Jacks win opening series

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – South Dakota State split with UT Martin over the weekend to win the three-game college baseball series 2-1.

The Jackrabbits won the finale 7-1 Sunday after falling 5-4 on Saturday.

SDSU (2-1) returns to action at the Snowbird Invitational in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The Jacks take on Florida International on Friday at 1 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m., before facing Northeastern on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.

Sunday

 SDSU 7, UT Martin 1

Freshman Nic McCay struck out eight over five shutout frames and the South Dakota State offense got in gear in the middle innings en route to the series-clinching victory.

After being held without a hit the first time through the order, SDSU broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Nick Smith singled through the right side before Gus Steiger hit an opposite-field two-run home run to right off Skyhawk starter Austen Bullington.
Smith upped the Jackrabbit lead to 4-0 an inning later, greeting reliever Dom Bazzani by lining a single to left-center that scored both Luke Ira and Derek Hackman.

That would prove to be more than enough offense for McCay, who struck out eight, walked two and allowed only four hits in his collegiate debut. The right-hander from Carlisle, Iowa, worked out of a big jam in the bottom of the fourth by striking out the next two hitters and inducing a groundout back to the mound after UT Martin put runners on second and third with no outs to begin the inning.

McCay struck out at least one batter in all five innings of work.

SDSU tacked on two more runs in the sixth without the benefit of a hit. Braeden Brown and Josh Falk drew back-to-back walks before Logan Holtz was hit by a pitch. Landon Badger walked with the bases loaded to force in Brown and Falk later scored on a wild pitch.

UT Martin ended the Jackrabbit shutout bid against the SDSU bullpen in the bottom of the eighth as Creighton Eldridge delivered a run-scoring single that plated Casey Harford.

Smith led SDSU’s 10-hit attack by going 3-for-5. Ira tallied two hits, including a double, with Steiger contributing a pair of hits.

Blake Daniels was the lone Skyhawk player with more than one hit, turning in a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.

Notes: The Jackrabbits homered in all three games of the series, hitting a total of six round-trippers (from six different players). … Bret Barnett struck out two in pitching scoreless ball over the sixth and seventh innings. … SDSU pitchers combined for 34 strikeouts in the three-game series. … Ira ended the series 6-for-13 (.462 average) with two doubles and a triple in the opening weekend of his collegiate career.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 7, UT MARTIN 1

South Dakota State 000 222 001    7  8  0

UT Martin                 000 000 010    1  7  1

Nic McCay, Bret Barnett (6), Quinn Reimers (8), Alex Marro (9) and Derek Hackman; Austen Bullington, Dom Bazzani (5), David Hussey (6), Marcus Eusebio (9) and Blake Davis. W – McCay (1-0). L – Bullington (0-1). 2B: SDSU, Luke Ira; UTM, Blake Daniels. HR: SDSU, Gus Steiger.

Saturday

 UT Martin 5, SDSU 4

UT Martin scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and held off South Dakota State in the late innings.
The squads traded unearned runs in the early going, with the Skyhawks drawing first blood in the second inning on a sacrifice fly and SDSU countering with an RBI groundout by Nick Smith in the third inning that plated Ryan McDonald.

An RBI double by UTM’s Jordan Stoner gave the Skyhawks a momentary 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
The Jackrabbits grabbed what would be their only lead of the game on back-to-back home runs by Logan Holtz and McDonald to open the top of the fifth.
The Skyhawks manufactured the tying run in the home half of the fifth as Sean Dixson led off the frame with a single. He later stole both second and third before scoring on a groundout off the bat of Ethan Whitley.
Jackrabbit starter Ryan Froom exited after five innings as he made his first pitching appearance in nearly two years after suffering an arm injury in March 2017. The sixth-year senior from Crystal, Minn., struck out five, walked four and surrendered three hits.
Blake Davis and Bill Edwards started what proved to be the game-winning rally for UT Martin with back-to-back singles to open the sixth. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch before Stoner delivered a sacrifice fly and Casey Harford followed with a single that was misplayed in the outfield that allowed Edwards to score from second.

SDSU stranded two runners in the seventh and left the bases loaded in the eighth before putting together a final rally in the ninth.

Jamie Berg walked and Drew Beazley singled to open the inning. Beazley was retired on a fielder’s choice that put runners at the corners before Berg scored on a throwing error. An infield single by Gus Steiger and intentional walk to Josh Falk loaded the bases, but Skyhawk reliever Nick Wohlbord got out of the jam with a game-ending double play off the bat of Braeden Brown.

Tyler Olmstead was the hard-luck loser for the Jackrabbits after giving up the two runs in the sixth. A returning all-Summit League performer, Olmstead struck out five and did not walk a batter in three innings of relief.

Zach Denney earned the win for UTM after striking out two and walking two in 2 1/3 innings.
The Skyhawks held a 10-9 advantage in hits, led by Tyson Cox’s 3-for-4 performance.
McDonald was the lone SDSU player with more than one hit as eight of nine starters cracked the hit column.

Notes: SDSU’s starting lineup featured four freshmen: Beazley, Berg, McDonald and Luke Ira. … Olmstead struck out the side in order in the seventh. … The Jackrabbits stranded a total of 10 runners in the game.

UT MARTIN 5, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 4

South Dakota State 001 020 001    4    9  3

UT Martin                 010 112 000    5  10  2

Ryan Froom, Tyler Olmstead (6) and Ryan McDonald; Sam Folks, Zach Denney (6), Nick Wohlbold (9) and Blake Davis. W – Denney (1-0). L – Olmstead (0-1). Sv – Wohlbold (1). 2B: UTM, Jordan Stoner. HR: SDSU, Logan Holtz, McDonald.

Brady Stover named Pitcher of the Week

SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota State left-hander Brady Stover was honored Monday as the first Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the 2019 season, league officials announced.

A junior from Huxley, Iowa, Stover pitched five shutout innings en route to the win in the Jackrabbits’ 15-3 season-opening victory over UT Martin on Feb. 15. He racked up nine strikeouts – fanning at least one batter in every inning – while walking two and surrendering only two hits.