JACKS POWER PAST UTAH TECH IN SERIES FINALE

Sunday, March 5

St. George, Utah

11 a.m. MT/noon CT

South Dakota State University

3-4

Utah Tech

4-8

South Dakota State

Utah Tech

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

3/5/2023 6:47:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

ST. GEORGE, Utah — South Dakota State scored in every inning but the third and held off a Utah Tech rally in the late innings for a 14-9 victory Sunday in the finale of a four-game nonconference baseball series at Bruce Hurst Field.

In earning a split of the series, the Jackrabbits improved to 3-4 on the season. Utah Tech dropped to 4-8.

The Jackrabbits got out of the gates quickly, scoring four times in the top of the first inning. Dawson Parry drove in the first two runs with a single to center field and Luke Ira added a two-run triple as SDSU sent eight batters to the plate.

Ryan McDonald homered for the third consecutive game, hitting an opposite-field solo homer to right in the second inning, while Nic Nelson and Ira added solo shots of their own to lead off the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.

Meanwhile, Jackrabbit starter Blake Kunz held Utah Tech scoreless and without a hit in his four innings of work, although the right-hander struggled with his control at times, walking seven while striking out six before exiting two batters into the bottom of the fifth.

Utah Tech went on to score two runs without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the fifth.

Ira, who was a double away from the cycle, ended the game with career highs of four hits (4-for-5) and five runs batted in as the senior shortstop, who was moved down the batting order into the seventh spot, notched a two-run single in the sixth to give SDSU a 9-2 lead.

A two-run double by Drew Beazley in the seventh pushed the Jackrabbit advantage to 11-2

The Trailblazers got the bats going in the home half of the seventh, scoring five times against the Jackrabbit bullpen on four hits. Ethan He and Chase Rodriguez notched run-scoring singles before Shane Taylor came through with a two-run double.

Ira walked and scored on a base hit by Reece Anderson in the eighth, and McDonald plated the final SDSU tally in the ninth by drawing a bases-loaded walk that forced home Beazley.

SDSU held a 17-6 advantage in hits that included three-hit afternoons by Nelson and Cade Stuff. Nelson scored four times.

Alex Clemons picked up his first collegiate victory in relief after tossing two innings. Jake Goble followed with two innings, while Reece Arbogast came on to get the final two outs after Utah Tech scored twice in the bottom of the ninth.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play Wednesday at Minnesota. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

NOTES

The all-time series between SDSU and Utah Tech is tied at two wins apiece
Parry made a successful return to his home state by batting .563 (9-for-16) in the series with a home run and six RBIs
Parry extended his hitting streak to nine games dating back to last season
Beazley, McDonald and Anderson all have hit safely in five games in a row
McDonald hit .533 (8-for-15) with three doubles, three homers and six RBIs for a 1.333 slugging percentage
McDonald has now reached base safely in 40 consecutive games, a streak that began one year ago to the day (March 5, 2022)
The Jackrabbits have hit home runs in all six games this season and upped their season total to 13 with their second consecutive three-homer game
SDSU pitchers combined to strike out 43 batters in 30 innings in the series, but issued 16 free passes (13 walks, 3 hit batters) in Sunday's contest