Chris Mangan

The Jackrabbit baseball team waited a long time to return home, and it showed with a 22-3 drubbing of Division III Presentation College.

The Jacks (15-19, 6-3) were supposed to open at home April 4 against Centenary, but the games were moved to Omaha due to unplayable field conditions. They were then supposed to have a home game against Dakota Wesleyan on April 15, but it was again moved due to unplayable field conditions.

The game was the first played on campus since 2001 when the old Erv Heuther field was taken down to make room for a parking lot. The Jacks have only played five of their last 87 games in Brookings, all at Bob Sheldon Field, which is also used by the Brookings High School team as well as the Brookings Legion and other area teams.

It didn’t take long for the Jacks to christen the new stadium. Senior Tyson Fisher hit a two-run single before senior Craig Parry blasted a three-run homer and the Jacks never looked back. Parry finished the game 3-4 with two home runs, the other of a grand-slam.

The Jacks scored more runs in the game against Presentation, 22, than they did in the four game series against Southern Utah on April 17–20. The Jacks lost three-of-four to the Saints.

Presentation was able to use a couple of big innings in each of their wins to down the Jacks. In the first game, the Saints scored the final nine runs of the game to hand the Jacks their first conference loss with an 11-9 defeat. In the third game of the series the T-Birds put two on the board in the top of the sixth and then held the Jacks scoreless in the top of the seventh, handing the Jacks a 3-2 setback.

It was the same story in the final game of the series. With the game deadlocked at one a piece the Saints would score four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Jacks would fall 6-2.

The Jackrabbits will return to action on April 23, when they travel to Sioux Falls to take on Minnesota at Canaries Stadium. The Jacks will return home April 26-27 with a four game series against Western Illinois. The first pitch of each doubleheader is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. with the second game immediately following.

#1.882535:533685797.jpg:baseball_sb02.jpg:Junior infielder Matt Zabel bobbles the ball in short right field during the top of the seventh inning against Presentation April 22 at the brand new Erv Huether Field. :Stephen Brua