EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. The South Dakota State baseball team went 3-1 in a four-game series against SIU Edwardsville over the weekend. The Jackrabbits won the first three games and the Cougars avoided the sweep with a win on Sunday.
Friday
SDSU 6, SIUE 3
South Dakota State struck for three runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull out a 6-3 victory over SIUE in the opening game of a four-game nonconference baseball series Friday afternoon at Simmons Baseball Complex.
After going hitless in his first three at-bats, Jess Bellows led off the SDSU ninth with a double that not only put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but extended his hitting streak to 17 games dating back to last season. Thatcher Kozal followed with a bunt single that set the Jackrabbits up with runners at the corners with nobody out.
Catcher Davis Carr then stepped to the plate and drove in Bellows with a single to left-center field that put SDSU in front, 4-3.
Later in the ninth, Jordan Sagedahl moved both Kozal and Carr into scoring position. An intentional walk loaded the bases and two batters later, Cael Frost provided a pair of insurance runs with a double to right field.
Alex Clemons shook off some early season struggles by striking out all three SIUE hitters he faced in the bottom of the ninth to lock up his first career save.
SDSU never trailed in the contest, although the game was tied on two occasions.
The Jackrabbits scored in top of the first on four consecutive one-out singles by Carter Sintek, Dawson Parry, Frost and Luke Luskey.
SIUE tied the game with a run against Jackrabbit starter Nic McCay in the second inning before SDSU regained the lead at 3-1 on back-to-back home runs by Parry and Frost in the third inning. For both Jackrabbit hitters it was their fifth home runs of the season.
The Cougars battled back to tie the game for a second time at 3-all with single runs in the third and fifth frames. Ryan Niedzwiedz knocked in the third-inning run with a two-out single while Lucas Spence scored the tying run in the fifth on a single by Bloomer after leading the inning with a triple.
McCay completed his five-inning start with five strikeouts and only one walk. Alex Koep followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings before Brady Hawkins recorded the final out of the SIUE eighth on a groundout to third base to strand two runners.
Koep struck out three and walked two.
Frost led SDSUs 11-hit attack by going 3-for-5 and diving in three runs. Parry collected two hits for his seventh multi-hit game of the season in nine starts.
Spence was 3-for-5 for the Cougars. Three other SIUE players tallied two hits.
SIUE starter Tyler DeLong struck out seven over six innings in which he allowed three runs and seven hits. Duncan McLaughlin took the loss after allowing the ninth-inning rally as part of his three innings of work.
Saturday
SDSU 8, SIUE 1
The Jackrabbits came up with all the offense they would need in support of Goble with a four-run first inning while the SDSU right-hander established a career-high eight strikeouts in his longest collegiate outing.
Reece Anderson marked his return to the lineup after missing the last seven games due to injury by opening the game with a single up the middle. Carter Sintek followed with a two-run home run to left-center, while Cade Stuff and Jess Bellows added back-to-back run-scoring doubles later in the opening frame.
With his double, Bellows extended his hitting streak to 18 games dating back to last season.
The Jackrabbit lead grew to 6-0 on a Dawson Parry solo home run in the second inning and an RBI single by Anderson in the fourth.
SIUE scored its lone run of the game in the home half of the fourth when Ryan Niedzwiedz led off with a single and later advanced two bases on an error. He later scored on a single by Ethan Willoughby.
Goble, meanwhile, scattered five hits all singles and walked only one. Sam Schlecht pitched a scoreless ninth inning thanks to a game-ending double play.
Frost doubled in a run in the sixth inning and Luke Luskey closed the scoring with a solo home run in the ninth. Luskeys home run was his first as a Jackrabbit.
Cade Stuff led SDSUs 11-hit attack by going 3-for-5. Parry and Anderson each notched a pair of hits.
SDSU 5, SIU 4
For the second time in the series, the Jackrabbits put together a three-run inning in their last at-bat to pull out a victory.
Trailing 4-2, Anderson started the game-winning rally in the top of the seventh with a single to left field. Carter Sintek followed with a single through the left side and both Jackrabbit runners moved into scoring position on a groundout to third base by Dawson Parry.
