Jackrabbits move on to Kansas State

Tuesday, March 10

Manhattan, Kan.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Kansas State

Photo by: SDSU Sports Information

3/10/2020 12:37:00 AM | Baseball

Games 16-17: South Dakota State (4-11) at Kansas State (9-6)

When	Tuesday, March 10 (6 p.m.) \| Wednesday, March 11 (6 p.m.)
Where	Tointon Family Stadium \| Manhattan, Kansas
TV	ESPN+ (Big 12 Now - subscription)\| Game 1 \| Game 2
Radio	Kansas State Broadcast
Live Stats	kstatesports.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Kansas State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

BROOKINGS, S.D. — The South Dakota State University baseball team hits the midway point of a stretch of nine road games in a 12-day span when it opens a two-game midweek series at Kansas State Tuesday night.

Both Tuesday's opener and Wednesday's series finale are slated for 6 p.m. starts at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. Video coverage of the two games will be available via the ESPN+ streaming platform.

The Jackrabbits, who are in the midst of playing their first 23 games away from home, come into the series with a 4-11 overall record. SDSU opened its Spring Break trip with a 10-8 victory at Minnesota on March 4 — a game that was played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota — followed by dropping two of three games March 6-8 at Air Force.

Kansas State enters the week 9-6 overall after winning three of four games at Stanford over the weekend. The Wildcats outscored the Cardinal by a 30-8 margin.

THE SERIES: Friday's game against Air Force will mark the 10th time SDSU and K-State have met on the baseball diamond. The Wildcats have won all nine previous matchups in the series, which dates back to the 1981 season.

The two squads last met during the 2006 season, when SDSU hosted the Wildcats in a two-game series played in Sioux Falls. Kansas State won by scores of 21-5 and 24-3, hitting a total of 13 home runs in the two games.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team entering the series against Kansas State:

The Jackrabbits hold a 1-5 record in one-run games and are 0-2 in extra-inning contests this season;
SDSU is 2-2 in series-opening games this season;
The Jackrabbits hit .373 as a team in the three-game series at Air Force, tallying 10-plus hits in all three games;
Of SDSU's 41 hits in the Air Force series, 17 went for extra bases — 14 doubles, two triples and one home run;
Both Landon Badger and Braeden Brown tallied four hits March 6 at Air Force;
SDSU did not score first in any of its four wins so far this season and is 0-7 in games in which it has scored first;
Shortstop Gus Steiger had his streak of consecutive games started end at 75, when he sat out the second game of the Feb. 29 doubleheader at UT Rio Grande Valley;
Nine different players have hit home runs for the Jackrabbits this season, with Ryan McDonald joining the group March 7 at Air Force;
Of SDSU's 12 home runs so far this season, only five have been of the solo variety — six have been two-run shots and one a three-run blast;
McDonald leads the team with 16 bases on balls and has drawn a walk in 12 of 15 games this season, including back-to-back games of three walks March 1 at UTRGV and March 4 at Minnesota;
Of Matt Krambeck's seven hits this season, five have been for extra bases (two doubles, two home runs;
SDSU pitchers have combined to record double figures in strikeouts six times this season, including in five of the last six games leading up to the Air Force series;
Bret Barnett, who was an all-Summit League closer last season, made his first career start March 4 at Minnesota, then recorded his second save of the season in the Jackrabbits' 9-7 win at Air Force on March 7;
The Jackrabbits have outscored the opposition by a 15-3 margin in the seventh innings of games so far this season.

STEIGER HONORED: South Dakota State shortstop Gus Steiger was honored Monday as Summit League Baseball Player of the Week.

A junior from Minnetonka, Minnesota, Steiger batted .529 (9-for-17) with eight runs scored in four games last week. He began the week with a two-hit, three-run performance March 4 at Minnesota and closed the week with consecutive three-hit efforts in a weekend series at Air Force.

Steiger also stole four bases and drove in a pair of runs in raising his batting average for the season to a team-best .340.

FALK HEATING UP: Senior Josh Falk has put together two strong weekends in a row at the plate, taking his place among the team leaders in a number of offensive categories.

