONED: South Dakota State's scheduled home opener April 3 against Dakota State was called off due to adverse field conditions at Erv Huether Field. No makeup date has been determined.

The Jackrabbits also had their March 20 game at Creighton postponed. The two squads will attempt to reschedule later in the season.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 600 career 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 58-66 record at SDSU, including a 36-27 mark in Summit League play.

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 607-388-1 record (.610 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He recorded career win No. 600 March 10 at UA?Little Rock.

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 are tentatively slated to play their official home opener April 9, hosting Dakota Wesleyan. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Erv Huether Field.

SDSU will then close out the first half of the Summit League season by welcoming North Dakota State for a three-game series April 12-14.

-GoJacks.com-