JACKS REBOUND TO EARN DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT

Saturday, March 4

St. George, Utah

2 p.m. MT/3 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

Utah Tech

Photo by: Courtesy Photo

3/4/2023 11:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. GEORGE, Utah — South Dakota State and Utah Tech continued their four-game nonconference baseball series by splitting a doubleheader Saturday at Bruce Hurst Field.

The Trailblazers won the opener, 12-6, while SDSU responded with a 7-2 victory in Game 2. Utah Tech moved to 4-7 on the season, while the Jackrabbits, who received home runs from Ryan McDonald in each game, ended the day with a 2-4 ledger.

Game 1: Utah Tech 12, South Dakota State 6
UTU broke a 4-all tie with a four-run bottom of the third inning and went on to double up the Jackrabbits Saturday afternoon.

For the second game in a row, the two squads struck early and often. SDSU scored three times in the top of the first inning as Dawson Parry plated Nic Nelson with a single to right center and Drew Beazley followed later in the inning with a two-run double that brought home Luke Ira and Parry.

The Trailblazers answered with a four-run home half of the frame that led to SDSU starter Dane Toman being lifted after facing seven batters. Each of the first four UTU batters reached, including Chase Rodriguez, who drove in the first two runs with a single through the right side. The other two runs scored on a squeeze bunt and wild pitch.

SDSU tied the game at 4-all with an unearned run in the top of the third, but the Trailblazers took advantage of a Jackrabbit error to take control. Garrett Cutting's second home of the series, a three-run blast off reliever Dylan Richey, came after the first run of the inning scored after the first of two Jackrabbit errors.

McDonald homered in the fourth inning and a sacrifice fly by Reece Anderson in the fifth trimmed the deficit to 8-6, but UTU again had the answer with a three-run bottom of the fifth that was highlighted by a two-run single by Jack Walker.

SDSU finished with an 11-10 advantage in hits as Parry went 3-for-4 and McDonald and Beazley each tallied a pair of hits. Shane Taylor was 3-for-3 to lead the Trailblazers, with Cutting tallying five RBIs in a 2-for-3 afternoon at the plate.

Richey took the loss for the Jackrabbits. He was charged with only two earned runs out of the six he allowed, while striking out four and walking two in the seven-inning contest.

Game 2: South Dakota State 7, Utah Tech 2
SDSU hit three home runs and three Jackrabbit pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts in earning a split of the twinbill with a 7-2 victory.

The Jackrabbits broke a scoreless deadlock with four unearned runs in the third inning. Reece Anderson led off the frame with a single and later scored on a throwing error. Parry continued his hot hitting with a two-run home run to center field and Beazley drove in the final run with another double.

Utah Tech put up two runs against in the bottom of the third, both of which scored on a double by Tyson Fisher off Jackrabbit starter Brady Hawkins.

From there, the Jackrabbit relief tandem of freshman Dylan Driessen and senior closer Ryan Bourassa took over. The duo combined to pitch the final five innings and chalked up strikeouts on 14 of the 15 outs they recorded. All six of Driessen's outs were via the strikeout, while Bourassa fanned the side in both the seventh and nine innings — the latter inning in succession — en route to eight K's in preserving the victory.

Solo home runs by McDonald in the fourth and Ira in the eighth helped seal the Jackrabbit victory.

Parry tallied three more hits in the nightcap, while McDonald and Nic Nelson each posted a pair of hits as part of the Jackrabbits' 12-hit attack.

Hawkins struck out three and walked four in completing four innings on the mound.

UP NEXT
The series finale is set for 11 a.m. Mountain Time (noon Central) on Sunday.

NOTES

Utah Tech leads the all-time series, 2-1
The Jackrabbits have homered in all six games this season and 32 of 34 games dating back to last season
McDonald has now reached base safely in 39 consecutive games, a streak that began on March 5, 2022
McDonald leads active Jackrabbit players with 21 career home runs, while Ira ranks second with 17
Parry is batting .667 (8-for-12) in the series that marks a return to his home state and has raised his season batting average to .522 (12-for-23)
Parry has hit safely in all six games this season and has a hitting streak of eight games dating back to 2022
Bourassa has 15 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work so far this season

-GoJacks.com-