The first baseman/designated hitter from Minnetonka, Minnesota, has hit safely in each of the last eight games, batting at a .414 clip (12-for-35) over that span and recording all of his 10 runs batted in to share the team lead. He recorded an extra-base hit in five contests, starting with a double in the Feb. 26 game at Minnesota, en route to a .793 slugging percentage.

In the four-game series at UTRGV Feb. 28-March 1, Falk recorded two doubles, two home runs and five runs batted in. His first home run of the season was a game-tying solo shot in the top of the seventh of the Feb. 28 series opener. He connected again and also doubled in the second game of the Feb. 29 twinbill.

Falk enters the weekend with 16 career home runs, which ranks as the most among active Jackrabbit players.

BEAZLEY, TOO: Also supplying consistent offense in past two weeks is sophomore Drew Beazley. In splitting time with Josh Falk at either first base or designated hitter, Beazley has batted .343 (12-for-35) over the last nine games with two doubles, a triple and home run. He has reached base safely in eight consecutive games after tallying a run-scoring single in the March 3 win at Minnesota.

A Freshman All-America selection last season by Collegiate Baseball, Beazley leads the team with six two-out runs batted in. He also shares the team lead in home runs with Falk and Matt Krambeck with two.

POWER SURGE: South Dakota State had a streak of hitting a home run end at five games in the series-opening loss at Air Force on March 6. Before the recent streak, the last time the Jackrabbits hit home runs in five consecutive games was between May 18 and 22, 2010, in games against North Dakota (1) and Western Illinois (4).

BACK-TO-BACK JACKS: When Matt Krambeck and Drew Beazley hit back-to-back home runs in the Feb. 15 game at Dallas Baptist, it marked the first time the Jackrabbits connected on consecutive circuit clouts in nearly a full calendar year.

The last time SDSU accomplished the feat was Feb. 16, 2019, versus UT Martin, when Logan Holtz and Ryan McDonald went back-to-back in the fifth inning. That also was the
second game of the season.

YOUNG GUNS: With returning starters Tyler Olmstead and Nic McCay sidelined by injury, the Jackrabbits have relied heavily on freshman pitchers in the first few weeks of the 2020 season.

Leading the freshman contingent is right-hander Adam Mazur, who has been the Friday-night starter in each of the first three weekend series. The Woodbury, Minnesota, native turned in back-to-back starts in which he allowed only one run, earning his first collegiate victory after a five-inning outing Feb. 21 at Pacific and finishing with a no-decision despite a nine-strikeout performance over seven innings Feb. 28 at UT Rio Grande Valley.

Mazur currently leads the team in both strikeouts (18) and innings pitched (20.1).

Fellow freshman Eli Sundquist was the winning pitcher in both Jackrabbit victories last week to run his record to 2-1. The right-hander from Chisholm, Minnesota, has tallied 16 strikeouts in only 10 2/3 innings in 2020.

Left-hander Nate Steenblock is working on a streak of four consecutive scoreless relief appearances, covering 6 1/3 innings. Steenblock blanked Minnesota over 2 2/3 innings in their March 4 meeting.

IRONMAN BEHIND THE PLATE: Jackrabbit catcher Derek Hackman has been behind the plate for 103 of the 123 innings SDSU has been in the field so far this season.

The junior from Johnston, Iowa, shares the team lead with 84 putouts.

MOGEN SETS UP AGAIN: Senior relief pitcher Brett Mogen has picked up where he left off from the 2019 season. Starting with four shutout innings in his first appearance of the 2020 campaign Feb. 15 versus Dallas Baptist, Mogen has gone on to post a 1-0 record with a save and a 2.37 earned run average, allowing only five runs in seven appearances, covering 19 innings. He is limiting the opposition to a .194 batting average and has allowed only two extra-base hits this season.

The Dell Rapids native picked up the win in the Feb. 28 series opener at UT?Rio Grande Valley, recording two shutout innings that included striking out the side in the ninth inning. He added 2 1/3 more scoreless innings in the March 1 series finale.

