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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks close March at Minnesota
3/27/2012 4:38:00 PM | Baseball
The South Dakota State University baseball team closes out the first full month of its season Wednesday night with a trip to Minnesota.
First pitch against the Golden Gophers is set for 6:35 p.m. at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The Jackrabbits enter the contest with a 6-12-1 overall record after splitting a four-game series last weekend at Northern Colorado. SDSU has played all of its games on the road so far this season, and is scheduled to play a total of 27 away from Erv Huether Field before its home opener April 10.
Minnesota, meanwhile, has compiled a 12-13 overall thus far in 2012. The Golden Gophers have played all but three of their games at the Metrodome, including sweeping a three-game set from The Citadel (S.C.) last weekend in which they allowed only one run in 27 innings.
Audio streaming of Wednesday's game is scheduled to be available via the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com.
First pitch against the Golden Gophers is set for 6:35 p.m. at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The Jackrabbits enter the contest with a 6-12-1 overall record after splitting a four-game series last weekend at Northern Colorado. SDSU has played all of its games on the road so far this season, and is scheduled to play a total of 27 away from Erv Huether Field before its home opener April 10.
Minnesota, meanwhile, has compiled a 12-13 overall thus far in 2012. The Golden Gophers have played all but three of their games at the Metrodome, including sweeping a three-game set from The Citadel (S.C.) last weekend in which they allowed only one run in 27 innings.
Audio streaming of Wednesday's game is scheduled to be available via the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com.
THE SERIES: Wednesday's game against Minnesota will mark the 36th meeting between the two baseball programs, dating back to 13-0 Golden Gopher victory during the 1947 season. Minnesota leads the all-time series 26-9, although the Jackrabbits have won each of the last four meetings. SDSU won all three meetings during the 2010 season and scored a 9-6 victory in their lone meeting during the 2011 campaign, April 27 in Brookings.
In the last matchup, the Jackrabbits scored all their runs with two outs, highlighted by a six-run outburst in the third inning. Catcher Zach Briggs went 3-for-3 and tied a career high with five RBI to lead SDSU at the plate.
Austin Busse was credited with the win in relief after pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Trever Vermeulen pitched the final two innings for the save. D.J. Snelten started for Minnesota and took the loss. Minnesota's Matt Puhl hit the lone home run in the game.
FAMILY AFFAIR: The Oakes family will be represented in both teams' dugouts in Wednesday's game.
Todd Oakes is in his 14th season as pitching coach at Minnesota, while son, T.J. is a junior on the Golden Gopher pitching staff. Oldest son, Tyler, is in his second season as the pitching coach at South Dakota State, after completing his playing career for the Golden Gophers in 20090
STADIUM IMPROVEMENTS: Work has begun on improvements to the Jackrabbits' home park, Erv Huether Field.
Thanks to a donation from former Jackrabbit standout Dave Lane, as well as gifts from other baseball alumni and friends of the program, a permanent grandstand and press box will be constructed behind home plate. The seating project, which is slated to accommodate approximately 600 fans, is expected to be completed in time for SDSU's home opener on April 10.
SUMMIT LEAGUE RACE: The South Dakota State University baseball team has been picked to finish third by Summit League coaches, according to a preseason poll released earlier this month.
The Jackrabbits finished behind perennial league champion Oral Roberts and Western Illinois in the poll conducted by the league's coaches. ORU received six of the seven first-place votes for 36 points, with the Fighting Leathernecks finishing second with 27 points. SDSU tallied 25 points, with North Dakota State placing fourth with 21 points.
Southern Utah received the other first-place vote in the balloting, but finished fifth with 19 points. Oakland (11 points) and IPFW (8 points) rounded out the poll.
Conference play begins April 6-8, when the Jackrabbits travel to IPFW for a four-game series. In all, SDSU is slated to play 24 league games before the Summit League Championships May 24-26 in Tulsa, Okla.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Four Jackrabbits were named to the 2012 Preseason All-Summit League Team selected by CollegeSportsMadness.com. First-team honors went to shortstop Eric Cain and outfielder Beau Hanowski, while outfielder Andrew Phelan and pitcher Kolton Emery received second-team recognition.
