Game 1 Box Score (PDF) / Game 2 Box Score (PDF)

FARGO, N.D. - In the final regular season games of the year, the South Dakota State baseball team took a pair of games from North Dakota State Friday afternoon at Newman Outdoor Field. The Jackrabbits won the opener 2-1 before putting up 14 singles in an 8-1 victory in the nightcap.

The losses dropped NDSU to 19-24 overall and 15-15 in Summit League play. SDSU improved to 27-20 overall and 19-10 in league play. The Jackrabbits clinched the number two seed in next week's Summit League Tournament, while the Bison will have to wait for Saturday's game between Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne to finish to see if the Bison get in. NDSU would get the number four seed in the tournament if Purdue Fort Wayne wins the game.

Between games, the Bison honored their four seniors playing in their final games at Newman Outdoor Field. It was the final home games for Alec Abercrombie, Jordan Harms, Jayse McLean and Sean Noel.

In the opener, both SDSU runs came off Bison errors in the first and third innings. NDSU scored its lone run in the fifth inning, as Jake Malec hit a sacrifice fly to left field that drove in Noel. 

Peter Brookshaw, Noel and Tucker Rohde each finished with a hit for the Bison. With a walk in the game, freshman Brock Anderson broke the NDSU single-season walks record with the 37th of the season. Logan Busch had previously held the record with 36 in 2017. 

Ben Smith had a no-decision in the start on the mound, allowing two unearned runs on eight hits and four walks in eight innings. Smith struck out four. Jake Drew tossed the final inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

In the nightcap, SDSU scored two runs in each the first, third, fifth and ninth innings for the 8-1 victory. The lone NDSU run came in the fifth inning, as Noel singled past a diving second baseman to bring in Peter Brookshaw.

Bennett Hostetler led the Bison with two hits, while Anderson, Noel and Charley Hesse each had one. Zach Smith suffered the loss on the mound, allowing four runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings of work. Z. Smith struck out four. Blake Tritch struck out three in 2.2 innings, while Barron Holtz struck out two in two-thirds of an inning.