JACKRABBITS CLOSE HOME SLATE WITH ST. THOMAS

Friday, May 8

Brookings, S.D.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

St. Thomas

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Photo by: Evan Patzwald

5/7/2026 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

St. Thomas (9-34, 6-14 Summit) at South Dakota State (18-26, 9-11 Summit)

When	Friday-Sunday, May 8-10 • 1 p.m. Friday • 3 p.m. Saturday • 1 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	KJJQ 910 AM (Saturday and Sunday) \| GoJacks.com/watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| St. Thomas \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State baseball team closes out the home portion of its 2026 schedule and will attempt to solidify its position in the Summit League standings as St. Thomas comes to town for a three-game weekend series.

The series begins with a 1 p.m. matchup Friday at Erv Huether Field. Saturday's contest is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch, with Senior Day ceremonies on SDSU graduation day starting at 2:45 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.

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

The Jackrabbits enter the weekend with an 18-26 overall record and a 9-11 mark in Summit League play that puts them in fourth place in the league standings, a mere .004 percentage points behind Northern Colorado for third place. SDSU is coming off a weekend in which it won the final two games of a three-game series at North Dakota State.

St. Thomas, meanwhile, is in last place in the six-team league race with a 6-14 record and holds a 9-34 overall record. The Tommies were swept in a three-game home series last weekend by league-leading Oral Roberts and had their overall losing streak reach five games with a 14-4, eight-inning loss Tuesday at Iowa.

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 24th meeting between South Dakota State and St. Thomas on the baseball diamond, in a series that began when the Tommies joined The Summit League at the start of the 2022 season.

SDSU holds a 16-7 series advantage on the strength of winning each of the first 10 matchups and then claiming two of the three games played between the two teams April 10-11 at Koch Diamond in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Following are brief recaps from the first series of the season between the Jackrabbits and Tommies:

• Game 1: SDSU 7, St. Thomas 2 (April 10 at St. Paul, Minnesota)
W-Sam Schlecht (3-2). L-Brayden Olson (0-5). SV-Tristan Augedahl (2).

The Jackrabbits used a combination of productive outs, timely hitting and a solid combined pitching performance from Sam Schlecht and Tristan Augedahl to win Game 1 of a doubleheader.

SDSU took a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning and registered two more two-run innings to pull away for the win. Schlecht allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings and struck out six. Augedahl pitched the final 3 1/3 innings and added three strikeouts.

• Game 2: St. Thomas 4, SDSU 1 (April 10 at St. Paul, Minnesota)
W-Sam Stockman (1-1). L-Sam Novotny (2-3). SV-Zak Endres (1).

St. Thomas thwarted two golden scoring opportunities for SDSU in the late innings and took the lead on a run-scoring double by Zan Von Schlegell in the bottom of the seventh.

SDSU stranded a runner at third base in the top of the seventh and loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth before UST reliever Zak Endres escaped the jam with three consecutive strikeouts.

Matthew Maulik, who also homered in the opener, plated the first run of Game 2 with a home run and Joe Roder added a solo shot in the eighth for the Tommies.

• Game 3: SDSU 13, St. Thomas 2 [7 inn.] (April 11 at St. Paul, Minnesota)
W-Kaden Rylance (2-2). L-Owen Marsolek (2-2).

Luke Wroblewski set the tone with a leadoff home run for an SDSU squad that scored in each of the first six innings to put the 10-run rule into effect and claim the series.

Kaden Rylance allowed only one hit through five innings and took a shutout into the seventh.

All six runs SDSU tallied in the fourth inning were scored with two outs.

