South Dakota State took home their first conference series victory this past weekend, taking two out of three games against the Omaha Mavericks.
The Jacks look to carry that newfound momentum into the Twin Cities this weekend, where they will face the conference-leading St. Thomas Tommies.
The first game of the 3-game series starts today at 3 p.m., with two games on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed through Midco Sports Plus.
St. Thomas
The Jacks hit the road to St. Paul, Minnesota, this weekend in one of the biggest series of the season against the current top team in the Summit League.
The Tommies have suffered just three losses against conference opponents, including an 8-2 loss to the Jacks on March 22, but will enter this weekend’s series on a two-game losing streak after dropping the last two games of the series to NDSU.
“They have really good pitching depth,” said SDSU head coach Rob Bishop. “They throw a ton of strikes; they have a really good bullpen, and they have a veteran lineup. The reason they’re ahead right now is that they have just made teams beat them.”
Statistically, UST is one of the most consistent teams in the Summit League, leading the conference in batting average (.304) and second in pitching ERA (6.89).
Tanner Recchio and Joe Vos are two of the best hitters in the conference. Recchio is hitting at a .361 clip with eight doubles and 16 RBIs, while Vos has a .358 batting average, 10 doubles, six home runs, and 25 RBIs. Max Morris is another dangerous hitter for the Tommies, bolstering a .353 average with nine doubles and 29 RBIs.
Walker Retz has been the Tommies’ ace this season with a 4.63 ERA, good for third in the conference, while Marcus Kruzan’s 5.22 ERA is sixth in the Summit League.
Game one (SDSU 7, UNO 5)
A five-run third inning highlighted the Jacks’ opening series victory over the Mavericks last Friday.
Luke Luskey and Jess Bellows each homered in the win, while Nolan Grawe, Carter Sintek and Owen Siegert each drove in runs in the win.
Caleb Duerr took the win on the mound, surrendering five runs on eight hits in five innings pitched. Ty Madison and Dylan Driessen combined to shut out the Mavericks over the final four innings.
Game Two (SDSU 13, UNO 3)
The Jackrabbit offense erupted for 11 runs over the game’s final three innings to earn a mercy rule victory in game two on Saturday.
Owen Siegert batted 4-for-5 with three RBIs in the win, Nolan Grawe had three hits, a walk and a solo homer, while Carter Sintek added two hits, a walk and a homer, driving in two runs in the win.
Jake Goble took the win on the mound, allowing just two runs on four hits in four innings, striking out five batters.
Game three (UNO 19, SDSU 5)
The Jacks ran out of steam in the final game of the series, losing in a seven-inning mercy rule.
Omaha struck for 24 hits in the game, including two home runs, three doubles, four walks and 18 RBIs. The only Jackrabbit offense came in the form of three home runs by Luke Luskey, Adam Benes and Dayton Franke.
