FARGO — South Dakota State picked up a series win, defeating the North Dakota State Bison in three-game series over the weekend.
The Jackrabbits are now 13-16 overall and 6-5 in the Summit League after the series and are scheduled to play their home opener at Erv Huether Field against Northwestern (Iowa) at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Dawson Parry drove in four runs and Nic McCay pitched six shutout innings to lead South Dakota State to a 5-1 victory over North Dakota State in the opening game of a three-game Summit League baseball series Friday night at Newman Outdoor Field.
The Jackrabbits, who ended a four-game losing streak, improved to 12-15 overall and 5-4 in league play. NDSU dropped to 7-18 overall and 4-3 in The Summit League.
Parry opened the scoring with a two-run double to right-center with two outs in the top of the third inning that plated Reece Anderson and Jordan Sagedahl. Anderson started the rally by drawing a one-out walk and moved to second on a single by Sagedahl.
McCay continued his strong comeback season by limiting the Bison to two hits while striking out 10 in his six shutout frames. He struck out at least one batter in every inning, while fanning two batters in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings. He walked three and hit two batters while improving to 3-0 on the season.
A sacrifice fly by Parry in the top of the seventh pushed the SDSU lead to 3-0 and a two-out double down the third-base line by Adam Benes moments later drove in Cael Frost for a four-run lead.
Parry came through with another two-out double in the ninth for an insurance run, lacing a pitch over the third-base bag and into the left-field corner to again bring home Sagedahl. Parry and Sagedahl each tallied two of the Jackrabbits’ eight hits.
The Bison ended the shutout bid in the bottom of the ninth against the SDSU bullpen, scoring a run without the benefit of a hit. Alex Clemons recorded two of the Jackrabbits’ 14 strikeouts on the ninght as he came on to close out the victory.
The Bison may have been limited to three hits, but there was plenty of traffic on the bases as the four Jackrabbit pitchers to see mound duty on the night combined to issue six walks and hit another six batters. However, the SDSU pitching staff managed to get the job done in tough situations as NDSU batters went a combined 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position as the Bison stranded 13 runners in the game.
NDSU put together back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and fifth frames, then held off the Jackrabbits in the late innings for a one-run victory in the opener.
SDSU led 4-3 through three innings, opening the scoring with a solo home run by Cael Frost in the top of the first. The Bison responded with the next three runs, all of which were driven in by James Dunlap on a single in the first inning and a two-run base hit in the second inning. Both of the second-inning runs were unearned.
The Jackrabbits took what would be their final lead of the game with a three-run third inning as Dawson Parry plated two with a single and Cade Stuff added an RBI groundout.
The Bison took control in the middle innings, thanks again to some shaky defense by SDSU. Two of the three NDSU runs came in the fourth inning came across on a wild pitch and error, while the fifth SDSU error of the game allowed the final run of the fifth to score, pushing the Bison advantage to 9-5.
SDSU made it a one-run game with a three-run sixth inning as sophomore shortstop Matthew Werk delivered a run-scoring single up the middle and Jordan Sagedahl followed two batters later with a two-run home run.
The Jackrabbits loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh, but NDSU closer Joey Danielson came on to end the threat by inducing a pair of groundouts, the first of which resulted in a force out at home plate.
Danielson notched the final eight outs, including three by strikeout, to secure his sixth save of the season. Bison starter Logan Knight picked up the win after allowing five runs over five innings. He struck out five and walked two.
For SDSU, Reece Arbogast took the loss after working 3 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Of the six runs the left-hander allowed, only two were earned. Arlen Peters pitched the final 4 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking four.
The Jackrabbits held a 14-8 advantage in hits, with six different players notching a pair of hits.
In a back-and-forth contest, South Dakota State grabbed the lead for good with a five-run sixth inning that was capped by a two-run double by Parry.
Trailing 6-5, the Jackrabbit sixth began when Jess Bellows reached on an error and Bryce Ronken followed with a single to center field. After both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by Werk, pinch hitter Luke Luskey plated the tying run with a single to left-center field. Reece Anderson and Sagedahl then reached on consecutive infield singles, with Sagedahl’s bringing home Ronken with the go-ahead run. After an RBI groundout by Frost , Parry came through in another clutch situation with a two-run, two-out single that scored both Anderson and Sagedahl.
The SDSU bullpen tandem of Dylan Driessen and Alex Clemons made the lead stand up as the duo combined for four shutout innings. Driessen fanned four over three frames in which he allowed only one base runner and Clemons struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.
Back-to-back doubles by Frost and Parry provided the final tally for the Jackrabbits in the top of the ninth.
Both teams scored quickly, with the Jackrabbits putting three runs on the board in the top of the first and NDSU scoring twice in the home half of the opening frame. A sacrifice fly by Parry, who recorded his second four-RBI game of the series, delivered the first run ahead of a run-scoring triple by Cade Stuff, who later scored on a base hit by Bellows.
After NDSU tied the game at 3-all with an unearned run in the bottom of the third, Frost gave the Jackrabbits a momentary 5-3 lead with his second home run of the game, an opposite-field two-run shot to left field. It was Frost’s team-leading 14th home run of the season.
The Bison rallied to take their final lead of the day in the bottom of the fifth as Garret Hill stroked a two-run double and Davis Hamilton brought home the go-ahead run with an infield single.
SDSU starter Jake Goble gutted out five innings to earn his third win of the season. The junior right-hander struck out seven and walked two.
Frost and Anderson each collected three of the Jackrabbits’ 13 hits. NDSU received two hits from four different players as part of a 10-hit effort.
