JACKS HOST UNC IN KEY SUMMIT SERIES

Friday, April 24

Brookings, S.D.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Northern Colorado

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South Dakota State baseball player Keagen Jirschele slides headfirst and safely into third base to complete a triple in action against Oral Roberts on April 19, 2026, at Erv Huether Field in Brookings, South Dakota.

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

4/23/2026 10:10:00 PM | Baseball

Northern Colorado (10-30, 8-9 Summit) at South Dakota State (13-24, 6-9 Summit)

When	Friday-Sunday, April 24-26 • 3 p.m. Friday (Alumni Reunion) • 2 p.m. Saturday (Military Appreciation) • 2 p.m. Sunday
Where	Erv Huether Field \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus • Friday's Broadcast \| • Saturday's Broadcast \| • Sunday's Broadcast
Radio	None
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Northern Colorado \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

South Dakota State begins the back half of a season-long 10-game homestand with a three-game Summit League baseball series against Northern Colorado, the team directly ahead of the Jackrabbits in the league standings.

The series begins Friday with a 3 p.m. matchup at Erv Huether Field. The final two games of the series are set for 2 p.m. starts Saturday and Sunday.

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

SDSU enters the weekend with a 13-24 overall record and currently stands fourth in the league race with a 6-9 mark. The Jackrabbits are 2-3 on the current homestand, sandwiching mid-week victories against NAIA opponents Midland and Briar Cliff around suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of Summit League leader Oral Roberts last weekend.

Northern Colorado, meanwhile, overtook SDSU for third place in the league standings by winning two of three games last weekend at St. Thomas, including an 8-7, 21-inning marathon in the series opener that had to be played over two days due to no lights at the Tommies' home facility and ranks as the longest game in Division I baseball this season. The Bears hold a 10-30 overall record and an 8-9 ledger in The Summit League.

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

THE SERIES: Friday's series opener between SDSU and Northern Colorado will mark the 84th meeting in a series that dates back to 1973. The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series, 45-38.

Since both teams moved from NCAA Division II and the North Central Conference to Division I in the mid-2000s, SDSU has held the upper hand in the series by a 35-27 count. The Jackrabbits added to their winning margin by posting a pair of double-digit innings en route to winning two of three games the two programs played earlier this season at Jackson Field in Greeley, Colorado.

Following are brief recaps of the games from the first UNC-SDSU series of the season:

Game 1: Northern Colorado 9, SDSU 6 (March 27 at Greeley, Colorado)
• W-Reece Wagner (2-3). L-Sam Schlecht (2-2). SV-Trevor Landen (1).

Northern Colorado answered a couple early multi-run innings by South Dakota State with eight consecutive runs defeat the Jackrabbits, 9-6, in the series opener.

SDSU led 5-0 through three innings after a three-run home run by Luke Wroblewski in the second inning and a two-run shot by Luke Luskey an inning later.

However, Northern Colorado quickly responded with a four-run bottom of the third inning that was highlighted by a three-run home run by Ethan Sanchez. Jackrabbit starter Sam Schlecht ran into more difficulty in the fourth as the Bears struck for three more runs on an RBI double by Brandon Sanchez and a two-run homer by Sam Pease.

Mason Griffin's home run to lead off the UNC sixth pushed the Bears' lead to 8-5.

Game 2: SDSU 21, Northern Colorado 10 (March 28 at Greeley, Colorado)
• W-Drew McDowell (1-1). L-Brady Hudson (2-3).

South Dakota State erupted for 18 runs in the final three innings, including a 12-run top of the eighth, to post a 21-10 come-from-behind victory over Northern Colorado.

Trailing 10-3 through six innings, the Jackrabbits began to close the gap with a three-run top of the seventh against the UNC bullpen. Each of the first 11 Jackrabbit batters in the top of the eighth reached base safely and scored as SDSU sent a total of 16 men to the plate in the 12-run frame.

