JACKRABBITS BEGIN NEXT ROAD TRIP AT CREIGHTON

Wednesday, March 25

Omaha, Neb. // Charles Schwab Field

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Creighton

Photo by: Ricky Bassman

3/24/2026 10:15:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State (7-17) at Creighton (10-11)

When	6 p.m. Wednesday, March 25
Where	Charles Schwab Field \| Omaha, Nebraska
TV	ESPN+
Radio	Creighton Broadcast \| 1180 AM
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Creighton \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

After a successful first home series of the 2026 season, the South Dakota State baseball team heads back out on the road for four games, starting with a nonconference matchup Wednesday night at Creighton.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The game will be available for viewing through the ESPN+ streaming platform.

The Jackrabbits enter the week with a 7-17 overall record after winning two of three games against North Dakota State to open the home portion of their schedule. NDSU took the March 20 series opener at Erv Huether Field by a 6-1 count, while SDSU came responded the next day by sweeping a doubleheader from the Bison by scores of 13-5 and 11-1, winning the finale in eight innings via the 10-run rule.

Creighton, meanwhile, will be playing its second Summit League opponent in as many nights. The Bluejays rallied to defeat crosstown rival Omaha, 7-6, Tuesday night and hold a 10-11 record under first-year head coach Mark Kingston. With the win over Omaha, Creighton ended a three-game losing streak after being swept in a weekend series at Miami (Fla.).

After Wednesday's game, SDSU will move on to Greeley, Colorado, for a three-game weekend series at Northern Colorado.

Updates of Jackrabbit baseball will be available throughout the week via X/Twitter (@GoJacksBaseball) and through GoJacks.com.

THE SERIES: Wednesday's game will mark the 37th meeting on the baseball diamond between South Dakota State and Creighton, with the Bluejays holding a 28-8 advantage in the series that dates back to 1958.

Creighton has won the last 12 matchups, including sweeping the two-game season series a year ago. The Bluejays posted a 1-0 victory at Charles Schwab Field on March 18, 2025, then won the return meeting, 12-2, in a game played April 23 in Sioux Falls.

In the March 18 meeting, Creighton scored the only run of the game in the fourth inning and three Bluejay pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout. Creighton pushed across the lone run with three hits in the bottom of the fourth. Nolan Sailors opened the frame with a leadoff single and later scored on a base hit through the right side by Ben North.

Meanwhile, Creighton starter Ian Koosman stymied the Jackrabbits for seven innings, striking out nine and walking one while surrendering only two hits. Jimmy Burke and Garrett Langrell each worked one inning in relief, with Langrell picking up the save.

Creighton scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings to build an 8-0 lead and cruised to a 12-2, seven-inning victory at Sioux Falls Stadium in the second meeting of the 2025 campaign.

Sailors singled home a run in the first inning and added a two-run home run in the second inning while Kyle Hess made it an 8-0 Bluejay lead with a three-run shot in the third.

Nolan Grawe put SDSU on the board with a solo home run in the home half of the third. Nic Werk scored the other Jackrabbit run on a sacrifice fly by Luke Luskey in the seventh.

SDSU's last win in the series was a 5-2 victory in Omaha on April 13, 2012, as Stephen Bougher (7 1/3 innings) and Austin Busse (1 2/3 innings) combined for eight strikeouts. Beau Hanowski led the offense by going 2-for-5 with two runs batted in.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some more quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into Wednesday's game at Creighton:

Seven Jackrabbit games this month have been decided by one run, including both games of their mid-week series March 17-18 at Oklahoma State. Overall, SDSU is 1-7 in one-run games this season.
SDSU scored in 11 of the 16 innings it batted in the March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State and tallied 13 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs).
Nolan Grawe recorded three hits in each of the games against North Dakota State, finishing the weekend with a .643 batting average (9-for-14) and six RBIs. Three of his hits were for extra bases (2 doubles, 1 triple) as he posted a .929 slugging percentage.
Grawe enters the week with 99 career hits. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native set an SDSU freshman record with 69 hits last season and is currently tied for the team lead with 30 hits in 2026. He also leads the squad with nine doubles, 18 RBIs and 15 runs.
Left-hander Tristan Augedahl earned his first career save and the Jackrabbits' first save of the season by pitching 3 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings to close out SDSU's 13-5 victory in Game 1 of the March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State. Augedahl matched a season and career high with four strikeouts, giving him 23 strikeouts in only 17 innings of work so far this season.
Omaha native Sam Novotny established a pair of Jackrabbit pitching season highs in his winning performance against North Dakota State in the second game of a March 21 doubleheader. Novotny pitched 7 2/3 innings (longest outing by a Jackrabbit) and notched nine strikeouts (also a season high) while limiting the Bison to one run on five hits.
Over his last five starts, Novotny is 2-1 with a 2.84 earned run average. He has struck out 22 and walked only six over 31 2/3 innings in that span.
Shortstop Keagen Jirschele scored six runs in the two games of the March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State. In Game 1, Jirschele scored four times despite not recording a hit as he reached on a walk, hit by pitch, fielders choice and an error. The sophomore from Wausau, Wisconsin, doubled twice and scored twice in Game 2.
Sophomore center fielder Owen Siegert moved back into the leadoff spot in the batting order during the North Dakota State series and responded by going 5-for-11 (.455 average) with three runs batted in. Siegert currently leads the team with a .337 batting average and shares the team lead with 30 hits. He has hit safely in 13 of the last 15 games.
Nic Werk posted a .900 on-base percentage in the recent mid-week series against Oklahoma State, recording four hits and drawing five walks in his 10 plate appearances. After sitting out the season-opening eight-game road trip to Texas due to injury, Werk has provided a boost to the Jackrabbit offense over the last 16 games, including recording a career-best six-game hitting streak from Feb. 28-March 8. Five of his 17 hits have been doubles and he has three multi-hit games to his credit, including a career-best three-hit performance in the March 18 series finale at Oklahoma State.
A utility player, Werk has made 10 starts at second base, four in left field and two at shortstop since his return to the lineup.
Freshman Logan Campbell and Austin Henry each made their team-leading 12th appearances of the season in the March 21 doubleheader versus North Dakota State. Campbell was awarded his first collegiate victory after pitching an inning of relief in Game 1, while Henry needed only one pitch to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning of Game 2.
The Jackrabbits set a program single-game record by scoring 17 runs in the fourth inning of its 19-11, series-opening win at Incarnate Word. Each of the first 12 batters of the inning reached base safely and a total of 21 men went to the plate in the frame.
SDSU turned three double plays in its March 11 game at Kansas State, marking the first time since a Feb. 24, 2024, game at New Mexico that the Jackrabbits accomplished the feat. The Jacks have 14 double plays to their credit so far this season and are fielding at a .975 clip.
Both Dayton Franke and Brady Brown were hit by pitches three times in a game last month. Franke was plunked three times in the Feb. 17 series opener at Incarnate Word, while Brown was hit three times in the Feb. 22 series finale at Tarleton State.
In all, Jackrabbit players have been hit by pitches a total of 46 times so far this season. Luke Luskey leads the team with 10, followed by Franke with nine. SDSU absorbed eight hit by pitches in the three-game series against North Dakota State.
Luskey tallied his 100th career RBI with a run-scoring double in the first inning of Game 2 of the March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State. He drove in five runs in the first game of the twinbill with two home runs and a double.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State has had three players selected as Kwik Star Summit League Baseball Peak Performers of the Week so far this season, with Luke Luskey becoming the latest Jackrabbit to be honored on March 24.

A junior from Green Isle, Minnesota, Luskey batted .429 (6-for-14) with seven RBIs and compiled a .579 on-base percentage in four games last week against Oklahoma State and North Dakota State. All six of his hits went for extra bases — three doubles and three home runs — as he finished the week with a 1.286 slugging percentage.

Luskey opened the week with a double and home run in a March 17 game at Oklahoma State. In the first game of a March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State, he hit two home runs and added a run-scoring double as he tallied five RBIs in a Jackrabbit victory, then added an RBI double in Game 2 as the Jackrabbits swept the twinbill to win the series. Luskey also scored five times and reached base on two walks and three hit by pitches during the week.

The two-homer game against NDSU marked the fourth time in his career he has hit two home runs in a game, upping his season total to four and career total to 26.

Luskey is the second Jackrabbit to receive the weekly award this season, joining freshman outfielder Carter Taylor on Feb. 24.

A freshman from Missoula, Montana, Taylor batted .522 (12-for-22) over five games and notched multiple hits in four of those contests. In his first career start, Feb. 17 at Incarnate Word, he went 4-for-6, including hitting his first collegiate home, driving in two runs and scoring twice in a 19-11 Jackrabbit victory. The following day he closed the series with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate that included three RBIs. Taylor, who hit safely in all five games last week to extend his overall hitting streak to six games, tallied two hits in both the Feb. 20 series opener and Feb. 22 finale at Tarleton State.

