OMAHA, Neb. — South Dakota State scored four times in the top of the first inning and carried the momentum through for a 14-3 series-clinching, seven-inning victory over Omaha in Summit League baseball action Sunday afternoon at Tal Anderson Field.
With their seventh victory in their last 10 league games, the Jackrabbits improved to 16-30 overall and 12-14 in league play. The Jackrabbits also clinched a berth in the upcoming four-team Summit League Baseball Championships, which will be played May 21-24 in Omaha.
The first-inning outburst began when Carter Sintek hit a leadoff single and Nolan Grawe drew a walk. Owen Siegert put the Jackrabbits on the board with an RBI single, which was followed by a ground-rule double by Adam Benes that plated Grawe. The line kept moving as Jess Bellows delivered a run-scoring single and Benes came across for the fourth and final run of the inning when Davis Carr’s squeeze bunt was misplayed.
SDSU pushed the lead to 7-0 with a three-run third. Siegert doubled and Benes lined a single up the middle for his sixth hit and fifth run batted in of the series. Two more runs scored on the Mavericks’ second error of the game.
After Omaha put up a run in the home half of the third on a run-scoring single by Noah Greise, the Mavericks handed SDSU six more runs in the fourth to put the 10-run rule into. effect. The Jackrabbits mustered only two hits in the inning as Omaha pitchers delivered seven free passes. After the bases were loaded via a walk and two hit batters, three more Jackrabbit batters — Dayton Franke, Nicholas Werk and Sintek — were all hit by pitches in succession to force in runs. Grawe was later walked with the bases loaded before Bryce Ronken plated the final two runs of the inning with a single to left field.
Blake Stenger drove in each of the Mavericks’ final two runs with an RBI groundout in the fourth and a double in the sixth.
Jess Bellows was 3-for-3 to lead the Jackrabbits’ 13-hit attack. Bellows reached base in all five of his plate appearances as he also was hit by a pitch and coaxed a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning to account for the final SDSU run. Siegert was 3-for-4 and scored three runs, while Ronken and Benes each tallied two hits.
Sam Schlecht allowed one run over three innings of relief to pick up his third win of the season. Jackrabbit starter Dylan Richey worked the first 2 2/3 innings, striking out one and walking one.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits close the regular season by hosting a four-game series May 15-17. Thursday’s series opener will consist of a doubleheader, starting at noon at Erv Huether Field.
NOTES
- SDSU won the season series over Omaha, 4-2
- The Mavericks lead the all-time series, 98-95-1
- Grawe recorded a hit to give him 60 for the season, tying him with Nick Adams (2005) and Gus Steiger (2018) for the most by a Jackrabbit freshman in the Division I era (since 2004)
- Siegert batted .538 (7-for-13) in the series, while Benes finished the three-game set with a .500 batting average (6-for-12)
- Siegert took over the overall team lead in hitting with a .352 batting average
- Ronken has reached base safely in 25 consecutive games, extending the longest streak by a Jackrabbit this season
- Alex Clemons pitched a perfect seventh inning in his 70th career appearance, tying him with Chad Coley (70 appearances from 1990-93) for sixth place on the SDSU career charts
- The Jackrabbits committed one error in the series, compared to six by Omaha