Carter Taylor led the Jackrabbit offense by going 3-for-6, including a home run to open the scoring in the third inning. Dayton Franke drove in four runs and Luke Wroblewski scored four times.

Drew McDowell was awarded the victory after tossing 2 2/3 innings of relief in which he gave up two runs. Tristan Augedahl pitched two shutout innings to close out the victory.

UNC starter Jake Storey struck out seven over six innings, but did not factor in the decision.

Game 3: SDSU 21, Northern Colorado 2 [7 inn.] (March 29 at Greeley, Colorado)
• W-Kaden Rylance (1-2). L-Lucas Stone (1-2)..

South Dakota State's bats stayed hot as the Jackrabbits matched their offensive output from the previous day with a 21-2 series-clinching victory in seven innings.

The Jackrabbits scored in each of the first four innings to build an 11-0 lead. Nate Wachter drove in the first two runs with a triple to the fence in center field and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Dayton Franke. Owen Siegert delivered a two-run single in the second inning and the Jackrabbits made it a four-run frame after RBI singles by Luke Luskey and Wachter.

SDSU received production up and down its lineup in setting a season high with 18 hits.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some more quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this weekend's series against Northern Colorado:

Seven Jackrabbit games in March were 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, but has yet to play a one-run game in April.
SDSU scored 21 runs in each of the last two games of its Summit League series at Northern Colorado in late March, marking the first time since an April 28, 2010, home doubleheader against North Dakota (won 21-10 and 21-8) that the Jackrabbits scored 20-plus runs in consecutive games.
The Jackrabbits tallied double-digit runs in an inning for the second and third times this season, scoring 12 runs in the eighth inning of the March 28 game at Northern Colorado, followed by a 10-run seventh inning the next day.
SDSU previously set a program single-game record by scoring 17 runs in the fourth inning of its 19-11, series-opening win at Incarnate Word on Feb. 17 in San Antonio, Texas. 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.
Nolan Grawe had his 16-game hitting streak come to an end in the April 19 series finale against Oral Roberts. Over his 16-game hitting streak, which began March 17 at Oklahoma State, Grawe batted .370 (27-for-73) with 23 RBIs and 19 runs scored. He notched an extra-base hit in 11 of the games en route to a .658 slugging percentage (seven doubles, four triples and two home runs) during his recent hot streak.
Grawe tied an SDSU single-season record with a 19-game hitting streak during his freshman season in 2025. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native set an SDSU freshman record with 69 hits last season and ended the 2025 campaign with a 12-game hitting streak that reached 14 games with hits in the first two games he played this season.
Grawe recorded his 100th career hit March 25 at Creighton and enters the weekend with 115 hits in only 85 career games. He currently leads the team with 46 hits, 14 doubles, four triples, 33 runs batted in, 30 runs scored and a .538 slugging percentage.
Nic Werk has dramatically improved his offensive numbers from a season ago and currently is tied for second on the team with eight doubles. Werk had his career-best streak of reaching base safely in 17 consecutive games snapped in the April 19 series finale versus Oklahoma State. As part of his streak, Werk registered a .900 on-base percentage in the two-game series at Oklahoma State (4-for-5 with five walks) March 17-18..
A utility player, Werk has made 17 starts at second base, eight in left field, two at shortstop, one in right field and one in center field while starting all 29 of the team's games since missing the eight games of the Jackrabbits' season-opening road trip through Texas.
Jackrabbit catchers Nate Wachter and Luke Jones are hitting a combined .417 (20-for-48) with runners in scoring position this season. A redshirt freshman from Blair, Nebraska, Wachter leads the team by batting .424 (14-for-33) with runners in scoring position, while Jones is 6-for-15 (.400 average). Adding to Wachter's résumé as a clutch hitter, 11 of his 20 RBIs have come with two outs.
Jones had his five-game hitting streak end in Wednesday's game against Briar Cliff. During his recent streak, Jones batted .600 (9-for-15), starting with a 2-for-3, two-RBI performance in the April 11 series finale at St. Thomas. He tallied a career-best three hits April 14 against Midland and notched two more hits April 19 against Oral Roberts.
Freshman catcher Luke Evenson became the second Jackrabbit to hit two homers in a game this season and he collected his first two collegiate home runs April 22 against Briar Cliff. He hit a solo shot in the fourth inning and a two-run blast in the sixth.
