JACKRABBITS RALLY TO SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER

Saturday, March 2

Edwardsville, Ill.

noon

South Dakota State University

5-5

SIUE

1-9

South Dakota State

SIUE

Photo by: Chris Board

3/2/2024 8:57:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Jake Goble pitched eight strong innings in the opener and Cael Frost provided the go-ahead three-run run home run in the of the bottom of the seventh in Game 2 as the South Dakota State baseball team swept a Saturday doubleheader from SIUE at Simmons Baseball Complex.

With the 8-1 and 5-4 victories, the Jackrabbits have won the first three games of the series and improved to 6-5 overall. SIUE dropped to 1-10.

Game 1: South Dakota State 8, SIUE 1
The Jackrabbits came up with all the offense they would need in support of Goble with a four-run first inning while the SDSU right-hander established a career-high eight strikeouts in his longest collegiate outing.

Reece Anderson marked his return to the lineup after missing the last seven games due to injury by opening the game with a single up the middle. Carter Sintek followed with a two-run home run to left-center, while Cade Stuff and Jess Bellows added back-to-back run-scoring doubles later in the opening frame.

With his double, Bellows extended his hitting streak to 18 games dating back to last season.

The Jackrabbit lead grew to 6-0 on a Dawson Parry solo home run in the second inning and an RBI single by Anderson in the fourth.

SIUE scored its lone run of the game in the home half of the fourth when Ryan Niedzwiedz led off with a single and later advanced two bases on an error. He later scored on a single by Ethan Willoughby.

Goble, meanwhile, scattered five hits — all singles — and walked only one. Sam Schlecht pitched a scoreless ninth inning thanks to a game-ending double play.

Frost doubled in a run in the sixth inning and Luke Luskey closed the scoring with a solo home run in the ninth. Luskey's home run was his first as a Jackrabbit.

Cade Stuff led SDSU's 11-hit attack by going 3-for-5. Parry and Anderson each notched a pair of hits.

Game 2: South Dakota State 5, SIUE 4
For the second time in the series, the Jackrabbits put together a three-run inning in their last at-bat to pull out a victory.

Trailing 4-2, Anderson started the game-winning rally in the top of the seventh with a single to left field. Carter Sintek followed with a single through the left side and both Jackrabbit runners moved into scoring position on a groundout to third base by Dawson Parry.

That brought Frost to the plate with first base open. The Jackrabbit outfielder from Gilbertville, Iowa, would win the lefty-lefty matchup against the Cougars' Lucas Spence by launching an 0-1 pitch over the fence in center field for a three-run home run. It was Frost's second home run of the series and team-leading sixth of the season.

Alex Clemons entered to pitch the bottom of the seventh and retired the side in order to preserve his second save in as many days.

Frost had a hand in all five Jackrabbit runs, driving in the first score of the game with an RBI groundout in the top of the first and scoring on a double by Luskey in the fifth that knotted the game at 2-all.

Spence, who was 3-for-4 and started the game in center field, gave SIUE a 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth and the Cougars added a run in the sixth inning without a hit, taking advantage of a walk, hit batter, wild pitch and balk

Hits were even at eight as Frost and Anderson posted two each for the Jackrabbits.

SDSU starter Reece Arbogast allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings in finishing with a no-decision. Dylan Driessen allowed one run in an inning of relief, while Will Kent was credited with the victory after recording the final out of the sixth inning.

UP NEXT
The finale of the four-game series is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.

NOTES

SDSU took a 6-5 lead in the all-time series
The Jackrabbits have homered in all 11 games this season for a total of 22 round-trippers
Luksey became the ninth different Jackrabbit to hit a home run in 2024
Parry recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the season in the opener
Frost has hit safely in nine consecutive games
Frost is batting 6-for-14 (.429 batting average) with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs so far in the series
Sintek extended his hitting streak to eight games
Bellows was a defensive replacement in Game 2, but did not have an official at-bat to keep his hitting streak intact at 18 games