A senior from Littleton, Colo., Cain has led the Jackrabbits in runs batted in each of the last two seasons, tallying a school-record 83 in 2010 and 46 during the 2011 campaign. Cain also recently special mention from Baseball America as one of the top collegiate impact players in the Midwest.
Hanowski earned first-team all-Summit League honors in 2011 after recording team bests of 49 runs scored and a .449 on-base percentage while hitting out of the leadoff spot. The Little Falls, Minn., native batted .349 with a home run and 26 RBI last season.
However, Hanowski suffered a shoulder injury in the March 4 game at Arkansas State and is likely lost for the season.
Phelan platooned in right field for much of the 2011 campaign before earning all-tournament honors at the Summit League Baseball Championship. Slated to move to center field this season, the Littleton, Colo., native batted .333 with two home runs and 27 RBI, and added a team-high six stolen bases.
Emery solidified the back end of the Jackrabbit starting rotation in 2011, compiling a 7-1 record with a 5.09 earned run average. The Black Hawk native and graduate of Rapid City Stevens High School also ranked among the nation's leaders in fewest walks per nine innings (1.66), issuing only 14 free passes in 76 innings of work.
BOUGHER BLANKING OPPONENTS: South Dakota State right-hander Stephen Bougher threw back-to-back shutouts earlier this month, earning Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors after each outing.
A junior from Papillion, Neb., Bougher fired a two-hit, seven-inning shutout in an 11-0 victory at Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 9. In that contest, he allowed only a pair of singles and two walks, while striking out three.
One week later, March 16 at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Bougher fanned six, walked four and surrendered three singles in a nine-inning, 5-0 Jackrabbit victory.
Bougher ran his winning streak to three games March 23 at Northern Colorado and has compiled a 3-2 record with a 2.90 earned run average this season. He has struck out 20 and walked 12 in 31 innings.
HEEMSTRA BACK ON THE HILL: Sophomore right-hander Marcus Heemstra suited up in his baseball uniform for the first time in 2012 last weekend after a successful run on the basketball court that included South Dakota State making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level. A reserve forward, Heemstra played in 29 of the Jackrabbits' 35 games, posting averages of 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
CAIN ON CAREER CHARTS: Jackrabbit shortstop Eric Cain is rapidly moving up the career charts in a number of categories during his senior season, and is adding to one record he set during his junior campaign.
A four-year starter, Cain holds the SDSU career record for assists with 470, surpassing the previous mark of 380 set by Pat Schmidt (1992-95).
Offensively, Cain ranks in the top 10 of the following six categories:
• Hits: fifth with 238 (fourth place is Nick Adams (2005-08) with 244);
• At-Bats: tied for fifth with 703 (tied with Joel Blake (2009-11));
• Walks: sixth with 93 (fifth place is Zach Briggs (2009-present) with 95);
• Runs Batted In: tied for eighth with 156 (tied with Nick Adams (2005-08));
• Total Bases: 10th with 346 (eighth place is Russ Langer (1998-2001) and Korby Mintken (2005-08));
• Sacrifice Flies: tied for 10th with 10 (tied with two other players).
PAQUETTE FILLS IN: With starter Beau Hanowski sidelined by injury, sophomore Phil Paquette has taken over the duties in left field on a full-time basis.
In the 13 games since Hanowski's injury, Paquette has batted .423 (22-for-52) with 14 runs batted in and seven runs scored. He went 11-for-16 (.688 average) in the four-game weekend series at Northern Colorado, adding an .813 slugging percentage, raising his overall batting average to a team-best .393.
MARRA AND MELTON: Despite shifting between the second and third base positions throughout the season, infielders Daniel Marra and Andrew Melton have been consistent performers for the Jackrabbits this season.
Melton, a junior from Littleton, Colo., ranks second on the team with a .368 batting average (21-for-57) with two home runs and nine RBI in 18 starts. Marra, meanwhile, is the only SDSU player to reach base safely in all 19 games this season and shares the team lead with 24 hits. A junior from Toronto, Ont., Marra is third on the squad with a .324 batting average and 13 RBI.
COACH SCHRAGE: Veteran college baseball coach Dave Schrage (pronounced Schrag) was hired to take over the reins of the South Dakota State University baseball program on Aug. 8, 2011.