For the week, his totals included four runs scored and five RBIs.

In addition, right-hander Sam Schlecht was named the Kwik Star Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for his performance in a Feb. 28 victory at Central Arkansas.

A senior from Maple Grove, Minnesota, Schlecht carried a shutout into the sixth inning, stretching his scoreless innings streak to 10 before giving up a two-run home run. He struck out a season-high seven batters, walked only one and scattered four hits in improving to 2-1 on the season as the Jackrabbits held on for an 8-5 victory.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State has been picked to finish fourth in the upcoming Summit League baseball race, according to a preseason poll conducted among the league's six head coaches and announced Feb. 11.

The Jackrabbits totaled 12 points in the poll and are coming off a 2025 campaign in which they compiled a 16-36 overall record, including a 12-18 mark in The Summit League. SDSU returned to the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship, marking the 14th time in 16 years of Division I eligibility that the Jackrabbits qualified for the double-elimination tournament.

Oral Roberts earned the top spot in the preseason poll with 24 points and four first-place votes. Omaha received the other two first-place votes and tied with defending regular season champion St. Thomas for second place in the survey with 19 points.

North Dakota State (11 points) and Northern Colorado (6 points) rounded out the poll.

The top four teams in league play will advance to the Summit League Baseball Championship May 20-23 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In addition to the preseason poll, Jackrabbit first baseman Luke Luskey was named a Summit League Player to Watch and Ty Madison was selected as a Summit League Pitcher to Watch.

Luskey, a junior from Green Isle, Minnesota, has earned second-team all-Summit League honors each of the last two seasons. In 2025, he led the league with 14 home runs despite missing the final 12 games of the season due to injury.

Luskey also paced the Jackrabbits with 52 runs batted in and a .691 slugging percentage while batting .336.

A senior from Omaha, Madison began the 2025 season in the starting rotation before moving to the bullpen. He made a team-high 22 appearances, striking out 26 batters in 30 innings and posting a 2-2 record.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has been a consistent winner in The Summit League since it became a league member in 2008. Now in their 19th season as a member of The Summit League, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 241-214 (.530 winning percentage) record in regular season conference games.

SDSU has posted a .500 or better record in league play 10 times and has qualified for the four-team postseason tournament 14 out of the 16 years it has been eligible (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic).

The Jackrabbits shared a Summit League regular season title in 2010 and won the league's postseason tournament in 2013.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to more than 700 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.

Through nine-plus seasons with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 181-255 record at SDSU, including a 111-113 mark in Summit League regular season games. He also has led the Jackrabbits to the four-team Summit League Baseball Championship seven times, highlighted by finals appearances on two occasions — in 2018 and 2023.

The 2023 squad set a school record with 89 home runs in 52 games. SDSU played only one true home game but managed a 24-28 overall record and a winning season in Summit League play with a 13-11 mark. That momentum carried over to the four-team league postseason tournament, where the Jackrabbits made a run to the title game.

SDSU hit a Summit League-best 80 home runs in 2024 and also led the circuit with a .492 slugging percentage.

Overall, Bishop holds a 730-577-1 record (.558 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He earned his 700th career victory in the Jackrabbits' 11-7 win at North Dakota State on April 6, 2024.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 48 times during Bishop's tenure, including seven all-league selections in 2025.

Prior to becoming head coach at SDSU, Bishop 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.

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.

Bishop's teams won at least 30 games in all 10 seasons, including four with 40 wins. He ended his tenure at Miles City with a 377-151 overall record. 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 year as a head coach, Bishop led Huron University to the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title in 2000 with a 38-18 record.

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

THE ROSTER: The 2025 SDSU baseball roster features 34 players from 10 different states and one foreign country (Australia). Of the 34 players, 13 are from Minnesota, five are from Nebraska and South Dakota, three are Iowa natives and two hail from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington. Arizona and Wyoming are represented by one player each.

By class, one is a graduate transfer, three are seniors and nine are juniors. The sophomore class consists of 10 players and there is one redshirt freshmen, while 10 are incoming freshmen.

ON DECK: The Jackrabbits' three-game series at Northern Colorado kicks off with a 2 p.m. Mountain Time (3 p.m. Central) first pitch Friday afternoon at Jackson Field in Greeley, Colorado. Games Saturday and Sunday are slated for noon MT (1 p.m. Central) starts.

All three games will be available for viewing through the Summit League Network streaming platform powered by Midco Sports Plus.

-GoJacks.com-