SHORT HOPS: Following are some more quick notes regarding the South Dakota State baseball team heading into this weekend's games versus St. Thomas:

After going 1-7 in one-run games after a slew of close contests in February and March, the Jackrabbits have won their last two games decided by a single run over their last two Summit League series. SDSU recorded its second one-run victory of the season with a 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. The Jackrabbits then rallied for a 5-4 victory May 2 at North Dakota State after trailing 4-0 through three innings.
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 123 hits in only 92 career games. He currently leads the team with 54 hits, 15 doubles, four triples and 39 runs scored. He also ranks second with four home runs, 36 RBI and a .527 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 23 starts at second base, eight in left field, two at shortstop, one in right field and one in center field. After missing the eight games of the Jackrabbits' season-opening road trip through Texas, he has started 35 of the last 36 games.
Freshman infielder Grant Sorensen has helped spark the Jackrabbit offense during his current six-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 six-game hitting streak, Sorensen is batting .563 (9-for-16) with a home run, three doubles, nine RBIs and a .938 slugging percentage.
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.
Included in the Jackrabbit onslaught against Minnesota Morris were back-to-back home runs by back-to-back home runs by Nate Wachter and Luke Luskey in the fifth inning. That marked the first consecutive homers by the Jackrabbits since Luskey and Bryce Ronken accomplished the feat March 1, 2025, at Sacramento State.
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.
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 nine of his 11 starts, including each of the last five. Schlecht leads the staff in strikeouts (56) and innings pitched (57.0), while sharing the team lead with three wins.
Jackrabbit pitchers combined for 27 strikeouts in last week's series at North Dakota State behind career-high performances by Ty Madison (10) and Sam Schlecht (8).
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 .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 94 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 had his team-best 20-game streak of reaching base safely come to an end in the May 1 series opener at North Dakota State. However, he finished the series strong by going 5-for-10 at the plate over the final two games, including hitting his fourth home run of the season in the series finale. Taylor has drawn a team-best 25 walks this season and leads the team with a .466 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 129 RBIs in 128 career games (122 starts). He leads the team and Summit League with 46 RBIs after driving in seven in the May 3 series finale at North Dakota State.
Luskey moved into the Jackrabbit career top 10 for home runs after connecting on four round-trippers last week to up his career total to 32. He in consecutive mid-week games against Buena Vista and Minnesota Morris, then blasted a two-run homer and grand slam as part of his seven-RBI performance May 3 at North Dakota State.
Luskey's two-homer game May 3 was his second of the season — both of which have come against North Dakota State — and fifth of his career. He also homered twice against the Bison in the first game of a March 21 doubleheader at Erv Huether Field.
Luke Evenson (April 22 against Briar Cliff) and Nate Wachter (April 29 versus Minnesota Morris) also have hit two home runs in a game this season for the Jacks.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State on Tuesday swept the Summit League baseball weekly awards with Nate Wachter earning Kwik Star Peak Performer of the Week accolades and Ty Madison receiving Kwik Star Peak Pitcher of the Week honors.

In five games last week, Wachter batted .667 (12-for-18) with 10 runs batted in and nine runs scored, adding a 1.167 slugging percentage. He collected two or more hits in four of the five games, highlighted by a 4-for-4, two-home run, seven-RBI performance against Minnesota Morris on April 29. A redshirt freshman outfielder/catcher from Blair, Nebraska, Wachter went 3-for-4 in each of the Jackrabbits' two wins at North Dakota State over the weekend, including delivering the game-winning hit in a 5-4 come-from-behind victory on May 2.

Madison pitched the final 7 2/3 innings and recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in SDSU's one-run victory at North Dakota State on May 2. After allowing a run in his first full inning of work, the senior right-hander from Omaha, Nebraska, blanked the Bison over the final six frames and retired 10 batters in a row in one stretch. He did not walk a batter in the game.

Since moving to the bullpen in late March, Madison has posted a 2.05 earned run average over 22 innings and seven relief appearances while striking out 22 batters and issuing only one base on balls.

Wachter and Madison are the fourth and fifth Jackrabbit players to garner Summit League weekly awards this season. Outfielder Carter Taylor (Feb. 24) and designated hitter/first baseman Luke Luskey (March 24) were previous Peak Performer honorees, while Sam Schlecht was selected as Peak Pitcher of the Week on March 3.

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 248-221 (.529 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 192-264 record at SDSU, including a 118-120 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 741-586-1 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 conclude the regular season with a four-game Summit League series May 13-16 at Omaha. The May 13 opener will be a makeup game from the series in early April between the Jackrabbits and Mavericks that was canceled due to inclement weather. SDSU will be the home team in that contest, while Omaha will be the home team for the other three games. All four games are scheduled for 6 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha.

-GoJacks.com-