Luke Wroblewski led off the April 11 series finale at St. Thomas with a home run, marking the first time the Jackrabbits have opened a game with a round-tripper since Bryce Ronken at Northern Colorado on May 4, 2024. Wroblewski's leadoff blast was the lone home run SDSU hit in the three-game series against the Tommies.
A graduate transfer, Wroblewski has moved from right field to center field in recent weeks in place of an injured Owen Siegert.
Left-hander Tristan Augedahl has logged three-plus innings in recording both of his saves so far this season. Augedahl tossed 3 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings to close out SDSU's 13-5 victory in Game 1 of a March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State, then threw 3 1/3 scoreless frames in the first game of an April 10 twinbill at St. Thomas to wrap up a 7-2 Jackrabbit win. Augedahl, who tossed a career-high four innings in the April 19 series finale against Oral Roberts, also has a pair of victories this season and ranks third on the team with 32 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings pitched.
Right-hander Dylan Richardson has provided some consistency out of the Jackrabbit bullpen during the month of April. A junior college transfer from Vancouver, Washington, Richardson has appeared in four games so far this month and allowed only one run in eight innings (1.13 ERA) with seven strikeouts. Richardson began the month by tossing three shutout innings April 8 at Minnesota. He allowed one run in four innings over two appearances last weekend against Oral Roberts.
For the second time this season, Jackrabbit pitchers did not allow a walk in the April 17 series opener against Oral Roberts. SDSU also did not walk a batter in the March 27 game at Northern Colorado.
The Jackrabbits matched a season high by turning three double plays against Oral Roberts on April 17. SDSU's first trifecta of double plays came March 11 at Kansas State. The Jacks turned two more double plays Wednesday against Briar Cliff and now have 26 double plays to their credit and are fielding at a .976 clip for the season.
Travis Finney became the third different Jackrabbit player to be hit by a pitch three times in a game this season as he was plunked three times April 22 versus Briar Cliff to tie a Jackrabbit single-game record in the Division I era (since 2005). Dayton Franke and Brady Brown were each hit by pitches three times in a game in February — Franke was dotted 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.
SDSU also tied a team record in the Division I era by being hit a total of eight times in Wednesday's game against Briar Cliff. That matched the mark first established March 17, 2022, at Northwestern State (La.).
In all, Jackrabbit players have been hit by pitches a total of 76 times in 2026. Luke Luskey has been hit by a pitch 13 times to lead the team, followed by Dayton Franke with 11. Carter Taylor also is in double figures with 10 hit-by-pitches.
Taylor has reached base 14 times over the last five games he has played — nine bases on balls, three hits and two hit-by-pitches. He walked three times in each of the two games of an April 10 doubleheader at St. Thomas and reached base for a fourth time in the opener with a base hit. Taylor reached base five times against Briar Cliff on April 22 with two doubles, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
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 and comes into the week with 117 RBIs in 121 career games (115 starts). He also regained the team and league lead with 34 RBIs after a three-RBI performance Wednesday against Briar Cliff.
Luskey also leads active Jackrabbit players with 28 career home runs, including two in the first game of a March 21 doubleheader against North Dakota State, putting him three away from moving into the SDSU career top 10.

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 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.

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 during the 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 at Siebert Field 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 245-219 (.528 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 187-262 record at SDSU, including a 115-118 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 736-584-1 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 mark.

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 wrap up their longest homestand of the season with mid-week games versus NCAA Division III opponents on consecutive days. SDSU is slated to host Buena Vista on April 28, followed by a matchup the next day against Minnesota Morris. Both contests are set for 3 p.m. starts at Erv Huether Field.

-GoJacks.com-