South Dakota State pulled off their first win of the season in a comeback victory that saw the Jacks down 8-1 early on.
The Jacks entered their four-game-series against Sacramento State 0-4 on the season, being swept in their season opener against The University of the Pacific. Sacramento State was 4-4 on the season before their games against the Jackrabbits.
Game One (2-14)
SDSU’s first game of the series saw no scoring until the Jacks broke the stalemate in the top of the third. Nicholas Werk got to third following a double and a stolen base and Luke Luskey was able to drive him home with a single. With that at-bat, Luskey has recorded a hit in every game this season, a streak that would continue through the next game. Sacramento State quickly responded with a five-run bottom of the third. A throwing error to second base opened the floodgates, with Jakob Poturnak able to score. Afterward, a fielder’s choice saw Sacramento get their second run of the game. Tyler White capped off the inning with a three-RBI homer. SDSU wasn’t able to mount a comeback and dropped their 5th game in a row. The Hornets out-hit the Jacks 10-8 in the game.
“I think our young guys just got tested a lot so we had at times eight underclassmen in the lineup,” head coach Rob Bishop said. “Obviously I’m not happy with the result as far as the win-loss piece, but I really thought that we saw some strides in our young position guys.”
Game Two (5-14)
SDSU was able to put up 15 hits in their second game of the series but weren’t able to put it all together last Thursday.The Jacks were able to take an early lead in the top of the first with Luskey scoring an RBI single, and Carter Sintek extended it with an RBI single of his own. Sacramento responded immediately and was able to tie it in the bottom of the first with a Ryan Christiansen double. Elie Kligman grounded out to Jackrabbit shortstop Sintek, but Christiansen made it home to tie it up. Kligman had two hits, two runs and four RBIs in the game. In the second, the Jacks were able to take the lead again with Owen Siegert scoring off of a Nolan Grawe single. The fourth inning saw Sacramento State take the lead with a pair of homers to get the Hornets a 5-3 lead that they built upon throughout the rest of the game.
Game Three (1-4)
Last Friday saw the Jacks strike out by a 13-4 margin en route to their third loss of the season. Christiansen continued his solid series with a home run in the first inning and an RBI double in the second. SDSU found its only run of the game in the 8th inning following a fielding error by Michael Perazzo, with Grawe able to find his way home. The game saw the Jacks hit four runs, tied for the lowest amount on the season with their 8-0 loss to The University of the Pacific.
“We are more than capable in every aspect of the game so, as a coaching staff we have to do a really good job trying to put guys into positions that they can succeed,” said Bishop.
Game Four (12-11)
Late-game heroics led SDSU to their first win of the season as they were able to claw their way back from an early deficit. The Jacks found themselves down big early on as the Hornets were able to put up eight runs through four innings. SDSU was able to draw two walks in the 5th, but a strikeout and flyout put the pressure back on the offense. Sintek started the scoring with a two-run RBI double that saw Grawe and Keagen Jirschele score. Luskey hammered a pitch and got his 8th RBI of the year with a home run that drove him and Sintek to the plate. Bryce Ronken followed suit and hit a home run of his own, bringing the Jacks to an 8-6 score. Jackrabbit pitcher Jake Goble took over for Dylan Driessen in the 5th and threw 3 innings, not allowing a single run while putting up 57 pitches.
At the top of the 6th, Siegert got the Jacks within a run with the team’s third home run of the game. Ronken crushed a ball for the team’s fourth home run to tie it all up in the 8th inning. Brady Brown and Jess Bellows took advantage of a throwing error to give the Jacks the first lead of the game. Sintek capped the inning off with an RBI single that gave SDSU an 11-8 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, the Hornets were able to mount a comeback of their own and were able toforce extra innings with a three-run home run. Pinch hitter Dayton Franke, in his first at-bat of the game, hit what would be the game-winning homerun as he put SDSU up 12-11. Franke’s homerun was the seventh overall of the game and propelled SDSU to their first win of the season.
SDSU next looks to face off against the St. Louis Billikens in a three-game series that spans this Friday to Sunday. The Billikens are 5-7 on the season and are coming off a 9-7 loss to Missouri State. Over the course of 12 games, St. Louis has put up 96 hits compared to SDSU’s 73 hits over eight games. The Billikens have been outscored 62-102, 87 being earnedruns. After the series, the Jackrabbits will play one game against Air Force before beginning their first Summit League series of the series against Northern Colorado.
