The South Dakota State baseball team got out to a hot start against New Mexico winning the series opener before dropping the final three games of the four-game set.
The bats were working for the Jackrabbits scoring a combined 30 runs in the first three games (11-5, 12-11, 9-8) before dropping the final half of a doubleheader in seven innings Saturday (13-2).
Game 1 (Thursday)
South Dakota State hit four home runs in the first five innings in the 11-5 win over the Lobos.
Senior pitcher Nic McCay, who missed three of the last four seasons because of injury, got the start and held the Lobos scoreless through three innings allowing only one hit and walked one batter. Alex Koep followed McCay with three more scoreless innings of his own before New Mexico scored three in the bottom of the seventh.
The Jackrabbit offense jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first frame as Luke Luskey led off with a double and scored on a base hit from Bryce Ronken. Dawson Parry, last week’s Summit League Player of the Week, followed that up by blasting a two-run homer over right-center field.
In the fourth inning Carter Sintek and Cade Stuff each hit solo home runs and the Jackrabbits grew their lead to 11-0 with a six-run fifth inning featuring a two-run home run from Cael Frost and a three-run double by Davis Carr.
Closer Alex Clemons allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth but held off the lobos for the 11-5 final score.
Koep got the win to improve to 1-0 in decisions while New Mexico’s Jaren Jackson grabbed his second loss of the short season. Parry finished with two hits in five at bats adding two runs and two RBI in the win.
Game 2 (Friday)
South Dakota State had an 11-10 lead before allowing two runs in the final frame to lose to New Mexico 12-11 in game two.
UNM’s Will Asby started the final push for the Lobos drawing a walk from SDSU’s Owen Bishop before Ethan Ott hit a single off Jackrabbit reliever Reece Arbogast to put two on the corners with nobody out.
A ground-rule double from Konner Kinkade forced in the tying run putting a pinch runner, Andrew Neil, at third base. After an intentional walk to Josh McAlister loaded the bases, Reed Spenrath hit the game-ending single to right field.
New Mexico grabbed the first run on an RBI single by Luke Mansy in the first inning. SDSU responded with a four-run second adding on two more runs in the third to put the Jacks up 6-1.
The Lobos evened the game up with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third adding on three in the fourth. Carr punched in his second RBI in the top of the fifth as the Jackrabbits took the back the lead adding runs in both the sixth and the seventh innings.
New Mexico rallied to take the lead for the first time with a four-run seventh that featured a Spenrath RBI double.
SDSU had a season-high 19 hits as Ronken, Sintek and Frost all went 3-for-6 at the plate. The Lobo’s Sean Stephens went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and triple reaching base five times.
Arbogast got tagged with the loss. Driessen threw three scoreless innings striking out and walking a batter. Peters was charged with six runs on six hits walking five and striking out only one.
Game 3 (Saturday, Game 1 of DH)
For the second consecutive day, New Mexico scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to record a walkoff win over South Dakota State 9-8.
Trailing 8-3, The Lobos scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh with the help of two Jackrabbit throwing errors. Down 8-7 in the eighth, UNM tacked on one more on a sacrifice fly by Kinkade, but the Jacks kept the lead turning a 5-4-3 double-play with the tying run at third.
Ethan Ott started the bottom of the ninth with a ground-rule double off pitcher Sam Schlecht before Clemons filled the closer role and walked two of the next three hitters. Pinch runner Neil tied it up on a wild pitch and Asby won the game with a single through the infield.
SDSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after four plating two runs in the second and another in the fourth. New Mexico tied the game at 3 with an RBI triple and a run-scoring double from Spenrath and Tye Wood.
Frost added two more runs with a home run to right after Parry got on base with a double. Frost and Stuff both finished 3-for-4 to lead the 14-hit game.
Jake Goble got the start for the Yellow and Blue allowing seven hits in six innings striking out five and walking two. Justin Still picked up the win for New Mexico with a scoreless ninth.
Game 4 (Saturday, Game 2 of DH)
The Lobos kept the momentum from game one of the twinbill jumping out to a big lead and never looked back scoring in every inning on the way to a 13-2 10-run rule win.
UNM grabbed two runs in each of the first three innings kicked off by a two-run homer from Asby in the bottom of the first. Kinkade put up two with a single in the second and Wood and Stephens both notched RBI singles in the third.
SDSU scored their first run of the game on a sacrifice fly from Parry in the top of the third. Parry went 0-for-3 in the game to snap a nine-game hitting streak. The Jackrabbits other run was a solo homer in the top of the fifth from Thatcher Kozal.
Luke Mansy led the Lobos’ 14-hit performance going 3-for-5 at the plate. Sintek and Cohen Henry each had two of the Jackrabbits’ nine hits.
SDSU starter Will Kent pitched only 2 2/3 innings in his first loss of the year allowing the six runs of of eight hits while walking two and striking two.
The Lobos now lead the all-time series between the two schools 26-4.
Up Next
The Jackrabbits will stay on the road opening a four-game series at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Friday at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader at Noon Saturday and a single game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