That brought Frost to the plate with first base open. The Jackrabbit outfielder from Gilbertville, Iowa, would win the lefty-lefty matchup against the Cougars Lucas Spence by launching an 0-1 pitch over the fence in center field for a three-run home run. It was Frosts second home run of the series and team-leading sixth of the season.
Alex Clemons entered to pitch the bottom of the seventh and retired the side in order to preserve his second save in as many days.
Frost had a hand in all five Jackrabbit runs, driving in the first score of the game with an RBI groundout in the top of the first and scoring on a double by Luskey in the fifth that knotted the game at 2-all.
Spence, who was 3-for-4 and started the game in center field, gave SIUE a 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth and the Cougars added a run in the sixth inning without a hit, taking advantage of a walk, hit batter, wild pitch and balk
Hits were even at eight as Frost and Anderson posted two each for the Jackrabbits.
SDSU starter Reece Arbogast allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings in finishing with a no-decision. Dylan Driessen allowed one run in an inning of relief, while Will Kent was credited with the victory after recording the final out of the sixth inning.
Sunday
SIUE 6, SDSU 5 (10 inn.)
SIUE tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and pushed a run across in the home half of the 10th to pull out a 6-5 victory over South Dakota State Sunday afternoon in the finale of a four-game weekend series at the Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE improved to 2-10 overall in salvaging the series finale. The Jackrabbits dropped to 6-6 on the season.
South Dakota State had a pair of three-run leads in the game before faltering late. Jordan Sagedahl put the Jackrabbits on the board with a solo home run in the top of the third inning and Cade Stuff added a two-run shot an inning later.
SDSU starter Arlen Peters held SIUE scoreless through the first five innings until Ethan Willoughby ended the shutout bid with an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth. Peters completed seven innings of one-run baseball by striking out 10 and walking two batters. He scattered five hits.
The Cougars drew to within one with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Ryan Niedzwiesz led off the inning with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.
The Jackrabbits appeared on the verge of a series sweep after Sagedahl hit his second home run of the game, a two-run blast to center field in the top of the ninth that pushed the SDSU lead to 5-2.
However, SIUE closed back to within a run on a two-run homer by John Stallcup that chased reliever Brady Hawkins from the contest. The next SDSU pitcher in the ninth, Jack Kruger, did not record an out as the Cougars loaded the bases with nobody out.
Dylan Driessen then entered the game on the mound for the Jackrabbits and did his best to keep the game alive as he retired all three hitters he faced in the inning, although SIUE tied the game on a groundout that resulted in the first out of the frame.
Each of the next two Cougar hitters popped out to first base to end the frame, the first of which came on a squeeze-bunt attempt.
SDSU went down in order in the top of the 10th while SIUE put together the game-winning rally for its only lead of the contest. Franck singled with one out, moved to second on an errant pickoff attempt and took third on a wild pitch. After Stallcup was walked, Drew Mize singled through the right side to bring home Franck for the decisive run.
SIUE finished with an 11-9 advantage in hits, including two by four different players.
Sagedahl, Cael Frost and Jess Bellows each tallied two hits for the Jackrabbits. Bellows extended his hitting streak to 19 games, dating back to last season, tying him for the longest streak in the Division I era of SDSU baseball (since 2005) with Tyson Fisher (2006) and Matt Johnson (2016).
Cougar starter Stearns allowed three runs over 7 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking two. Ian Benner was credited with the victory after striking out four and giving up two runs over the final 2 1/3 innings.
The all-time series between SDSU and SIUE is tied at six wins apiece.
SDSU has homered in all 12 games this season for a a total of 25 round-trippers.
Sagedahl became the 10th different Jackrabbit to homer this season.
Sagedahl posted the first two-home run game of his career and the second by an SDSU player this season, joining Dawson Parry (Feb. 18 at New Mexico State).
Peters became the first Jackrabbit pitcher with double digits in strikeouts in a game since Ryan Bourassa tallied 12 at Oral Roberts on March 25, 2022.
Frost finished the series with a .444 batting average (8-for-18) and extended his hitting streak to 10 games
Up next
The Jackrabbits return to action with a four-game weekend series March 8-10 at Dayton. Fridays series opener is set for a noon Eastern (11 a.m. Central) first pitch.
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