IRA SLAM PROPELS JACKS TO SERIES-OPENING WIN

Friday, April 7

Macomb, Ill.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

Luke Ira Teaser vs North Dakota State 2023-01

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

4/7/2023 6:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MACOMB, Ill. — Luke Ira connected on a grand slam in the top of the 10^th inning, lifting South Dakota State to a 6-3 victory over Western Illinois in the opening game of a Summit League baseball series Friday afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.

With the win, the Jackrabbits improved to 7-16 overall and 3-4 in league play. WIU dropped to 3-21 overall and 0-4 in The Summit League.

SDSU's winning rally began when Ryan McDonald drew his fourth walk of the game to lead off the 10^th frame, which was followed by bases on balls to Nic Nelson and Cade Stuff to fill the bases. Ira then greeted new reliever C. Golden by hitting a 1-0 pitch over the outstretched glove of the left fielder and over the fence for his grand slam. It was Ira's fifth home run of the season.

Western Illinois countered with a run in the bottom of the inning, but Ryan Bourassa closed the door with two of his seven strikeouts to close out the Jackrabbit victory. Bourassa worked the final 3 2/3 innings in evening his record at 2-2.

The Jackrabbits took a 1-0 lead two batters into the game on a solo home run by McDonald. The round-tripper was the team-leading 11^th of the season for McDonald, who also moved into a tie with Ryan Hansen (2001-04) for ninth place on the all-time SDSU charts with his 29^th career home run.

WIU tied the game with a run on a hit in the bottom of the fourth, but the Jackrabbits regained the lead with a run in the sixth when McDonald walked, moved to second on a balk and scored on Cade Stuff's double to the right-center gap.

The Fighting Leathernecks answered with a run in the home half of the inning as Ricky Pospisil plated Derek Botaletto with WIU's fourth hit of the frame. Botaletto finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate.

Western Illinois held a 12-5 advantage in hits, with all dozen of the Leathernecks' hits singles. Conversely, four of SDSU's five hits went for extra bases — two doubles and two home runs.

SDSU starter Reece Arbogast tossed four innings, allowing a run on two hits with a strikeout. For WIU, Jake Armstrong fanned seven and walked three over six innings.

UP NEXT
The middle game of the three-game series is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday.

NOTES

SDSU leads the all-time series, which dates back to 2006, by a 41-29 count
McDonald's 11 home runs are the most by a Jackrabbit player since Matt Johnson hit 12 round-trippers in 2017
McDonald became the first SDSU batter to draw four walks in a game since Zach Rhodes on April 24, 2012, versus Sioux Falls
McDonald moved from a tie for 10^th place into a tie with Jesse Sawyer (2009-11) for seventh place in career walks drawn with 103
McDonald is hitting .500 (12-for-24) in seven Summit League games with five home runs, 10 RBIs and 14 runs scored
The Jackrabbits won an extra-inning game for the first time since posting a 10-3, 10-inning victory at Western Illinois in the first game of a doubleheader on March 26, 2021
Ira's grand slam was the third of the season by a Jackrabbit, joining Nelson (Feb. 17) and McDonald (March 31)
SDSU improved to 1-6 in series-opening games this season