FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State baseball team came up short in the Summit League Championship first round against South Dakota State, 17-4, on Wednesday night at Newman Outdoor Field.

With the loss, the Bison fall to 22-29 on the season and will face fourth-seeded Omaha (21-27) tomorrow in an elimination game. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m., at Newman Outdoor Field.

South Dakota State (23-26) got off to a fast start with a two-run home run off the bat of Nic Nelson in the first inning and an RBI single from Reece Anderson in the second inning to make the score 3-0. Following a scoreless third, the Jackrabbits cracked the game open sending across six runs on five hits to stretch the lead to 9-0 in the fourth after Cade Stuff delivered a two-run single to left field.

The Bison attempted to rally in the fifth inning cutting into the deficit with four runs on five hits to pull back within five, 9-4. Will Busch started the frame with an RBI double into left field and Peter Brookshaw followed it up with an RBI single. Druw Sackett kept the inning going with an RBI single before James Dunlap finished the scoring with an RBI ground out. However, the Bison couldn't get anything going the rest of the way as the Jackrabbits plated eight runs over the final four frames to secure the 17-4 win.

NDSU totaled 13 hits as a team with four players posting multiple hits. The Bison also connected on three doubles to increase their season total 115, which set a new program single-season record. Busch paced NDSU with three hits, including two doubles to go along with one run and one RBI.

Cade Feeney (6-5) made the start on the mound with four strikeouts over 4.0 innings. Hunter Rosenbaum also contributed two strikeouts over 2.0 innings.