BROOKINGS – Walkoff! Tony Kjolsing homered to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning as South Dakota State celebrated its long-awaited home opener with a 5-4 Summit League win over Omaha on a gorgeous Friday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.
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BROOKINGS – Walkoff!
Tony Kjolsing homered to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning as South Dakota State celebrated its long-awaited home opener with a 5-4 Summit League win over Omaha on a gorgeous Friday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.
The Mavericks opened the scoring, manufacturing a run in the second inning.
Adam Caniglia and Keil Krumwiede got it going with back-to-back singles, and advanced on Max Gamm’s sacrifice bunt. Ben Palensky followed with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Josh Falk did not wait around in the bottom of the inning, quickly tying things up by blasting the first pitch he saw over the 390 sign on the center-field fence.
With one out, Gus Steiger lifted a deep fly ball, which was misplayed by the UNO center fielder. He was credited with a triple, and the Jackrabbits took advantage.
Skyler Wenninger walked to put runners on the corners.
Kolton Michalski laid down a squeeze bunt to drive in Steiger and he legged out a single in the process as the Mavericks were late covering first base. A throwing error on the play allowed Wenninger to move to third.
Anthony Schneider had an RBI groundout to shortstop and Kjolsing added a sacrifice fly to put SDSU on top 4-1.
Jackrabbit starter Korey Kuhlmann gave up one run on four hits in five innings. The left-hander struck out two batters and walked one.
The Mavericks rallied against SDSU’s bullpen.
In the sixth, Thomas DeBonville drew a base on balls, stole second and scored on Braden Rogers’ double. Krumwiede had a sacrifice fly, pulling the visitors within 4-3.
Palensky walked to open the second and took second on Tyler Daugherty’s sacrifice. Cole Thibodeau’s two-out RBI single completed the comeback.
The Mavericks had a runner on third with two outs in the top of the ninth when DeBonville hit a grounder to the left side. SDSU third baseman Newt Johnson made a diving stop and threw to first for the third out, saving a run and keeping things tied at 4-all.
Kjolsing connected on a 3-2 pitch in the 10th, sending the ball over the wall in center field. He ended up 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Falk and Steiger both finished 2-for-4. Schneider doubled.
Alex Marro (1-1) earned the win after throwing three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and had a pair of strikeouts.
Derek Feige, who relieved Kuhlmann to begin the sixth, surrendered three runs on two hits and two walks with a pair of Ks.
For UNO, Rogers and Caniglia both went 2-for-5 with a double.
Cal Hehnke took the loss, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts and a walk in three-plus innings. Mavericks starter Joey Machado gave up four runs on seven hits and five walks with two strikeouts. Second-place South Dakota State (13-24, 11-8) and third-place Omaha (14-26, 9-10) face off again today and Sunday at 1 p.m.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 5, OMAHA 4, 10 inn.
UNO 010 002 100 0 – 4 8 1
SDSU 040 000 000 1 – 5 9 1
Joey Machado, Cal Hehnke (7) and Adam Caniglia; Korey Kuhlmann, Derek Feige (6), Alex Marro (8) and Kolton Michalski, Ian Cote (8), Derek Hackman (10). W – Marro (1-1). L – Hehnke (0-3). 2B: UNO, Braden Rogers, Caniglia; SDSU, Anthony Schneider. 3B: SDSU, Gus Steiger. HR: SDSU, Tony Kjolsing, Josh Falk.
Register photo: South Dakota State’s Gus Steiger lifts a triple to right-center field during the second inning of the Jackrabbits’ 5-4, 10-inning Summit League win over Omaha on Friday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.
