JACKRABBITS CONTINUE ROAD TRIP AT UIW

Thursday, February 24

San Antonio, Texas

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Incarnate Word

Baseball Team Teaser 2022-02 (Jess Bellows, Derek Hackman)

Photo by: Erik Williams

2/23/2022 2:51:00 PM | Baseball

GAMES 5-7: South Dakota State (0-4) at University of the Incarnate Word (0-1)

When	Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 24-26 2 p.m. Thursday \| 2 p.m. Friday \| 1 p.m. Sunday
Where	Daniel Sullivan Field \| San Antonio, Texas
TV	None
Radio	None
Live Stats	UIWCardinals.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| UIW \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

The South Dakota State University baseball team continues its season-opening road trip through Texas with a three-game series at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Due to impending inclement weather, Thursday's series opener is now set for a 2 p.m. first pitch at Daniel Sullivan Field in San Antonio. Friday's contest also is slated for a 2 p.m. start, with Saturday's series finale scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

The Jackrabbits enter the week with an 0-4 record after being swept in a season-opening four-game series against Purdue that was played in Sugar Land, Texas.

After having its season-opening weekend series against Bradley canceled, UIW made its season debut Tuesday at Tarleton State, suffering a 1-0 loss. The Cardinals turned in a 21-28 overall record last season, including a 17-23 mark in the Southland Conference.

THE SERIES: Thursday's series opener will mark third time South Dakota State and UIW have met on the baseball diamond. Both previous matchups took place during the 1991 season, with the Cardinals sweeping a doubleheader on their home field. UIW won both games by a single run, winning the opener, 2-1, before securing an 8-7 victory in Game 2.

The Jackrabbits are scheduled to face one other Southland Conference opponent this season, traveling to Northwestern State (La.) for a four-game series March 17-19.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some quick notes resulting from the Jackrabbits' season-opening series against Purdue:

Nic McCay's start in the season opener marked his first appearance after sitting out both the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to injury. McCay wound up with a no-decision after allowing four runs over four innings, striking out four and walking two.
The Jackrabbits dropped to 5-13 in season openers during the Division I era (since 2005), including a 2-4 record in openers under head coach Rob Bishop.
Derek Hackman and Luke Ira both homered in the third inning of the Feb. 18 season opener; they were the only two home runs SDSU hit in the four-game series.
Hackman led the Jackrabbits with a .364 batting average (4-for-11) and four runs batted in on the weekend.
Ira extended his streak of consecutive games started to 73, which dates back to late in the 2019 season.
Three of Jess Bellows' four hits on the weekend were doubles.
Six Jackrabbit pitchers made their collegiate debuts with relief appearances on the opening weekend. Jake Goble made the longest outing with four innings pitched in the season opener.
SDSU was charged with 13 errors in the four-game series.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State has been picked to finish fourth in the 2022 Summit League baseball race, according to a poll conducted among the league's seven coaches that was announced last week.

Defending regular season champion Oral Roberts grabbed the top spot in the poll with six first-place votes and 36 points, followed by 2021 tournament champion North Dakota State with 31 points and one first-place vote.

Omaha edged the Jackrabbits for third place by one point, 24-23, while new affiliate member Northern Colorado placed fifth with 13 points. Western Illinois (12 points) and Summit League newcomer St. Thomas (8 points) rounded out the poll.

The top four teams will advance to the Summit League Baseball Championship May 25-28 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. SDSU has qualified for the league tournament in 11 of 12 seasons it has been eligible for postseason play.

In addition, infielder Luke Ira was named as a Summit League Player to Watch and redshirt sophomore right-hander Nic McCay was tabbed as a Summit League Pitcher to Watch.

A junior from Iowa City, Iowa, Ira took over starting duties at shortstop last season and led the team with 48 hits and 11 doubles while starting all 47 games. Ira contributed three home runs and also ranked second on the squad with a .268 batting average and 23 runs batted in.

McCay makes a return to the Jackrabbits' starting rotation after sitting out the past two seasons due to injury. A native of Carlisle, Iowa, McCay was a Freshman All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball in 2019 after compiling a 6-1 record with a 4.08 earned run average in 14 starts. He struck out 83 batters in 79 1/3 innings that season.

BOURASSA CONTINUES RECORD PACE: Junior right-hander Ryan Bourassa picked up where he left off in the strikeout department as he made his 2022 season debut in the series finale against Purdue on Feb. 20. In four innings of relief, Bourassa struck out seven and allowed only one run in keeping the Jackrabbits in the game.

A native of West Fargo, North Dakota, Bourassa began the 2021 campaign in the starting rotation, but made a seamless transition to the bullpen midway through the year and responded by striking out 65 batters in only 42 1/3 innings to set an SDSU single-season record with an average of 13.82 K's per nine innings pitched.

BARNETT, TOO: Senior left-hander Bret Barnett also has displayed big-time strikeout ability during his Jackrabbit career, recording an average of well over a strikeout an inning. After striking out five Purdue batters over three innings of relief on Feb. 20, the native of Indianola, Iowa, has notched 106 strikeouts in 84 1/3 career innings for a ratio of 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks second in program history.

Barnett will attempt to regain the dominance he displayed during an all-league 2019 season in which he posted a 5-1 record and seven saves, while turning in a 1.31 ERA over 20 relief appearances. Last season, Barnett tallied a pair of saves and struck out 36 batters in 24 1/3 innings en route to a 1-2 mark.

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.

Through five-plus seasons with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 92-126 record at SDSU, including a 60-54 mark in Summit League regular season games.

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.

The 2020 season was canceled just before the start of Summit League play, with SDSU posting a 5-12 record in the first month of the season. The Jackrabbits recorded wins at Minnesota, Air Force and Kansas State the final week of the pandemic-shortened campaign.

When play resumed in the spring of 2021, the Jackrabbits posted a 15-32 overall record and suffered their first losing season in league play since 2016, but managed to earn the fourth and final spot in the Summit League Baseball Championship. In the conference tournament, the Jacks staved off elimination with a shutout victory over host Omaha before falling in 11 innings to regular season champion Oral Roberts.

Overall, Bishop holds a 641-448-1 record (.589 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 20 times during Bishop's 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, Bishop has mentored a handful of Jackrabbit players who have pursued professional careers. 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. Shortstop Gus Steiger signed with the Cincinnati Reds following an abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft. 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 2021 SDSU baseball roster features 35 players from nine different states. Of the 35 players, 10 are from Iowa, nine are from South Dakota and seven hail from Minnesota. Two players are from Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota, while Colorado, Utah and Washington are represented by one player each.

By class, two are graduate students, three are seniors, nine are juniors, nine are sophomores and 11 are freshmen (three returning, eight incoming).

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits continue their string of road games by playing one game at Minnesota on March 2, followed by a four-game weekend series at Central Arkansas March 4-6.

The game against Minnesota is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Central Arkansas series will be played at Bear Stadium in Conway, Arkansas, stating with a 6 p.m. series opener on March 4. A doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on March 5, with the series finale also slated to begin at 1 p.m. on March 6.

-GoJacks.com-