Dating back to last season, Mogen ran his scoreless innings streak to 16 — over seven appearances — before allowing a run in the Feb. 23 series finale at Pacific. He opened that series with three shutout innings in helping lead the Jackrabbits to a 2-1 win in the Feb. 21 series opener.

Mogen finished 2019 with a 1.67 earned run average in sharing the team lead with 20 appearances. His 2019 ERA ranks as the sixth-best in a season by a Jackrabbit who pitched more than 30 innings.

CARLSON REJOINS TEAM: Left-hander Cody Carlson has been added to the roster, marking a return to the Jackrabbit pitching staff.

A senior from Rapid City, Carlson made 10 relief appearances for the Jackrabbits in 2019, posting a 0-3 record with one save. He struck out 19 batters in 21 1/3 innings.

Carlson previously attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, before transferring to SDSU.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State has been picked to finish third in the upcoming Summit League baseball race, according to a poll conducted among conference coaches that was announced Feb. 6 by league officials.

The Jackrabbits received two of the six first-place votes, finishing with 18 points. Oral Roberts received three first-place votes and topped the poll with 23 points, followed by
defending league champion Omaha with one first-place vote and 19 points.

Rounding out the poll were: North Dakota State, 16 points; Western Illinois, 9 points, and Purdue Fort Wayne, 5 points.

Among the Jackrabbit returners, juniors Gus Steiger and Bret Barnett were recognized among the Summit League's top players to watch.

A two-time all-Summit League honoree, Steiger paced the Jackrabbits offensively in 2019 with team highs in batting average (.324), hits (73) runs scored (45), runs batted in (43), doubles (13) and stolen bases (18). He also ranked second on the squad with five home runs in starting all 50 games.

Steiger, a native of Minnetonka, Minnesota, was a first-team all-Summit selection at shortstop in 2019, after earning second-team recognition as a second baseman his freshman year.

Barnett emerged as the top relief pitcher in the Summit League during the 2019 season, earning first-team honors after posting a 5-1 record with seven saves. The left-hander from Indianola, Iowa, registered a 1.31 earned run average, struck out 47 batters in 34 1/3 innings and limited opposing hitters to a .138 batting average.

Summit League play is slated to begin March 13, when SDSU opens a three-game set at Oral Roberts. League teams will play a pair of three-game series (home and home) for a total of 30 regular season contests.

The top four teams during the regular season will advance to the 2020 Summit League Baseball Championship, which is scheduled for May 20-23 in Omaha, Nebraska.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 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 of Jackrabbit baseball.

Now in his fourth season with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 76-89 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.

SDSU bounced back in 2019, posting a 28-22 overall record that included a second-place mark of 19-10 in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits won or split nine of the 10 league series in regular season play en route to making an appearance in the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship for the 10th time in 11 years.

Overall, Bishop has compiled a 625-411-1 record (.603 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He earned his 600th career victory in the Jackrabbits' 8-6 victory at UA Little Rock on March 10, 2019.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 18 times during his brief tenure, including eight all-league selections in 2019. Utility player Nick Smith was honored for the third consecutive season, while shortstop Gus Steiger and starting pitcher Tyler Olmstead were repeat selections in 2019.

In addition, catcher Luke Ringhofer was selected in the 22nd round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles and relief pitcher Chris Halbur was offered a free agent contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers after Bishop's first season in Brookings. In 2019, left-handed pitcher Brady Stover was a 31st-round pick of the Washington Nationals, but opted to return to the Jackrabbits for his senior season.

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 the past 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 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 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 32 players from four different states. Of the 32 players, 14 are from Iowa, nine are from South Dakota, seven hail from Minnesota and two are Nebraska natives.

By class, eight are seniors, three are juniors, eight are sophomores and 13 are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: SDSU closes out its long road trip by opening Summit League play with a three-game series March 13-15 at Oral Roberts.

Friday's series opener is set for a 6 p.m. start at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Games Saturday and Sunday are slated to begin at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

-GoJacks.com-