JACKRABBITS CLOSE HOMESTAND WITH MID-WEEK GAMES

Tuesday, April 28

Brookings, S.D.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Buena Vista

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South Dakota State baseball players cheer from the dugout during the Jackrabbits' game April 24, 2026, versus Northern Colorado.

Photo by: Jenna Batka

4/27/2026 8:51:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State hosts Buena Vista (9-26) and Minnesota Morris (17-15)

When	• vs. Buena Vista \| 3 p.m. Tuesday • vs. Minnesota Morris \| 3 p.m. Wednesday
Where	Erv Huether Field \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus • Tuesday's Broadcast \| • Wednesday's Broadcast
Radio	None
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Buena Vista \| Minnesota Morris \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State baseball team is scheduled to wrap up its longest homestand of the season with a pair of mid-week games at Erv Huether Field against regional NCAA Division III opponents.

The Jackrabbits are slated to host Buena Vista at 3 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a 3 p.m. matchup Wednesday against Minnesota Morris.

SDSU enters the week with a 14-25 overall record after splitting an abbreviated two-game Summit League series against Northern Colorado. The Jackrabbits won the April 24 opener, 7-6 in 11 innings, followed by a 19-2, seven-inning defeat the next day. Sunday's scheduled finale was canceled due to rain, keeping the Jackrabbits' record on the homestand at 3-4.

Buena Vista, located in Storm Lake, Iowa, has turned in a 9-26 overall record so far this season, including a 5-14 mark in the American Rivers Conference. The Beavers were idle for the weekend and dropped an 8-6 decision at Nebraska Wesleyan in their most recent action on April 21.

Minnesota Morris is in a tight race for the top spot in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference with an 11-4 league record and a 17-15 overall mark. The Cougars closed out a perfect season at home (7-0 record) with a 13-10 win over Concordia (Moorhead) this past Saturday.

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

THE SERIES: Games this week against Buena Vista and Minnesota Morris will mark the first meetings since the Jackrabbits moved to the NCAA Division I level in 2005.

vs. Buena Vista
Although the two schools are separated by less than 200 miles, the Jackrabbits and Buena Vista have not met on the baseball diamond in 72 years. Overall, BVU holds a 3-2 series advantage in a series that began with a 10-4 SDSU victory in the 1948 season finale for the Jackrabbits.

Buena Vista won both games played in 1949 (16-3, 7-0) before running its winning streak in the series to three with a 6-4 victory in 1953. SDSU claimed a 7-6 win in the last matchup, which was played May 8, 1954.

vs. Minnesota Morris
SDSU has dominated the all-time series against Minnesota Morris to the tune of a 31-5 all-time record since the two programs first split a doubleheader during the 1970 season. The Jackrabbits have won the last 11 meetings, starting with a sweep of a home doubleheader (8-6, 9-8) in 1990.

The last meetings between SDSU and UMM came on May 1, 2002, when the Jacks swept a road doubleheader by scores of 11-2 and 29-6. The 29 runs, including 14 in the third inning, stand as the second-most in a game in program history for the Jackrabbits.

SDSU pounded out 28 hits in Game 2 of the doubleheader and was led by Chris Studer, who went 5-for-5 with two home runs. Kerry Jacobson also homered twice, while Matt Hanson and Brock Schroeder each tallied six RBIs. Hanson was 5-for-7 at the plate.

The Jackrabbits and Minnesota Morris played another game for the record books in 1977, when SDSU outlasted the Cougars by a score of 3-2 in a 17-inning game. In terms of innings, that is the longest game on record in SDSU program history.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some more quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this week's games:

The Jackrabbits recorded their second one-run victory of the season with their 7-6, 11-inning triumph over Northern Colorado on April 24. SDSU scored three times in the bottom of the 11th after the Bears scored twice in the top of the frame. SDSU is 2-7 in one-run games this season after a slew of close contests in February and March.
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 87 career games. He currently leads the team with 46 hits, 14 doubles, four triples, 31 runs scored and a .517 slugging percentage. He also ranks second with 33 RBIs.
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 Oral Roberts. 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 19 starts at second base, eight in left field, two at shortstop, one in right field and one in center field while starting all 31 of the team's games since missing the eight games of the Jackrabbits' season-opening road trip through Texas.
Freshman infielder Grant Sorensen came off the bench to record hits in both games of this past weekend's series against Northern Colorado. He delivered the game-tying two-run double in the bottom of the 11th inning of the April 24 series opener and scored the game-winning run later in the inning on a bases-loaded walk to Nate Wachter.
Sorensen singled in Game 2 of the series to extend his hitting streak to three games.
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.
Since moving to the bullpen a month ago, Opening Day starter Ty Madison has been one of the Jackrabbits' top arms. Over six appearances totaling 14 1/3 innings, Madison has allowed four runs for a 2.51 earned run average while striking out 12 and walking only one. In his last outing, April 24 against Northern Colorado, Madison pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while matching a season and career high with five strikeouts.
Sam Schlecht has been a constant in the starting rotation for the Jackrabbits all season as the senior right-hander has pitched at least five innings in eight of his 10 starts, including each of the last four. Schlecht leads the staff in strikeouts (48) and innings pitched (51.0), while sharing the team lead with three wins.
All four outs Tristan Augedahl recorded en route to earning his third victory of the season April 24 against Northern Colorado were by way of strikeout. The sophomore left-hander ranks third on the team with 36 strikeouts in only 27 2/3 innings.
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 five 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 in a recent home series against Oral Roberts (April 17-19).
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 29 double plays to their credit and are fielding at a .977 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 back-to-back games against Briar Cliff (April 22) and Northern Colorado (April 24). That matched the mark first established March 17, 2022, at Northwestern State (La.). In the game against Northern Colorado, six Jackrabbit batters were hit by pitches in the first inning alone, helping SDSU score four times without the benefit of a hit.
In all, Jackrabbit players have been hit by pitches a total of 84 times in 2026. Luke Luskey has been hit by a pitch 16 times to lead the team, followed by Dayton Franke and Carter Taylor with 12. Luskey's 16 hit-by-pitches are tied for third in a single season in program history and two behind single-season leader Jesse Sawyer (18 in 2010).
Taylor has reached base in 18 consecutive games, matching a recent streak by Nolan Grawe for the longest by a Jackrabbit player this season. A freshman from Missoula, Montana, Taylor has drawn a team-best 23 walks this season and leads the team with a .472 on-base percentage.
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 123 career games (117 starts). He also regained the team and league lead with 34 RBIs after a three-RBI performance April 22 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 five free passes 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 246-220 (.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 188-263 record at SDSU, including a 116-119 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 has compiled a 737-585-1 record (.557 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 return to Summit League action by traveling to North Dakota State for a three-game weekend series. Friday's series opener is set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Newman Outdoor Field. Afternoon games Saturday and Sunday are slated for respective starting times of 2 p.m. and 1 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-