Jackrabbits to take on Gophers

GAME 7: South Dakota State (0-6) at Minnesota (5-1)

When	Wednesday, Feb. 28 \| 6 p.m.
Where	U.S. Bank Stadium \| Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV	BTN Plus (subscription required)
Radio	KJJQ 910 AM \| Jackrabbits All-Access (free audio)
Live Stats	Click Here
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Minnesota
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #EarnIt

The South Dakota State University baseball team will attempt to get on the winning side of the ledger for the first time in 2018 as it travels to Minnesota for a midweek matchup.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Radio coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on Brookings-based KJJQ 910 AM and online at GoJacks.com. Video streaming of the game is available through Big Ten Network Plus (subscription required).

SDSU is 0-6 on the young season after having each of its first two weekend road trips altered due to inclement weather. The Jackrabbits were swept in a three-game weekend series Feb. 23-25 against Bradley in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Minnesota, meanwhile, enters a game Tuesday night against North Dakota State with a 5-1 overall record. The Golden Gophers recorded three wins by double-digit margins last weekend in Port Charlotte, Florida, defeating Boston College (14-1), Chicago State (16-5) and Mount St. Mary's (16-5).

THE SERIES: Wednesday's game against Minnesota will mark the 45th time the Jackrabbits and Golden Gophers have met on the baseball diamond. Minnesota leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1947, by a 32-12 count after sweeping a two-game season series in 2017, during which both games were played in Minneapolis.

The Golden Gophers recorded a 7-5 victory on March 7, 2017, at U.S. Bank Stadium, followed by a 5-2 victory at Siebert Field on April 18.

In the first meeting in 2017, Anthony Schneider homered twice for the Jackrabbits, leading off the top of the second inning with a solo homer and adding a two-run shot in the fifth.

All of Minnesota's runs scored in two innings — a three-run first and four-run third. SDSU's bullpen pitched six scoreless innings.

In the second meeting, Golden Gopher catcher Eli Wilson went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, including the go-ahead triple, to lead Minnesota to the 5-2 win.

Matt Johnson accounted for all the Jackrabbit offense, opening the scoring with a solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the first off Minnesota starter Nolan Birchill and adding a run-scoring single in the third inning to give SDSU the lead back at 2-1.

Wilson's go-ahead triple came with two outs in the fifth off SDSU reliever Brett Mogen and brought home Matt Stemper and Luke Pettersen for a 4-2 lead.

PRESEASON POLL: The Jackrabbit baseball team has been picked to finish second in the upcoming Summit League race, according to a poll of league coaches released Feb. 8.

SDSU received 20 points and one first-place vote, finishing behind defending champion Oral Roberts, which received the other five first-place votes and 25 total points. North Dakota State completed the top half of the poll with 17 points.

Rounding out the second half of the poll were Western Illinois (14 points), Omaha (9) and Fort Wayne (5).

The Jackrabbits, who return six position starters, are scheduled to open Summit League play March 16, when they open a three-game series at Oral Roberts. The 2018 Summit League Baseball Championship is slated for May 23-26 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In addition, SDSU shortstop Tony Kjolsing was selected as a Summit League Player to Watch. A senior from Chaska, Minnesota, Kjolsing batted .291 with four home runs and 21 runs batted in while playing in 32 games during the 2017 season.

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits let a couple leads slip away in the middle and late innings in falling three times to Bradley in a series played in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Game 1 Recap
Game 2 Recap
Game 3 Recap

HOT START: Outfielder Landon Badger has excelled on Opening Day in each of his two seasons with the Jackrabbits. Both of Badger's career three-hit games have come in a season opener — he was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs batted in during his collegiate debut against Northern Illinois in the 2017 season opener, then went 3-for-4 in the 2018 opener against Austin Peay.

SOLID DEFENSE: The Jackrabbits enter the week as the top fielding team in The Summit League with a .981 fielding percentage through six games. SDSU has committed only four errors and has no made an error in three of the last four contests.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 500 victories, was named head baseball coach at South Dakota State University on Aug. 1, 2016. Bishop is the ninth head coach in program history and the fourth in the Division I era of Jackrabbit baseball.

Overall, Bishop holds a 575-352-1 record (.620 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach, including a 26-30 mark with the Jackrabbits. Prior to coming to SDSU, he spent six years at NCAA Division II member Montana State University-Billings, where he led the Yellowjackets to back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season titles in 2015 and 2016, attaining the program's first-ever 30-win season with a 30-20 record in 2016.

His squads also were honored as the top academic team in the GNAC each of his last three seasons.

Previously, Bishop spent 10 years at Miles City Community College in Montana, where his teams won MonDak conference championships every year. His squads also claimed five consecutive junior college region titles and a Northwest District championship in 2007 to advance to the NJCAA Division II College World Series. He also served as athletic director the last five years of his tenure at Miles City.

Bishop served as a graduate assistant at SDSU under head coach Mark Ekeland during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In his first season as a head coach, Bishop led Huron University to the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title in 2000.

A 1994 graduate of Jamestown College, Bishop earned NAIA All-America honors during the 1992 and 1994 seasons as an infielder.

THE ROSTER: The 2018 SDSU baseball roster features 33 players from six different states and one Canadian provinice. Of the 33 players, 12 are from South Dakota, 10 are from Iowa and seven hail from Minnesota. Arizona, Washington and Wisconsin are represented by one player each, as is Manitoba.

By class, seven are seniors, 11 are juniors, eight are sophomores and seven are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: After Wednesday's game, SDSU will embark on its Spring Break trip, opening with a three-game series March 2-4 at Southeast Missouri State.

The Jackrabbits also are slated to play two games at Air Force (March 6-7) and three at Northern Colorado (March 9-11) on their Spring Break trip.

Further updates will be available through GoJacks.com and Twitter (@GoJacksBaseball).

-GoJacks.com-

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