JOPLIN, Mo. – Phil Velez hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting South Dakota State to a 13-9 victory and series sweep over Fort Wayne in Summit League baseball action Sunday afternoon at Warren Turner Field.
The Jackrabbits improved to 7-19 overall and evened their league record at 5-5. Fort Wayne dropped to 6-20 overall and 2-10 in The Summit League.
Velez’s heroics came after Fort Wayne tied the game with a grand slam of its own in the top of the ninth. With the Mastodons down to their final strike, Robert Young III connected on his fourth home run of the season – a shot to left field off Jackrabbit reliever Austin Suhr.
SDSU’s game-winning rally began when Anthony Schneider led off the bottom of the ninth with a single that fell in between two Mastodon infielders. After a sacrifice bunt moved Schneider to second base, Nick Smith was intentionally walked and Newt Johnson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Fort Wayne hurler Duane Miller struck out Landon Badger for the second out to send up Velez, who hit a towering fly ball on a 1-0 pitch that landed just over the left-field fence for his first career grand slam.
For the second day in a row, the Jackrabbits put together a five-run first inning to build an early lead. Schneider, who was one of six SDSU players with two or more hits, led off the game with a triple and scored on a double by Smith. Velez and Gus Steiger also delivered run-scoring hits, with the other two runs scoring on an error and back end of a double steal.
Fort Wayne got to SDSU starter Tyler Olmstead in the fourth inning, scoring three times. Travis Upp plated the first run, while Dylan Wilbert came through with a two-run single to left-center.
Smith recorded his second run-scoring extra-base hit of the game in the home half of the fourth, tripling to the right-center gap to drive in Derek Hackman. Smith later scored on an error.
Jacob Dickson hit his second home run of the series in the fifth, but the Jackrabbits got the run back in the sixth as Velez notched a sacrifice fly as he finished the day with a career-high six runs batted in.
The two teams traded runs in the eight, with Skyler Wenninger scoring the Jackrabbit run on a base hit by Steiger.
SDSU finished the game with a 15-11 advantage in hits. Tony Kjolsing led SDSU with three hits, while Shannon Baker was 3-for-4 to lead Fort Wayne.
Olmstead struck out three and walked three before exiting after 4 2/3 innings. Bret Barnett retired all four batters he faced and Bryce Johnson added a scoreless eighth inning. Korey Kuhlmann recorded the final out of the ninth to be credited with the victory.
NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series, 50-13, and has won the last nine meetings. ... Velez finished the series 6-for-7 (.857 batting average) with a home run, seven RBIs and 1.429 slugging percentage. ... Velez’s grand slam was the second by a Jackrabbit this season, joining Anthony Schneider (March 2 at Southeast Missouri State). ... Velez’s six RBIs are the most in a game by a Jackrabbit this season. ... Newt Johnson and Badger each extended their hitting streaks to seven games. ... Johnson has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games. ... SDSU did not commit an error in the series, compared to seven by Fort Wayne.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play Tuesday night at Creighton. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha, Nebraska.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
JOPLIN, Mo. – South Dakota State opened the day with a five-run inning, ended the day with another five-run outburst and received a record-setting pitching performance in between en route to sweeping a Summit League baseball doubleheader from Fort Wayne Saturday afternoon at Warren Turner Field.
In winning by scores of 10-0 and 7-2, the Jackrabbits improved to 6-19 overall and 4-5 in league play. Fort Wayne ended the day 6-19 overall and 2-8 in The Summit League.
Game 1
• SDSU 10, Fort Wayne 0 (7 inn.)
Sophomore left-hander Brady Stover struck out a Division I-era best 13 batters and combined with Mitchell Oehme on a one-hitter as the Jackrabbits ended the game early via the 10-run rule.
The Jackrabbits batted around in the bottom of the first, scoring five times. Anthony Schneider and Nick Smith both walked before Newt Johnson drove both home with a double to right-center field. Gus Steiger added a run-scoring singles, while the other two runs scored an error and double steal.
SDSU again sent nine men to the plate in the fourth, scoring three times to build an 8-0 lead. A groundout by Johnson brought home the first run, which was followed by a sacrifice fly by Josh Falk. The third run came across on an error following a single to right-center by Logan Holtz.
A native of Huxley, Iowa, Stover cruised through the Mastodons’ lineup, allowing only an infield single by Travis Upp as he faced the minimum through six innings. He struck out at least one batter in every inning, fanning the side in order in the third inning and notching a pair of strikeouts first, fourth, fifth and sixth frames.
Stover exited with one out in the seventh inning after allowing his only two walks of the game. Oehme retired both batters he faced to preserve the one-hit effort.
SDSU put the 10-run rule into effect in the bottom of the seventh. Schneider and Tony Kjolsing drew back-to-back walks to open the frame and the Jackrabbits loaded the bases when Smith was hit by a pitch. Schneider later scored on a wild pitch and Kjolsing scored the game-ending run on a long single to left by Newt Johnson, giving the Jackrabbit third baseman four runs batted in for the game.
Steiger led the Jackrabbits’ 13-hit attack with three hits in four trips to the plate. Smith, Johnson and Landon Badger all tallied two hits.
Game 2
• SDSU 7, Fort Wayne 2
The Jackrabbits struck for five runs in the eighth inning to complete the doubleheader sweep with a 7-2 victory in Game 2.
After squandering run-scoring opportunities in both the sixth and seventh innings, the Jackrabbits came through in the clutch in their final at-bat. Skyler Wenninger started the game-winning rally by drawing a leadoff walk. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Wenninger scampered home on an error after Phil Velez registered his fourth hit of the game. Badger rolled a single through the right side to plate Velez and Nick Smith followed with a two-run double to the right-center gap for a 6-2 lead. Johnson tallied his fifth RBI of the day with a single to right field that plated Smith.
SDSU reliever Derek Feige, who struck out two Fort Wayne batters after entering the game with runners at second and third with one out in sixth to keep the game tied at 2, picked up his first win of the season after completing 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Jackrabbit starter Brady Moxham struck out three and walked two over 5 1/3 innings.
Fort Wayne scored first on a solo home run by Jacob Dickson to lead off the top of the third, but the Jackrabbits tied it in the home half on an infield single by Badger that plated Velez.
SDSU grabbed a momentary lead in the fourth as Velez doubled in Johnson, who had led off the frame with a ground-rule double to left.
The Mastodons strung together three singles in the fifth inning, the last by Brandon Yoho, to even the score at 2-all. Fort Wayne’s bid to take the lead was thwarted as Velez threw out a runner at home plate to end the inning.
The Jackrabbits again recorded 13 hits and were led by Velez, who was 4-for-4 with two runs scored. Johnson, Smith and Badger each posted two hits.
Mike Snyder was 4-for-4 to lead Fort Wayne’s 10-hit effort.
NOTES: The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series, 49-13, and have won the last eight matchups. ... Four SDSU pitchers previously recorded 12 strikeouts in a Division I game: Robby Apo (2006), Caleb Thielbar (twice in 2009), Blake Treinen (2010) and Layne Somsen (2013). ... Stover now has 38 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched this season. ... Velez recorded the first four-hit game by a Jackrabbit this season and third of his career. ... Johnson has six multi-RBI games this season and has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games. ... Both Johnson and Badger extended their hitting streaks to six games. ... SDSU set a season high with four doubles in Game 2.
Photo from www.gojacks.com.
