JACKS HOMER WAY TO SWEEP OF OMAHA

Sunday, April 16

Brookings, S.D. // Bob Shelden Field

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

12-17, 6-5

Omaha

12-16, 4-7

Omaha

South Dakota State

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

4/16/2023 9:24:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

South Dakota State hit 11 home runs in a Sunday baseball doubleheader, the last of which was a two-run, go-ahead shot by Drew Beazley in the bottom of the eighth inning of the finale that lifted the Jackrabbits to a sweep of a three-game Summit League series at blustery Bob Shelden Field.

With the 9-3 and 12-9 victories, the Jackrabbits ran their winning streak to a season-best six games and improved to 13-17 overall and 7-5 in league play. Omaha dropped to 12-17 on the season and 4-8 in The Summit League.

Game 1: South Dakota State 9, Omaha 3
Thatcher Kozal homered twice as part of a six-home run performance by the Jackrabbits in the opener.

SDSU got out of the gates quickly, building a lead after each of the first three hitters tallied hits. Ryan McDonald opened the frame with a double, moved to third on a single by Cade Stuff and scored on Dawson Parry's single to center field. Stuff later scored for a 2-0 lead on a groundout off the bat of Nic Nelson.

Kozal made it 3-0 with a solo homer in the second inning before the Mavericks pulled to within one by executing a double steal for a run in the third inning and getting a solo home run from Drew Lechnir to lead off the fifth inning.

SDSU's next six runs all scored on long balls, starting with a two-run shot by McDonald in the home half of the fifth. Stuff and Luke Ira each hit solo homers in the seventh, while Kozal and Reece Anderson connected on back-to-back home runs in the eighth.

McDonald was 3-for-5 to lead the Jackrabbits' 13-hit attack.

Jackrabbit starter Jake Goble struck out four over five solid innings to pick up his third win of the season. Alex Clemons added three strikeouts in three shutout innings of relief.

Game 2: South Dakota State 12, Omaha 9
After Omaha erased a six-run South Dakota State lead, the Jackrabbits recovered with a four-run eighth inning to complete the doubleheader and series sweeps.

With the game tied at 1-all entering the bottom of the second inning, the Jackrabbits ambushed Omaha with three home runs in a six-run frame. McDonald, who homered for the fourth game in a row, began the onslaught with a grand slam and Dawson Parry, who plated the first Jackrabbit run of the game with a single in the first inning, added a solo shot two batters later off Maverick starter Charlie Bell. Two more batters later, Nelson greeted reliever Wyatt Sellers with a solo homer down the left-field line.

McDonald's grand slam was his second of the season and his team-leading 15^th home run of the year.

The Mavericks began to chip away at the deficit, scoring twice on the first of two Brennen Bales' home runs in the top of the third.
Parry notched his third run-scoring hit in as many innings in the home half of the third, but UNO chased Jackrabbit starter Blake Kunz with a run in the fourth to make it an 8-4 ball game.

Bales hit his second two-run homer of the game as part of a three-run sixth, and the Mavericks grabbed the lead at 9-8 an inning later on a two-run homer to right-center field by Zach Lechnir.

UNO reliever Jackson Gordon tossed four shutout innings before tiring in the eighth. Ira started the game-winning rally with a one-out double to left field, then scored the tying run on a single through the right side by Kozal.

Beazley then stepped to the plate and launched a drive deep over the fence in left field and Dagen Schramm homered on the very next pitch to provide the final margin.

Four SDSU pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts, including five from Kunz. Jack Kruger tallied two K's, with Brady Hawkins notching three. Eli Sundquist finished up on the mound for the Jackrabbits with four strikeouts over two shutout innings.

Parry was 3-for-5 as SDSU held a 13-12 edge in hits. Omaha's Mike Boeve went 5-for-5 in Game 2, with all of his hits singles.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits continue their homestand by hosting Northwestern (Iowa) in action Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Erv Huether Field.

NOTES

Omaha leads the all-time series, 92-89-1, but SDSU has won eight of the last nine matchups dating back to late in the 2021 season
The Jackrabbits hit 15 home runs in the three-game series to run their season total to 55 in 30 games
Nelson has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games, while McDonald extended his streak to 18 games
McDonald's 15 home runs this season rank in a tie for eighth place on the SDSU single-season charts with Jon Crow (1992) and Chris Studer (2002), while his 33 career round-trippers are tied with Crow for fifth place
Ira has hit safely in 10 games, but had his streak of seven consecutive games with an RBI come to an end in the series finale
Sundquist recorded his first victory since May 21, 2021, in a two-inning relief appearance against Oral Roberts

-GoJacks.com-