JACKS POST COMPLETE WIN OVER OMAHA

Friday, April 14

Brookings, S.D.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

11-17, 5-5

Omaha

12-15, 4-6

Omaha

South Dakota State

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

4/14/2023 4:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

South Dakota State pitchers Reece Arbogast and Ryan Bourassa combined for 12 strikeouts and the Jackrabbits hit four home runs in defeating Omaha, 8-4, in the opening game of a three-game Summit League baseball series Friday afternoon at Bob Shelden Field.

In running their winning streak to a season-best four games, the Jackrabbits improved to 11-17 overall and 5-5 in league play. Omaha dropped to 12-15 overall and 4-6 in The Summit League.

Ryan McDonald provided the early offense for the Jackrabbits, hitting his team-leading 13^th home run of the season with one out in the third inning and adding a run-scoring single in the fifth that plated Thatcher Kozal for a 2-0 lead.

SDSU upped its lead to 5-0 with a three-run sixth inning on a solo home run by Luke Ira and a two-run shot by Drew Beazley down the left-field line. Ira's home run was his eighth of the season and fourth in his last six games.

Arbogast limited Omaha to two hits through six scoreless innings, but exited after allowing a two-run home run by Noah Greise in the top of the seventh. A sophomore left-hander, Arbogast struck out five and hit one batter in the longest outing of his Jackrabbit career.

The Mavericks added two more runs in the seventh to pull to within 5-4 as Eduardo Rosario delivered a two-run double off SDSU closer Ryan Bourassa. However, Bourassa regained his form over the final two innings and finished with seven strikeouts to nail down his fourth save of the season.

The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, cushioned their lead on a three-run homer by Adam Benes in the bottom of the eighth. Benes and McDonald each were 2-for-4 to lead SDSU's nine-hit attack.

Rosario and Goetzmann each tallied two of Omaha's seven hits.

Maverick starter Preston Tenney took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked two.

UP NEXT
Due to rain and cold temperatures in the immediate forecast, the two teams will not play Saturday but have scheduled a doubleheader for noon Sunday. The location of Sunday's games will be determined later in the day on Saturday.

NOTES

Omaha leads the all-time series, 92-87-1, although the Jackrabbits have won six of the last seven meetings
McDonald moved into a tie with four other Jackrabbits for 10^th place on the SDSU single-season home run chart with his 13^th round-tripper
McDonald's home run was the 31^st of his career, tying him for seventh place on the Jackrabbit all-time charts with Tim Johnson (1984-87) and Kerry Jacobson (2000-02)
In addition, McDonald drew his 109^th career base on balls, tying him with Nick Smith (2016-19) for fourth place in program history
Ira has tallied 16 runs batted in over his last six games
Bourassa moved into a tie with Bruce Mogen (1983-86) for sixth place in career saves at SDSU with 11, and also passed Blake Treinen (166 K's from 2010-11) for ninth place on the Jackrabbit career strikeouts chart with 171
SDSU pitchers did not walk a batter for the second time this season
The Jackrabbits have hit 44 home runs in 28 games during the 2023 season