The South Dakota State baseball team closed out the weekend series with a win over St. Thomas to avoid the sweep.

The Jacks will take on rival North Dakota State in Fargo this upcoming weekend in a three-game series starting tomorrow at 3 p.m. All three games can be viewed on the Summit League Network.

Game One (UST 13, SDSU 9)

SDSU’s first game of the three-game series against the Tommies started on a low note as the Jacks allowed nine unanswered runs to start Friday’s contest.

The Tommies scored one in the top of the first before striking for eight fourth-inning runs before the Jacks could plate a run.

The fourth inning was highlighted by an RBI triple from Brigs Richartz and a two-RBI single from Matthew Maulik in his second at-bat of the inning.

After getting two runs across in the bottom of the fourth, the Jacks started a comeback in the later innings, adding one in the seventh, two in the eighth and four in the ninth, but fell short with four extra insurance runs plated by the Tommies.

Owen Bishop took the loss on the mound for SDSU, allowing two runs on three hits and four strikeouts in three innings of work.

Luke Luskey led the Jackrabbit offense, batting 2-for-5 with a double, two-run homer, driving in four runs in the loss. Adam Benes and Jess Bellows each drove in two runs on two hits as well.

Game Two (UST 11, SDSU 4)

In game two, the Tommies took advantage of more big offensive innings to take the series early on Saturday.

The Jacks got on the board first with back-to-back RBI singles from Nolan Grawe and Owen Siegert. The Tommies would match the two-piece with two of their own the next half inning on a fielding error by Nicholas Werk.

In the fifth, the Tommies took their first lead of the game, scoring on two RBI singles from Max Moris and Richartz, an RBI groundout followed by another RBI single to end the four-run inning. The Tommies continued pouring it on with two in the sixth and three more runs in the seventh.

A stalling Jack’s offense combined with four errors, it was smooth sailing in game two for the Tommies.

Arlen Peters took the loss in four innings of work, allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk. Benes drove in two runs on one hit, while Siegert and Grawe each added an RBI single in the loss.

Game Three (SDSU 8, UST 2)

The final game of the series featured a Jacks offense that attacked early and often, jumping out to an early 8-0 lead and never looking back.

Grawe scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch before Siegert drove in another on a groundout in the first inning.

“(He is) just a baseball player,” Headcoach Rob Bishop said of Grawe.  “Tons of energy, can really play defense, just fights at the plate… he was really good all fall and just really continued that into the spring, and (he has) competed at a really really high level. We look forward to seeing that guy in the middle of our lineup for a while.”

Another run scored in the third inning on an RBI double from Siegert, followed by a bunt from Benes that plated two runs made it 5-0 Jackrabbits.

The last of the scoring for the Jacks came in the fourth inning when Luke Luskey blasted a three-run home run over the left-center fence, scoring Grawe and Carter Sintek, increasing the lead to eight.

“(Sintek) can do a little bit of everything, the second game on the doubleheader day, I mean he just, he put us on his back and carried us, and (he has) been capable of being that kind of guy, played really well on defense, so we’re excited for where Carter is at.”

The Tommies got on the board in the fifth with a groundout and an RBI single plating two runs, but couldn’t muster any offense over the final four innings to drop game three.

Caleb Duerr earned the win on the mound for the Jacks pitching six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks, striking out four batters.

Luskey batted 2-for-4 with a walk and a three-run blast, Benes drove in two runs on two hits, while Siegert tallied one hit, one walk, and two RBIs in the win.

Up Next

The Jacks head up to Fargo for a three-game series with the North Dakota State Bison. The first two games start Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m., with the series finale taking place Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Bison, picked to finish fourth in the conference preseason poll, are off to an excellent start to Summit League play with a 4-2 record, most recently defeating Northern Colorado in a three-game series this past weekend (8-7, 3-4, 11-8).

“The league is really good, (it’s) gonna be a fun season as far as you know, having 30 games that anybody can beat anybody, (it’s) who plays the best nine innings of baseball,” said Bishop.

NDSU features sophomore shortstop Jake Schaffner, batting .371 with three doubles and a triple in 22 games this season, and senior right-handed pitcher Logan Knight, tossing 32.1 innings this season with an ERA of 5.57, fanning 28 batters.