South Dakota State freshman pitcher Caleb Duerr held St. Thomas in check over six innings as the Jackrabbits salvaged the final game of a doubleheader and three-game Summit League baseball series …
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South Dakota State freshman pitcher Caleb Duerr held St. Thomas in check over six innings as the Jackrabbits salvaged the final game of a doubleheader and three-game Summit League baseball series with an 8-2 victory Saturday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.
League-leading St. Thomas, which won the first game of the twinbill, 11-4, moved to 11-8 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. The Jackrabbits ended the day 3-16 overall and 2-4 in league play.
The Tommies scored the final nine runs of the game and rode the right arm of starter Walker Retz to the win.
UST gained the lead with a four-run fifth inning as things began to unravel for SDSU reliever, who escaped jams in the second and fourth frames. Tanner Recchio opened the fifth inning with a single and came around to score on a base hit by Max Moris. After two more runs scored on the fourth Jackrabbit error of the game and a groundout, Max Nyrop delivered a run-scoring single for the fourth tally of the inning.
The Tommies struck again for two runs in the sixth and put the game away with a three-run seventh inning. A double by Adam Puder and triple by Recchio led to the sixth-inning runs, while Matthew Maulik and Puder notched run-scoring hits in the seventh.
SDSU opened the scoring with two runs in each of the first and third innings. Carter Sintek led off the game for the Jackrabbits with a walk, advanced to second base on a single by Bryce Ronken and scored on Nolan Grawe’s base hit to left field. Owen Siegert followed with his own opposite-field single to left to play Ronken.
After UST scored a pair of runs without a hit in the top of the second to tie the game, the Jackrabbits regained the lead as Adam Benes delivered a two-run single that plated both Grawe and Siegert.
From there, however, Retz and reliever Kody Dalen were lights out. Retz worked the first 6 2/3 innings and allowed only one hit after Benes’ two-run single in the third. He struck out six and walked five in the contest.
Dalen, meanwhile, retired all seven batters he faced, including striking out the side in order in both the eighth and ninth innings.
St. Thomas held a 13-7 advantage in hits, with four different players registering two hits apiece for the Tommies. Grawe was 2-for-3 to pace the Jackrabbits at the plate.
Brady Hawkins finished on the mound for the Jackrabbits and tossed two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.
SDSU made an early lead stand up as Duerr turned in the longest outing by a Jackrabbit pitcher this season.
Each of the first three Jackrabbit batters reached in the bottom of the first inning as Sintek and Grawe each singled and Luke Luskey walked to load the bases. Grawe would later score the first run on a wild pitch, with Luskey scoring on a groundout off the bat of Siegert.
Doubles by Luskey and Siegert accounted for the first run of the third inning before the Jackrabbits turned to some small ball. With runners at second and third, Adam Benes dropped down a bunt along the first-base line with both Ronken and Siegert scoring on the play.
Luskey pushed the Jackrabbit advantage to 8-0 with a three-run home run to left-center field an inning later.
Duerr was able to pitch out of constant traffic on the bases as he allowed the leadoff batter to reach in each of the first five innings. The Tommies did break through with a pair of runs in the fifth inning after Puder and Recchio began the inning with consecutive singles. Puder scored on a groundout, while Recchio came home on a bunt single by Moris.
In his six innings of work, Duerr struck out four, walked three and surrendered five hits.
Alex Clemons struck out three over two scoreless innings and Dylan Driessen finished up with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth that included a strikeout.
UST starter Riane Ritter was tagged with the loss after allowing all eight runs. He struck out five and walked three.
Sintek, Grawe, Luskey and Benes each posted two of the Jackrabbits’ 10 hits. Recchio and Puder collected two of the Tommies’ six hits.
Summit League-leading St. Thomas put up eight runs in the fourth inning and held off a furious comeback attempt by South Dakota State, winning the opening game of a three-game baseball series by a 13-9 count Friday afternoon at a newly renovated Erv Huether Field.
St. Thomas was on the verge of ending the game early via the 10-run rule on a couple occasions, but the Jackrabbits rallied each time to extend the contest.
The Tommies scored once in the top of the fifth and added two more unearned runs in the seventh to build their advantage to 12-2.
Hits were even at 11 apiece. Luskey, Benes, Bellows and Sintek each notched a pair of hits for the Jackrabbits.
South Dakota State’s home baseball game this week against Southwest Minnesota State has been moved to Tuesday.
