Jacks open Summit League Baseball Tournament against Bison

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TULSA, Okla. – The South Dakota State baseball team is definitely playing its best baseball at the right time.

The third-seeded Jackrabbits, riding an eight-game win streak, are heading to the Summit League tournament in Tulsa, Okla., starting on Wednesday.

SDSU tangles with No. 2 North Dakota State in the first game at noon.

The last – and only – time SDSU won the Summit league in the Division 1 era was in 2013.

“I’m definitely happy the way we’ve played in conference play, and we’re in the position we wanted to be in, “ said first-year SDSU head coach, Rob Bishop. “We are going to the tournament, have a chance to win that and play our way into a regional.”  

SDSU rounded out the season by finishing 25-22 overall and 18-12 in the conference.

Finishing in front of the Jacks were tourney host Oral Roberts and NDSU.

With the Summit regular-season championship wrapped up, defending champ ORU heads in the tournament with a conference-best record of 25-4 and 39-14 overall.

Coming into his first Summit tournament, Bishop understands what the Jacks must do in order to win.

“Any team that wins a double-elimination tournament is going to have to swing the bat and score runs,” he said.

Bishop added that it’s going to come down to the old cliché in baseball – score, and then, throw strikes and play defense.

The Jacks will rely on the bats of senior first baseman Matt Johnson, who is batting .333 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Right behind Johnson is junior third baseman Newt Johnson, who has 38 RBIs.

Sophomore utility player Nick Smith adds a much-needed bat in the lineup as he has been hampered by a torn labrum, which will require surgery when the season ends. Smith is currently ranked second in the Summit league with a batting average of .339.

Bishop warned that Smith, who missed one series before coming back last weekend against Omaha, may not being playing the field, but rather used as a designated hitter or pinch-hitter.

“All the teams are going to score down there, it’s going to be a different picture than it has been in the regular season,” Bishop said.

No season comes without struggle or adversity.

The Jacks have fought injuries all season long, which forced a handful of true freshmen to grow up in a hurry.

Several players in key leadership positions have had to miss up to six weeks at a time, including Ryan Froom, the Jacks’ top returning pitcher. Froom was injured in March in a start at Oral Roberts and has since undergone Tommy John surgery with the hope to return in 2019.

The rash of injuries forced many players to step into the lineup and fill roles they may have not been expected to when the season began in mid-February with a trip to Arizona.

“It’s interesting having to put freshmen in roles that we didn’t see them in, but they have stepped up and done a serviceable job at whatever role we put them into,” said Bishop.

Injuries have decimated the pitching rotation for Bishop and company.

One bright spot that has appeared is closer Chris Halbur, who is tied for first in the league with nine saves. The senior right-hander has been almost untouchable, allowing just two earned runs on 16 hits in 28 innings with 31 strikeouts.

Halbur has allowed just 16 hits and two earned runs, while striking out 31 batters.

“I don’t know how you can be better than Chris has been; even on the days that he hasn’t pitched well or felt well, he fights through it and gets a good result,” Bishop said. “To have a guy in at the end of the game that everyone believes we’re going to win that game, it’s priceless.”

Look for the Jacks to use the pitching rotation that ended the season against Omaha.

Freshman Tyler Olmstead gets the ball in Game 1, followed by senior Ethan Kenkel in Game 2.

If the Jacks make it to a Game 3, Bishop said that starter will be determined.

With the Bison in their sights, the Jacks will more than likely be going head-to-head with Luke Lind, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior, in Round 1.

Lind, who leads the Summit in strikeouts with 82, is 2-0 against the Jacks this season with nearly unbelievable numbers.

In 16 innings versus SDSU, Lind has allowed just one run on two hits and three walks while fanning 19.

The Jacks went 2-4 against NDSU in the regular season, losing two of three in each series.  

“Our guys want a little bit of redemption, because (Lind) has shut us down a couple times over the course of this season,” said Bishop. “It should be a good challenge.”

Bishop said NDSU is fundamentally sound as a team. The Bison pitch extremely well, pound the strike zone and have the best defense in the league. He expects that the Jacks are going to have to hit their way into NDSU’s bullpen because the Bison don’t make many mistakes.

The border battle is scheduled for a noon start on Wednesday and the tournament concludes Saturday at 1 p.m. – or 4:30 p.m., if a second championship game is necessary.

Oral Roberts meets Western Illinois at 6 p.m. in Game 2 on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the losers of Wednesday’s games meet at noon while the winners play at 6 p.m.

SDSU fans can find the game on Brookings Radio KJJQ 910 AM or on Jackrabbits All-Access at www.gojacks.com.