JACKRABBITS BEGIN ANOTHER TRIP AT MINNESOTA

Wednesday, March 2

Minneapolis, Minn. | U.S. Bank Stadium

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Minnesota

Photo by: Erik Williams

3/1/2022 9:22:00 PM | Baseball

GAME 8: South Dakota State (1-6) at Minnesota (3-6)

When	6 p.m. \| Wednesday, March 2
Where	U.S. Bank Stadium \| Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV	Big Ten Network Plus (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	GopherSports.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Minnesota \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

The South Dakota State University baseball team begins a stretch of five games in five days with a Wednesday night contest against the University of Minnesota.

First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The Jackrabbits enter the matchup with a 1-6 overall record. SDSU dropped two of three games in a series last weekend against University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

Minnesota has posted a 3-6 mark so far this season after picking up a 12-0 victory over Summit League newcomer St. Thomas Tuesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Wednesday's game will mark SDSU's fifth meeting against a Big Ten Conference opponent this season. The Jackrabbits were swept in a season-opening four-game series against Purdue that was played in Sugar Land, Texas.

SDSU has two more games on the docket against Big Ten foes, playing March 23 at Nebraska and making a return trip to the Twin Cities April 26 to play Minnesota at Siebert Field.

After Wednesday's game the Jackrabbits will head to Conway, Arkansas, for a four-game weekend series against Central Arkansas.

THE SERIES: Wednesday's game against Minnesota will mark the 51st time SDSU and the Golden Gophers have met on the baseball diamond. Minnesota leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1947, by a 37-13 count.

The Jackrabbits ended a seven-game losing streak to their neighbors to the east by posting a 10-8 victory on March 4, 2020, in what was one of the teams' final games before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that matchup, SDSU took the lead with a three-run seventh inning and scored three more times in the ninth. The first two SDSU batters of the seventh inning reached on free passes as Derek Hackman walked and Colton Cox was hit by a pitch. After the next two batters were retired, Gus Steiger was intentionally walked to load the bases. Ryan McDonald drew a walk to force in the tying run and Josh Falk delivered the go-ahead hit with a single through the right side that plated both Cox and Steiger.

In the three-run ninth, Falk was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run before Luke Ira dropped down a squeeze bunt with Steiger scoring on the play. The final Jackrabbit run scored on a wild pitch.

Freshman right-hander Eli Sundquist picked up the win, while Brett Mogen threw the final three innings to record the save.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some quick notes coming away from the Jackrabbits' series last weekend at Incarnate Word:

Derek Hackman tied a single-game career high with four runs batted in against Incarmate Word in the Feb. 24 series opener.
Dawson Parry's first home run for South Dakota State was a grand slam in the third inning of the first game of a Feb. 25 doubleheader. It was the first grand slam by a Jackrabbit since Landon Badger connected against Oral Roberts on May 20, 2021.
Drew Beazley became the first Jackrabbit player with three doubles in a game in 10 years, when he collected three two-baggers in the first game of the Feb. 25 twinbill. Previously, Aaron Machbitz turned in SDSU's last three-double game on May 17, 2012, versus Western Illinois.
Owen Bishop's 6 2/3 innings pitched in the second game of the Feb. 25 doubleheader marked the longest outing by a Jackrabbit pitcher this season..
Outfielder Jess Bellows and infielder Cade Stuff both suffered injuries last week that are expected to sideline them for at least the next two weeks.
Luke Ira extended his streak of consecutive games started to 76, which dates back to late in the 2019 season. Ira has made 55 straight starts and a total of 57 starts at shortstop during his current streak, while also starting 17 games at second base and two at third base.
SDSU was held scoreless in the final 15 innings of the Feb. 25 doubleheader.

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. He followed that with a four-inning save in the first game of a Feb. 25 doubleheader at Incarnate Word in which he tallied for more strikeouts to give him a total of 11 in eight innings so far this season.

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 seven in a combined four innings of relief Feb. 20 versus Purdue and Feb. 24 at Incarnate Word, the native of Indianola, Iowa, has notched 108 strikeouts in 85 1/3 career innings for a ratio of 11.39 strikeouts per nine innings.

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 93-128 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 642-450-1 record (.588 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 Central Arkansas series will be played at Bear Stadium in Conway, Arkansas, stating with a 6 p.m. series opener on Friday, March 4. A doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, March 5, with the series finale also slated to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 6.

-GoJacks.com-