Jackrabbits prepare for Summit tourney

Thursday, May 23

Tulsa, Okla.

noon

South Dakota State University

Oral Roberts

Photo by: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images

5/20/2019 7:25:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State (27-20, 19-10 Summit) at Summit League Baseball Championship

When	SDSU vs. Oral Roberts \| Wednesday, May 22 \| 6 p.m. SDSU vs. Opponent to be Determined \| Thursday, May 23 \| noon/6 p.m. Double-elimination tournament runs through Saturday, May 25
Where	J.L. Johnson Stadium \| Tulsa, Oklahoma
TV	TheSummitLeague.org
Radio	GoJacks.com/Watch \| KJJQ 910 AM
Live Stats	TheSummitLeague.org
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

For the 10th time in 11 years, the South Dakota State University baseball team has earned a berth in the Summit League Baseball Championship.

The second-seeded Jackrabbits, 27-20 overall and 19-10 in league play, are scheduled to open tournament play versus defending tournament champion and host Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ORU enters the tournament with a 26-24 overall record and a 17-12 mark in The Summit League.

The four-team, double-elimination Summit League Baseball Championship is scheduled to run through Saturday at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Following is a complete tournament schedule:
Wednesday, May 22
Game 1 – No. 4 Western Illinois (22-29, 16-14) vs. No. 1 Omaha (28-21-1, 20-10), noon
Game 2 – No. 3 Oral Roberts (26-24, 17-12) vs. No. 2 South Dakota State (27-20, 19-10), 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 23
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, noon (loser eliminated)
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 24
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Saturday, May 25
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7 (if necessary): 4:30 p.m.

Radio coverage of all Jackrabbit tournament games begins 15 minutes prior to scheduled pitch on Brookings-based KJJQ 910 AM and online at GoJacks.com/Watch. Links to live video and statistics will be available through TheSummitLeague.org, with additional updates available via Twitter (@GoJacksBaseball).

The winner of the 2019 Summit League Baseball Championship will advance to the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 31 at campus sites.

VERSUS THE FIELD: South Dakota State went a combined 9-8 against the three other teams competing in the Summit League Baseball Championship during the 2019 regular season. The Jackrabbits won season series against Western Illinois (4-2) and Oral Roberts (3-2), but dropped the season series to Omaha by a 4-2 count.

Following are the Jackrabbits' all-time series and Summit League Baseball Championship records against the other three teams in the 2019 tournament field:

Opponent	All-Time Series	Summit League Tournament
Omaha	Omaha leads 86-80-1	SDSU leads 1-0
Oral Roberts	Oral Roberts leads 53-17	Oral Roberts leads 11-0
Western Illinois	SDSU leads 36-25	Tied 2-2

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has been a consistent winner in The Summit League since it became a league member more than a decade ago. In 12 seasons as a member of The Summit League, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 180-137 (.568 winning percentage) in regular season conference games. SDSU has posted a .500 or better record in league play nine times and now has qualified for the four-team postseason tournament 10 out of the 11 years it has been eligible.

The Jackrabbits shared a Summit League regular season title in 2010 and won the Summit postseason tournament in 2013.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Jackrabbits have found success at the Summit League Baseball Championship, advancing to the title series five of the previous nine times they qualified for the four-team tournament, including winning the tournament title in 2013.

SDSU has won at least one game in all nine of its previous Summit League Baseball Championship appearances. Overall, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 16-17 record in Summit League postseason tournament games.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some notes from the Jackrabbits heading into the Summit League Baseball Championship:

Four of the five games between SDSU and Oral Roberts during the regular season were decided by one run, with the Jackrabbits winning three;
SDSU ended the regular season with an 8-6 record in one-run games;
The Jackrabbits won eight Summit League series, lost one and split one in 2019;
SDSU's 19 Summit League victories are tied with the 2010 squad for the second most in a season by a Jackrabbit team since joining the league in 2008 (most: 20 in 2011);
The Jackrabbit starting rotation of Tyler Olmstead, Ryan Froom and Nic McCay combined to start all 29 of the team's Summit League games;
SDSU finished the regular season with a league-best 4.13 earned run average and has issued the fewest walks with 179;
The Jackrabbits limited North Dakota State to five runs (1.38 ERA) and a .148 team batting average in their three-game series to close the regular season.

FRESHMEN AT THE CORNERS: Two first-year freshmen have held the corner infield positions throughout Summit League play for the Jackrabbits.

Drew Beazley, who was named Summit League Player of the Week on March 25 after the first series of the season against Oral Roberts, shares the third spot on the squad in both home runs (4) and doubles (10) while batting .273 with 19 runs batted in. The Johnston, Iowa, native has seen action both in the field and on the mound for the Jackrabbits, seeing most of his recent playing time at first base. He batted .301 in Summit League play, going 28-for-93 with eight doubles, all four of his home runs and 16 runs batted in, while slugging .516.

Beazley also has made 11 appearances out of the bullpen this season and ranks second on the team with three saves.

Fellow freshman Luke Ira has started 43 games this season, mostly at third base. He is tied for second on the team with 14 multi-hit games while batting .236 overall and ranking fourth on the squad with 25 runs batted in.

Ira 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.

STEADY STEIGER: Sophomore Gus Steiger has made a seamless transition to the shortstop position in 2019. A native of Minnetonka, Minnesota, Steiger took over the starting role at second base early in the 2018 campaign and led the team with a .311 batting average. He also was nearly flawless in the field, committing only one error in 195 defensive chances for a .995 fielding percentage.