"Dave Schrage's familiarity with our recruiting area and his success in building programs like ours make him a tremendous addition to the Jackrabbit family," said Jackrabbit Athletic Director Justin Sell in announcing the hire.
Schrage posted his 600th career victory on March 18, when the Jackrabbits defeated Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 11-8, in the completion of a suspended game. In 23-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has averaged more than 25 victories per season, including five campaigns with 32 or more wins. He has coached players who have earned all-conference honors 58 times and 38 of his former student-athletes have gone on to play professionally.
"I am very humbled and appreciative for this opportunity," Schrage said. "I was so impressed with the quality of people when I visited campus. It is a great time to come to South Dakota State University. There is so much growth and excitement happening on campus. My family and I are looking forward to getting involved in the Brookings community and joining the Jackrabbit family."
Unlike many of his previous stops, Schrage inherits a winning program; SDSU has averaged 38 wins each of the past two seasons, tying the school record for wins with a 39-21 record in 2010, followed by a 37-20 mark in 2011. The Jackrabbits have advanced to the Summit League championship series three consecutive years.
"Coach (Reggie) Christiansen and coach Price did a super job building this program into a winner," Schrage said. "I expect to keep that momentum going and reach even greater heights."
Most recently, Schrage was head coach at Notre Dame for four seasons, leading the Fighting Irish to a 119-104-1 record from 2007-10. After posting a .500 record (28-28) his first season in South Bend, Schrage put Notre Dame back in contention for postseason play with a 33-21-1 record in 2008 and a 36-23 mark in 2009. The Fighting Irish led the BIG EAST Conference in fielding in both 2008 and 2009, while consistently ranking at or near the top in batting, on-base percentage and earned run average.
Schrage has previously found success at the mid-major level, including a four-year stint at Evansville (Ind.) from 2003-06, during which he guided the Purple Aces to a 130-108 record. Evansville improved its win total each of his four seasons, from 24 in 2003 to 43 in 2006. Schrage earned Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors for the third time in 2006 as Evansville won both the regular season and tournament conference titles, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Purple Aces advanced all the way to the finals of the Charlottesville Regional, knocking off host Virginia before falling to South Carolina in the championship.
A Chicago native, Schrage directed a dramatic turnaround in his home state during a three-year run at Northern Illinois from 2000-02. After inheriting a team that was 4-51 the year before he arrived, Schrage's squad turned in a 20-game improvement with a 24-33 record in his first season and then led the Huskies to a winning season in 2001 with a 28-27 overall mark. He was named runner-up for National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in 2000.
Schrage began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant under his predecessor at Notre Dame, Paul Mainieri, at St. Thomas University (Fla.) in 1984. He later returned to his alma mater, Creighton University (Neb.), as an assistant coach for two seasons.
From 1986-87, Schrage coached the Queensland Rams club team in Brisbane, Australia, before returning stateside as he gained his first head coaching job at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. From 1988-90 he led the junior college program to a 61-66 mark.
Schrage then spent nine seasons as head coach at the University of Northern Iowa, where he was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997. His teams improved from two league victories in UNI's first season in the MVC in 1992 to 18 during the 1997 campaign.
As a collegiate player, Schrage was an all-conference outfielder at Creighton, batting .400 as a junior and .433 his senior season. He also was an Academic All-America honoree during his senior campaign in 1983, and graduated that spring with a bachelor of science degree in finance. Schrage was honored on the MVC's Centennial Celebration baseball team and is the only person in league history to earn all-conference honors and be named MVC Coach of the Year in baseball.
THE ROSTER: The 2012 SDSU baseball roster features 33 players from eight different states plus three Canadian provinces. Of the 33 players, five are from Colorado and South Dakota, while three are from each of the states of Illinois, Minnesota and Texas. Iowa, Nebraska and Washington feature one player each. In addition, nine players are from Canada - four from Ontario, three from British Columbia and two from Alberta. By class, seven are seniors, eight are juniors, eight are sophomores and 10 are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits are off for nearly a week, returning to action against another Big Ten Conference opponent with a two-game series at Iowa April 3-4. The first game is slated for a 6 p.m. start on April 3, while the series finale is set for a 4 p.m. start.
SDSU will then move on to Fort Wayne, Ind., to open Summit League play with a four-game series at IPFW April 6-8.
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