BROOKINGS, S.D. - Western Illinois let a late lead slip away
in game two and eventually lost in 11 innings, dropping both ends of a
doubleheader 18-4 and 8-7. The Leathernecks now stands 13-38 overall and 5-20
in the Summit League.
Game 1: SDSU 18, Western Illinois 4 (7 innings)
Western jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Bryan Jordan led off with a walk, took
second on Rich Mascheri's single then scored on Jason Summers' RBI double.
Three batters later, Andrew Hagins swung at strike three, but the ball rolled
away. Zach Briggs' throw down to first bounced into the outfield allowing Mascheri
and Summers to score.
Billy Stitz led off the Jackrabbits' (36-18, 18-8) half with a home run. SDSU
added two more runs in the fourth then exploded for six runs in the fourth to
take the lead for good. Joel Blake hit a 3-run double then Eric Cain added a
3-run homer later in the inning.
After Cole Waddell led off the sixth with a single, Chris Giglio lined a
two-out RBI single. However, South Dakota State scored eight times in the bottom
half to put the game away.
Chris Macek (2-6) was charged for seven runs on nine hits in
3.1 innings. Giglio finished with two hits while Summers extended his hitting
streak to 11 games with that first inning double.
Blake Treinen (7-0) picked up the win allowing four runs on six hits in six
innings. He walked three and struck out eight. Jesse Sawyer and Cain drove in
four runs each.
Game 2: SDSU 8, Western Illinois 7 (11 innings)
Western could not stop the Jackrabbits' late rally in the ninth inning and
eventually dropped the 11-inning contest - the longest game played by Western
this year.
Giglio's sacrifice fly followed by Jordan's RBI single spotted the Leathernecks
a 2-0 lead. WIU scored three more times in the third. Waddell lined a RBI
double, Anthony Kaskadden lifted a sacrifice fly to center then Giglio followed
with a RBI double for a 5-0 lead.
SDSU got two runs back in the third, then added another in the fifth on Blake's
double. With runners on second and third
in the sixth, Alex Oberle uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Summers to score
and give Western a 6-3 lead.
Beau Below ran into a jam in the fifth, loading the bases with one out. He got
an infield popup and groundout to end the threat. In the seventh he gave up a
walk and one-out single and was replaced by Travis Pedersen. The junior
right-hander kept SDSU off the board with a groundout and strikeout.
Western got an insurance run in the eighth thanks to Summer's RBI single.
However, Trever Vermeulen gave up just one hit from that point on.
Sawyer hit a 2-run homer in the ninth with one down, cutting Western's lead to
7-5. After a popup in shallow centerfield, SDSU got three consecutive doubles off
Pedersen to tie the game. Stitz lined a single to right field with two on and
two out, but Mascheri's throw home to John Koszulinski was in time to nail Zach
Rhodes at the plate.
In the 11th, SDSU got three straight singles to win the game as Beau Hanowski's
walk-off single sealed the win.
Below limited the Jackrabbits to three runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings. He
struck out one. David Hill (1-4) pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up three
hits, a walk and one strikeout.
Summers finished 3-for-5 at the plate extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
Jordan, Koszulinski, Waddell, Tom Lilja and Kaskadden added two hits apiece.
Vermeulen improved to 8-1 pitching 3.2 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits
and struck out four. Blake finished with four hits, one of six Jackrabbits with
a multi-hit game.
The regular season concludes Saturday for Western, with a doubleheader against the Jackrabbits scheduled for
12 noon.
