THREE-RUN NINTH LIFTS JACKRABBITS PAST SIUE

Friday, March 1

Edwardsville, Ill.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-5

SIUE

1-8

South Dakota State

SIUE

Photo by: Chris Board

3/1/2024 8:32:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — 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.

The Jackrabbits improved to 4-5 on the young season. SIUE dropped to 1-8.

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 SDSU's 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.

UP NEXT
The two squads are scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday, with action starting at noon.

NOTES

SIUE leads the all-time series, 5-4
Friday's game marked the first meeting between the two programs since 2021
SDSU scored first for the seventh time in nine games this season, including opening the scoring in the first inning for the sixth time
Bellows' 17-game hitting streak is tied with Luke Ringhofer (2015) and Matt Johnson (2017) for the third longest in the Division I era of Jackrabbit baseball (since 2005)
Jackrabbit pitchers combined to walk a season-low three batters
McCay made his 30^th career start, which ranks 10^th in program history
Parry and Frost became the first Jackrabbits to hit back-to-back home runs this season and are the first SDSU duo to homer consecutively since Kozal and Reece Anderson in the second game of a May 14, 2023, doubleheader against Northern Colorado
SDSU has homered in every game this season and upped its season total to 18
Carr has driven in 12 runs this season with only seven hits to his credit