So far this season, Steiger again leads the team in batting with a .333 average, 70 hits, 13 doubles, 16 stolen bases, 43 runs scored and 41 runs batted in. He had a streak of reaching base safely end at 36 games May 7 at Minnesota. That streak ranked in a tie for the fourth-longest streak in the program's Division I history (since 2005) with Eric Danforth (2015).

With hits in 31 games during his streak, Steiger batted .348 (56-for-161) with 13 doubles, four home runs and 36 runs batted in. He collected two or more hits in 18 of the 36 games, including four-hit performances March 8 at UA Little Rock and March 24 at Oral Roberts.

Steiger also has handled the move across the diamond defensively, turning in a team-high 144 assists in compiling a .946 fielding percentage in more than 200 defensive chances.

COUNTDOWN TO 200: Senior outfielder Nick Smith is making a late run to join a select group of Jackrabbits who have compiled 200 career hits.

The Chanhassen, Minnesota, native enters the Summit League Baseball Championship with 191 career hits, nine away from becoming the 19th player in program history to reach the milestone, and the first since Matt Johnson (209 career hits) in 2017. Smith has picked up the pace recently, recording 26 hits (26-for-68) over the last 18 games and highlighted by a four-hit, five-RBI performance in the April 19 series opener against Western Illinois.

Smith also has possessed a discerning eye at the plate as he ranks in a tie for fourth all-time at SDSU with 107 career bases on balls. This season, Smith has drawn a team-best 42 walks — fourth most in a single season in program history — while striking out only 16 times in 212 plate appearances.

Smith last struck out in the April 20 series finale against Western Illinois and is working on a span of 67 plate appearances over 13-plus games since he last went down on strikes.

A CALL TO ARMS: South Dakota State starting pitchers have thrown at least five innings in 34 of the team's 47 games so far this season, including 25 of 29 regular season Summit League contests.

Junior Tyler Olmstead has taken over the No. 1 starter's role and has tallied a team-best 88 strikeouts in 89 innings. Olmstead's 88 strikeouts rank as the fifth most in a single season by a Jackrabbit pitcher, and he also has moved into eighth in career strikeouts at SDSU with 169.

A second-team all-Summit League selection in 2018, Olmstead pitched at least six innings in all 10 of his Summit League starts, including a four-hit, complete-game shutout against Purdue Fort Wayne on May 3.

Freshman Nic McCay has hurled at least six innings in eight of his last 10 outings with two complete games, highlighted by a nine-inning, 11-strikeout shutout performance in the March 31 series finale against Purdue Fort Wayne. He matched his 11-strikeout performance in seven one-hit innings at Omaha on April 28. McCay currently shares the team lead with six wins and ranks second with 81 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. His strikeout total is the ninth most in a season by a Jackrabbit hurler.

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 holds a 5-1 record with a 1.44 earned run average. He allowed only one run in his first 16 innings of the season over 10 appearances before suffering the loss in the April 5 series opener against Omaha. In leading the team with seven saves, Barnett has struck out 42 batters — in 31 1/3 innings — and has limited the opposition to a .142 batting average (15-for-106).

In his last three outings, Barnett notched a combined 15 strikeouts on the 21 outs he recorded en route to a win and two saves. He has pitched two or more innings when recording each of his last five saves.

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.

In earning Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors for the third time in his career, Froom closed the regular season by allowing only one unearned run over six innings to North Dakota State in the second game of a May 17 doubleheader. He struck out four, walked two and scattered four hits in posting his sixth win of the season.

Froom has logged five or more innings in 10 of his 14 starts this season to enter the week tied for the team lead with his six wins. He has notched 47 strikeouts in 69 innings.

The Crystal, Minnesota, native became a mainstay in the Jackrabbit rotation starting with his sophomore season in 2015. He currently ranks in a tie for second place in program history with 48 games started and is fourth with 262 2/3 innings pitched, while moving into sole possession of seventh place in career strikeouts with 173. His 18 career wins are tied for 10th in Jackrabbit history with Timm Gronseth (1985-89).

GOING DEEP: Through the 47 regular season games in 2019, the Jackrabbits have hit 31 home runs, starting with a three-homer game in the Feb. 15 season opener against UT Martin.

Ten different players have accounted for the Jackrabbit home runs, with Nick Smith joining the group April 19 versus Western Illinois. Josh Falk leads the team with eight home runs, followed by Gus Steiger with five. Drew Beazley and Logan Holtz have each hit four, while freshman backup catcher Ryan McDonald has hit three.

Holtz and 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. Beazley notched his first career home run, while Steiger and Falk each hit their second round-trippers of the season.

In all, the Jackrabbits have hit two or more home runs in a game 10 times this season.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State was picked to finish second in the 2019 Summit League baseball race, according to a preseason poll conducted among conference coaches.

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.

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 71-76 record at SDSU, including a 51-35 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 620-398-1 record (.609 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He recorded career win No. 600 March 10 at UA Little Rock and coached in his 1,000th collegiate game in the April 13 series opener versus North Dakota State.

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 31 players from seven different states and one Canadian province. Of the 31 players, 11 are from Iowa, eight are from Minnesota and seven hail from South Dakota. Arizona, Nebraska, Washington and Wisconsin are represented by one player each, as is Manitoba.

By class, 10 are seniors, eight are juniors, four are sophomores, two are redshirt freshmen and seven are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: Should the Jackrabbits win the Summit League Baseball Championship, they will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team field will be announced at 11 a.m. Monday (May 27) on ESPNU.

SDSU would play at one of 16 regional sites, with four teams competing at each site in a double-elimination tournament format. Action begins May 31.

-GoJacks.com-