FARGO, N.D. – Third-seeded South Dakota State advanced to the #SummitBSB Championship game with an 8-2 victory over second-seeded North Dakota State Friday at Newman Outdoor Field. The Jackrabbits' second win over the Bison in the tournament gave the program its first title shot since 2018.
Both teams had just one hit in the opening three innings before SDSU was able to push two runs across on a two-out double by Reece Anderson in the fourth. Drew Beazley led off the frame with a single and Thatcher Kozal followed with a walk as those two scored on Anderson's bloop double just in front a diving Cadyn Schwabe in the left-center gap.
After being staked to a 2-0 lead, SDSU starter Jake Goble struck out the side in the fourth and would finish with a season-high seven punchouts in seven scoreless innings of work.
Anderson came through with another two-out, run-scoring hit in the sixth off reliever Max Loven. Kozal reached base on an error to lead off the inning, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jess Bellows before Anderson ripped a ball through the hole between short and third to put the Jackrabbits ahead 3-0.
Shortstop Luke Ira led off the seventh by belting the first pitch he saw from reliever Joey Danielson over the leftfield wall for his 15th home run of the season.
Beazley would tack on two more runs with a double that one-hopped the wall in left to push the Jacks' lead to 6-0. Bellows and Dagen Schramm added back-to-back RBI singles to cap the five-run frame and give Goble an 8-0 advantage.
Goble would get through the seventh for the third time this season and give way the Jacks' bullpen.
The Bison would not go down quietly in their final at-bat of the season, scoring twice off SDSU reliever Alex Clemons and having the bases loaded with two outs. Ryan Bourassa would come in and get Carson Hake to strike out looking on what ended up being an 11-pitch at-bat.
Anderson, Ira and Beazley each had two its for the Jackrabbits, who had nine in the contest, while Jack Steil was the only Bison with multiple hits.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Goble (5-3): 7.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walks, 7 strikeouts
Loss – Jacobs (2-5): 3.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• SDSU will make its first title game appearance since 2018 and will look for its first title since 2013
• SDSU starter Jake Goble established a new season-high with seven strikeouts. He had struck out six twice during the regular season in two starts against the Bison.
• NDSU starter Carson Jacobs logged season-highs in innings pitched with 3.2 and strikeouts with five
• The Jackrabbits evened the season series with the Bison at 4-4. The two teams have played five times over the last nine days.
Up Next
SDSU will play Oral Roberts in the 2023 #SummitBSB Championship game on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. CT. If the Jackrabbits win that contest, then those two teams will play a winner-take-all game for the NCAA automatic qualifying spot.
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