MACOMB, Ill. – South Dakota State broke out of an offensive rut with season highs of three home runs and 19 hits to salvage the final game of a Summit League baseball series with a 13-5 victory over Western Illinois Saturday afternoon. Western Illinois won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, 8-4.

The Jackrabbits ended the day 15-16 overall and closed the first half of Summit League play at 8-7. WIU moved to 11-22 overall and 8-7 in league play.

Game 1

• Western Illinois 8, SDSU 4

The Fighting Leathernecks scored five times in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead for good, sending 11 men to the plate in the process. Deion Thompson doubled in the first two runs of the inning and Roman Visintine followed with a two-run triple to center field that knocked SDSU starter Austin Kost out of the game. Mitch Ellis and Ben Sellers added run-scoring hits later in the inning.

WIU's big inning came after the Jackrabbits rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead. Tony Kjolsing plated the first run for SDSU with a second-inning single and the Jackrabbits added two more on an RBI double by Matt Johnson and ensuing run-scoring single by Philip Jacobson.

Visintine drove in his third run of the game with a single in the home half of the fourth. SDSU's final run came in the seventh on an error following an infield single by Ian Cote.

The Fighting Leathernecks held a 14-13 advantage in hits. Thompson and Adam McGinnis each tallied three hits for WIU, while Nick Smith and Luke Ringhofer each notched three hits for the Jackrabbits.

Preston Church worked the first six innings for WIU, earning the win after striking out five and walking four while allowing three runs and seven hits.

SDSU's bullpen gave up only one run over six innings. Hunter Even pitched three innings of one-run baseball, while Zach Finley pitched a scoreless sixth and Quinn Reimers finished with two scoreless frames.

Game 2

• SDSU 13, Western Illinois 5

The Jackrabbits set the tone for their Game 2 victory with a four-run first inning that featured back-to-back home runs by Josh Kunzmann and Matt Johnson. Kunzmann's first home run in an SDSU uniform was a two-run shot that scored Smith and was immediately followed by Johnson's team-leading seventh homer of the season. An error later in the inning allowed Anthony Schneider to score the final run of the frame.

Schneider made it 5-0 Jackrabbits with a solo home run with one out in the fourth. It was Schneider's second home run of the series and fifth of the season.

SDSU tacked on four more runs in the fourth. Newt Johnson delivered the first two runs with a single through the right side. Ringhofer added a run-scoring single and Landon Badger contributed a sacrifice fly.

Western Illinois cut the margin to 9-5 with four runs of its own in the home half of the fourth and another run in the fifth. McGinnis drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single, while the two other fourth-inning runs scored on wild pitches - one each by Jackrabbit starter Ethan Kenkel and reliever Bryce Hanson. Drue Galassi notched an RBI single in the fifth.

The Jackrabbits finished strong with a four-run ninth. Tony Kjolsing walked to lead off the inning and Smith followed with his fifth hit of the game and eighth of the doubleheader. Kunzmann knocked in his third run of the game with a single that scored Kjolsing, and both Matt and Newt Johnson plated runs with base hits. The final SDSU run scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Schneider.

Besides Smith with five hits, five other Jackrabbits tallied multiple hits in the game, including Newt Johnson and Schneider with three each. Newt Johnson also recorded three runs batted in for the fourth time this season.

Hanson struck out a career-high eight and walked only one over 4 1/3 innings of relief to earn his third win of the season.

UP NEXT

The Jackrabbits are scheduled to close out their nine-game road swing with a game Tuesday at Minnesota. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Siebert Field on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.

Game 1

WESTERN ILLINOIS 8, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 4

SDSU              012 000 100 – 4 13 2

WIU                205 100 00x – 8 14 1

Austin Kost, Hunter Even (3), Zach Finley (6), Quinn Reimers (7) and Ian Cote; Preston Church, Connor Rektorski (7), Nate Westfahl (8) and Adam McGinnis. W – Church (3-3). L – Kost (1-6). 2B: SDSU, Matt Johnson 2; WIU, Cord Church, Adam McGinnis 2, Deion Thompson 2. 3B: WIU, Roman Visintine.

Game 2

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 13, WESTERN ILLINOIS 5

SDSU              401 400 004 – 13 19 0

WIU                000 410 000 –   5   6 2

Ethan Kenkel, Bryce Hanson (4), Derek Feige (9) and Luke Ringhofer; Javin Drake, Sam Cottingham-Beard (4), J.T. Baksha (5), Jimmy Perkins (8), Matthew Sturchio (9) and Adam McGinnis. W – Hanson (3-0). L – Drake (2-5). 2B: SDSU, Tony Kjolsing. HR: SDSU, Josh Kunzmann (1), Matt Johnson (7), Anthony Schneider (5).