JACKRABBITS HEAD TO LOUISIANA FOR FOUR GAMES

Thursday, March 17

Natchitoches, La.

4 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Northwestern State

Photo by: Erik Williams

3/16/2022 1:50:00 PM | Baseball

GAMES 15-18: South Dakota State (4-10) at Northwestern State (7-9)

When	Thursday-Saturday, March 17-19 6 p.m. Thursday \| 2 p.m. Friday (doubleheader) \| 2 p.m. Saturday
Where	Brown-Stroud Field \| Natchitoches, Louisiana
TV	NSUDemons.com
Radio	None
Live Stats	NSUDemons.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Northwestern State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

In its final series before moving on to Summit League play, the South Dakota State baseball team travels to Louisiana for four games this week against a red-hot Northwestern State squad.

The series kicks off with a 6 p.m. game Thursday at Brown-Stroud Field in Natchitoches, Louisiana. A doubleheader is slated to start at 2 p.m. Friday, with Saturday's series finale also set for 2 p.m.

All four games of the series will be available for viewing through NSUDemons.com.

South Dakota State enters the week with a 4-10 overall record after taking one of three games in a March 11-13 weekend series at Wichita State. The Jackrabbits have played all 14 of their games away from home, a number that is set to reach 26 before their scheduled home opener April 5 against Dakota Wesleyan.

NSU brings a 7-9 overall record into Thursday's series opener, but the Demons are on a four-game winning streak in which they have scored 76 runs. NSU swept a three-game weekend series against Alcorn State by scores of 20-3, 19-1 and 16-1, then continued its offensive onslaught with a 21-7 home victory over Lamar on Tuesday.

THE SERIES: Thursday's game against Northwestern State will mark the first-ever meeting on the baseball diamond between the Jackrabbits and Demons.

South Dakota State will be playing its second Southland Conference opponent of the season; the Jackrabbits won one of three games in a series at Incarnate Word that was played Feb. 24-25 in San Antonio, Texas.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some quick notes coming away from the last week of Jackrabbit games:
• The Jackrabbits notched their first-ever win over Wichita State when they recorded a 4-2 victory on March 12; Wichita State leads the all-time series, 8-1, after winning the decisive game of the series, 19-7.

• Junior shortstop Luke Ira has hit safely in seven consecutive games after posting a pair of three-hit efforts in the Wichita State series. During his seven-game streak, Ira is batting .484 (15-for-31) with five runs batted in and eight runs scored. He has tallied an .871 slugging percentage in that span with three doubles and three home runs, and has registered two or more hits in five of those games.

• Ira has extended his streak of consecutive games started to 83, which dates back to late in the 2019 season. Ira has made 62 straight starts and a total of 64 starts at shortstop during his current streak, while also starting 17 games at second base and two at third base.

• Five of the Jackrabbits' nine hits in the March 12 win at Wichita State were doubles to set a season high. Ryan McDonald led the way with a pair of doubles

• Nic McCay turned in his best outing of the young season in a losing effort March 11 at Wichita State. He allowed only one earned run over six innings, striking out eight and walking three.

• SDSU left-hander Cody Carlson evened his record at 2-2 in earning the win March 12 at Wichita State. Carlson tossed six innings of one-run baseball, allowing only four hits and he did not walk a batter while striking out two. In his two seasons in the rotation, Carlson has pitched at least five innings in 13 of his 16 starts.

• Thatcher Kozal's first home run as a Jackrabbit came in a pinch-hitting role in the ninth inning of the March 11 opener at Wichita State. Kozal became the first SDSU player to record a pinch-hit home run since Ryan McDonald connected on Western Illinois on March 28, 2021.

McDONALD HONORED: South Dakota State's Ryan McDonald was honored as Summit League Baseball Player of the Week Monday after an impressive showing at the plate during a weekend series at Wichita State.

A junior outfielder/catcher from Prior Lake, Minnesota, McDonald posted a pair of three-hit games in starting each of the last games of the series. He doubled twice in SDSU's 4-2 victory on March 12, including hitting the go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning.

In their March 13 meeting, McDonald collected another double and connected on his first home run of the season as part of another three-hit effort.

For the week, he batted .600 (6-for-10) and tallied a 1.200 slugging percentage with his home run and three doubles. McDonald also drove in four runs, scored three times and stole a base.

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 in February.

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 RBIs.

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.

HACKMAN LEADS OFFENSE EARLY ON: South Dakota State catcher Derek Hackman has been the most consistent offensive performer for the Jackrabbits in the first quarter of the 2022 season.

A senior from Johnston, Iowa, Hackman reached base safely in the first 11 games of the season and leads the squad with a .483 on-base percentage, 13 runs batted in and five doubles. He also shares the team lead with a .356 batting average (16-for-45) after recording his third three-hit game of the season with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate in the
second game of a March 5 twinbill at Central Arkansas.

Hackman tied a single-game career high with four runs batted in against Incarnate Word in the Feb. 24 series opener.

In 2021, Hackman was a second-team all-Summit League selection after posting team highs with a .319 batting average, eight home runs and 31 runs scored.

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.

Thus far during the 2022 season, Bourassa has tallied 18 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings over four appearances. Each of his appearances have covered at least two innings.

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 13 batters and walking only two in a combined eight innings of relief over five appearances so far this season, the native of Indianola, Iowa, has notched 114 strikeouts in 89 1/3 career innings for a ratio of 11.49 strikeouts per nine innings that currently ranks as the highest in program history. He has struck out five batters in two separate appearances this season — Feb. 20 versus Purdue (three innings) and March 5 at Central Arkansas (two innings).

In his March 12 outing at Wichita State, Barnett notched his fourth consecutive scoreless appearance in closing out a 4-2 Jackrabbit victory. The save was Barnett's second of the season and 13th of his career, breaking a tie with Chris Halbur (12 saves from 2016-17) to move into sole possession of fourth place on the SDSU career charts.

Barnett is currently replicating 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.

EARLY OUTBURSTS: Twice during the month of March, South Dakota State has put five runs on the board in the first inning of a game.

The first occurrence came in a March 2 game at Minnesota and was highlighted by a three-run home run from Drew Beazley.

The Jackrabbits duplicated the feat in the second game of a March 5 doubleheader at Central Arkansas. Two-run doubles by Derek Hackman and Jordan Sagedahl were followed by an RBI double from Reece Anderson.

Those two five-run outbursts match the most runs scored by the Jackrabbits in the initial inning of a game under head coach Rob Bishop (since 2017). SDSU has scored five times in the first inning on five occasions, including in a May 20, 2021 game versus Oral Roberts.

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 96-132 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 645-454-1 record (.587 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.

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 in all 10 seasons, including four with 40 wins. 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 year 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 are scheduled to play a midweek game March 23 at Nebraska before continuing southward to open Summit League play March 25-27 at Oral Roberts. The game at Nebraska is slated for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.

-GoJacks.com-