JACKRABBITS BEGIN STRETCH RUN WITH SERIES AT NDSU

Friday, May 1

Fargo, N.D.

6:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota State

Photo by: Evan Patzwald

4/30/2026 6:50:00 PM | Baseball

South Dakota State (16-25, 7-10 Summit) at North Dakota State (9-26, 5-10 Summit)

When	Friday-Sunday, May 1-3 • 6:30 p.m. Friday • 2 p.m. Saturday • 1 p.m. Sunday
Where	Newman Outdoor Field \| Fargo, North 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 \| North Dakota State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

In an ever-tightening race to determine the four teams that will qualify for the upcoming Summit League Baseball Championship, South Dakota State heads up Interstate 29 to take on rival North Dakota State in a three-game weekend series.

The series begins with a 6:30 p.m. matchup Friday at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, North Dakota. Games Saturday and Sunday are slated for respective 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. starts. All three games will be available for viewing through the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus.

The Jackrabbits enter the final month of the regular season with a 16-25 overall record and are in fourth place in the Summit League standings with a 7-10 mark in conference play. After splitting an abbreviated two-game home series against Northern Colorado last weekend, the Jackrabbits closed out a season-long nine-game homestand with a pair of seven-inning victories over NCAA Division III opponents. SDSU pitchers Drew McDowell and Austin Henry combined on a no-hitter in an 11-1 victory against Buena Vista on Tuesday, then the Jackrabbit offense took center stage with a season-best six home runs a day later in a 19-1 win over Minnesota Morris.

North Dakota State, meanwhile, remained within striking distance of a tournament spot after splitting a four-game series last weekend at league leader Oral Roberts. The Bison come into the weekend series with a 5-10 Summit League record and improved to 9-26 overall with a 13-6 victory at Creighton on Tuesday.

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

THE SERIES: Friday's series opener will mark the 226th meeting on the baseball diamond between SDSU and North Dakota State. In the series that dates back to 1956, the Jackrabbits hold a 136-89 lead.

Since the two programs joined The Summit League at the start of the 2008 season, the Bison hold a narrow 45-44 edge in league regular season games. SDSU claimed the first series of the 2026 season two games to one by sweeping a doubleheader played March 21 in Brookings.

• Game 1: North Dakota State 6, SDSU 1 (March 20 at Erv Huether Field)
W-Parker Puetz (1-3). L-Ty Madison (0-5). SV-Sheamus Ryan (1).

NDSU's Colten Becker hit a pair of two-run home runs for a Bison squad that spoiled South Dakota State's home opener with a 6-1 victory. struck out seven, walked three and hit three batters before giving way to Sheamus Ryan, who pitched three scoreless innings to finish the game and earn the save.

The Jackrabbits' lone run of the game was scored in the fourth inning, when Keagen Jirschele led off with a single and later scored on one of Nolan Grawe's three hits.

Game 2: SDSU 13, North Dakota State 5 (March 21 at Erv Huether Field)
W-Logan Campbell (1-1). L-Brayden Marks (1-4). SV-Tristan Augedahl (1).

Luke Luskey homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs to lead the Jackrabbits to a 13-5 victory in the opening game of a doubleheader. SDSU took the lead for good with a three-run fourth inning that included an RBI double by Luskey. Luskey added a solo home run in the fifth inning and a three-run blast in the seventh.

• Game 3: SDSU 11, North Dakota State 1 [8 inn.] (March 21 at Erv Huether Field)
W-Sam Novotny (2-2). L-Jonah Walker (0-2).

Sam Novotny pitched 7 2/3 strong innings and the Jackrabbits again scored runs in bunches to finish off the sweep of the twinbill.

Luskey opened the scoring with his fourth extra-base of the day, lacing a double to the right-center gap in the bottom of the first inning to bring home Owen Siegert. SDSU added a run in the second inning before breaking the game open in the middle innings with a two-run double by Grawe in the fourth inning and a two-run single by Siegert in the fifth. The Jackrabbits put the 10-run rule into effect with a four-run eighth inning that was highlighted by a two-run single by Dayton Franke and a game-ending two-run double by Jirschele.

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

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 118 hits in only 89 career games. He currently leads the team with 49 hits, 14 doubles, four triples and 36 runs scored. He also ranks second with four home runs, 35 RBI and a .535 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 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 20 starts at second base, eight in left field, two at shortstop, one in right field and one in center field while making 31 consecutive starts since missing the eight games of the Jackrabbits' season-opening road trip through Texas before coming off the bench in Wednesday's game against Minnesota Morris.
Freshman infielder Grant Sorensen has helped spark the Jackrabbit offense during his current five-game hitting streak. Sorensen delivered a game-tying two-run double in the bottom of the 11th inning of an April 24 victory over Northern Colorado, then turned in a career day April 29 against Minnesota Morris by going 3-for-4 with a double, his first collegiate home run and six RBIs.
During his five-game hitting streak, Sorensen is batting .667 (8-for-12) with a home run, three doubles, nine RBIs and a 1.167 slugging percentage.
Luke Evenson and Nate Wachter each posted two-home run games on the recent homestand. Evenson connected twice April 22 versus Briar Cliff, while Wachter's two homers were part of a 4-for-4, seven-RBI performance April 29 against Minnesota Morris.
As a team, the Jackrabbits hit a season-high six home runs in the 19-1 victory against Minnesota Morris. That marked the most by an SDSU squad in a game at the current Erv Huether Field, which opened in 2008, and the most in any game since hitting seven in Game 2 of a doubleheader May 14, 2023, against Northern Colorado in Sioux Falls.
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).
SDSU's combined no-hitter by Drew McDowell (6 innings) and Austin Henry (1 inning) versus Buena Vista on April 28 was the first Jackrabbit no-no of the Division I era (since 2005). The last Jackrabbit no-hitter was turned in by Pete Torgerson against Southwest Minnesota State on April 1, 1989.
The Jackrabbits turned three double plays in a game for the third time this season April 29 versus Minnesota Morris and now have 32 double plays to their credit and are fielding at a .978 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 90 times in 2026. Luke Luskey has been hit by a pitch 17 times to lead the team, followed by Dayton Franke and Carter Taylor with 12. Luskey's 17 hit-by-pitches are second-most in a season in program history and one behind single-season leader Jesse Sawyer (18 in 2010).
Taylor has reached base in 20 consecutive games, making it the longest such streak by a Jackrabbit in 2026. A freshman from Missoula, Montana, Taylor has drawn a team-best 25 walks this season and leads the team with a .477 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 weekend with 122 RBIs in 125 career games (119 starts). He leads the team with 39 RBIs so far this season.
Luskey homered in consecutive games against Buena Vista and Minnesota Morris to up his career total to 30 home runs. That puts him one away from joining the SDSU career top 10.
The Jackrabbits connected on back-to-back home runs for the first time this season, when Wachter and Luskey accomplished the feat in the fifth inning of their April 29 game versus Minnesota Morris. Prior to Wednesday, SDSU's last back-to-back homers were hit by Luskey and Bryce Ronken in a March 1, 2025, victory at Sacramento State.

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 run, 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 190-263 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 739-585-1 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 close out home action with a three-game Summit League series May 8-10 against St. Thomas. Due to graduation weekend at SDSU, games Friday and Sunday are set for 1 p.m. starts, while the middle game of the series on Saturday is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Erv Huether Field.

-GoJacks.com-