SDSU TAKES SERIES AT OMAHA WITH 8-3 WIN

Sunday, May 8

Omaha, Neb.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

18-19, 0

Omaha

21-24, 0

South Dakota State

Omaha

Photo by: Dennis Hubbard

5/8/2022 8:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

OMAHA, Neb. – South Dakota State scored multiple runs in three consecutive innings to defeat Omaha, 8-3, in the decisive game of a three-game Summit League baseball series Sunday afternoon at Tal Anderson Field.

The Jackrabbits improved to 18-19 overall and 9-7 in league play. Omaha dropped to 21-24 overall and 11-7 in The Summit League.

SDSU carried a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning after Luke Ira's team-leading 10^th home run of the season to lead off the fourth. The Jackrabbits padded their lead with two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, and put the game away with three more runs in the eighth.

Following a pair of one-out walks, pinch runner Reece Anderson scored the first run of the sixth inning on a wild pitch, while Nic Nelson added a run-scoring double that plated Henry George. George also factored into the seventh-inning runs by driving a single to center field that brought home both Derek Hackman and Anderson to push the SDSU advantage to 5-0.

After Omaha got on the board with a pair of runs in the home half of the seventh, SDSU countered with three runs in the top of the eighth. Thatcher Kozal hit the Jackrabbits' second home run of the day and his third of the season for the first run, and Hackman added an RBI double later in the frame. The final run of the inning came across on a balk.

The Mavericks put together a rally in the ninth inning against a tiring Bret Barnett, pulling to within 8-3 after an RBI single by Jack Lombardi.

Ryan Bourassa then entered for the Jackrabbits and turned in his second dominant relief appearance of the weekend by striking out all three hitters he faced to close out the Jackrabbits' 12^th win in their last 16 games.

Owen Bishop worked out of a couple jams to throw five shutout innings en route to his third win of the season. The sophomore right-hander scattered five hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter. Barnett worked three-plus innings, giving up two earned runs along with recording a pair of strikeouts and walking three.

The Jackrabbits held a narrow 11-10 advantage in hits, with Hackman leading the way by going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, and George adding two hits.

UP NEXT
SDSU is scheduled to close out the regular season with six consecutive home games over the next two weekends, starting with a matchup Friday against St. Thomas. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Erv Huether Field.

NOTES

McDonald doubled to lead off the game, pushing his streak of reaching base safely to 25 games
Drew Beazley singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games — the longest by a Jackrabbit since Nick Smith's 14-game hit streak in 2018
Of the 12 outs Bourassa recorded in four innings of relief in the series, 11 were by strikeout
Bourassa now has 52 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings this season
Ira became the first SDSU player with 10 or more home runs in a season since Matt Johnson hit 12 in 2017
The Jackrabbits registered double digits in hits for the third consecutive game and sixth time in their last seven contests

-GoJacks.com-