MINNEAPOLIS -- It took a winner-take-all game but South Dakota State became just the second No. 4 seed in Summit League Baseball Championship history to hoist the trophy after knocking off Oral Roberts 9-6 Saturday in the second game between the two programs at Siebert Field. The Jackrabbits had already defeated the Golden Eagles in postseason play for the first time earlier in the week but needed the extra game to secure the at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after ORU forced game two after a 4-1 victory in today's opener.
Game One
Golden Eagle leftfielder Cooper Combs delivered a two-run single up the middle in the top of the first to stake the Golden Eagles to an early 2-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
ORU would add to its lead in the fourth when Martell Davis led off with a double and came around to score on a play where the Jackrabbits committed a pair of errors.
Davis' hit was the only one SDSU starter Drew McDowell surrendered after the first inning as he kept the Jacks within striking distance through a season-high seven innings of work.
Golden Eagle starter Jackson Farrell was even sharper, allowing just two hits through the opening six frames to keep the Jacks' offense scoreless. He got a pair of nice defensive plays from his infield in the sixth as he pushed his stretch of consecutive batters retired to 10.
The Jacks were able to scratch a run across on a RBI single from Luke Wroblewski in the seventh but that would be the only damage incurred thanks to rightfielder Will Edmunson, who threw out Carter Taylor trying to advance to third on the base hit to end the threat.
ORU shortstop Hudson Ellis tacked on an insurance in the ninth with a two-out RBI single to give the Golden Eagles a 4-1 advantage. Kash Ferris finished off 2.1 innings of scoreless relief by striking out the Jackrabbits in order in their last at-bat.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Farrell (4-1): 6.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Loss – McDowell (3-x2): 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Save - Ferris (3): 2.1 IP, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
Game Two
ORU started Game 2 in similar fashion, plating a pair of runs in the first inning to grab an early 2-0 advantage. Wailele Kane-Yates roped an RBI single to left, and Davis capped the scoring with an RBI groundout.
This time, the Jacks had an answer as back-to-back solo home runs from Nolan Grawe and Nate Wachter quickly evened the score at 2-2.
Edmunson gave ORU a brief 3-2 lead in the second with a two-out RBI single, but the Jacks answered again with the long ball. Nine-hole hitter Nic Werk belted his first home run of the season to tie the game at 3-3.
SDSU starter Sam Novotny struck out the side in the third, sitting the Golden Eagles down in order for the first time. His offense responded by touching up Pitcher of the Year Jack Hill for a pair of runs in the inning to grab its first lead, 5-3. Grawe scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch before Luke Jones added an RBI single.
The Golden Eagles clawed their way back with runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the back-and-forth affair at 5-5. Edmunson collected his second RBI single of the game in the fourth while ORU took advantage of a two-out error by the Jacks to plate the game-tying run.
Werk put the Jacks back in front, 7-5, after ripping a two-run double just inside third base in the bottom of the fifth.
Edmunson delivered his third run-scoring hit of the game in the sixth, blasting a solo home run off the batter’s eye. His fifth homer of the season cut the deficit to 7-6, but the Jacks answered again.
Carter Taylor and Keagan Jirschele produced RBI singles in the bottom half of the sixth as the Jacks claimed their largest lead of the contest at 9-6.
Championship MVP Ty Madison pitched the final 5.1 innings, scattering four hits and allowing only two runs, one of which was earned, as he slowed down an ORU offense that put up four runs off starter Sam Novotny.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Madison (4-5): 5.1 IP, 4 hit, 2 runs, 1 run, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Loss – Williams (3-4): 1.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Noteable Notes
• Jones had a career-high four hits, finishing 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in game two
• Edmunson went 3-for-4 with three RBI to equal his season-high in hits and post his seventh multi-RBI game of the season
• SDSU is now 2-6 in Summit League Championship title games
• ORU is now 28-4 in Summit League Championship title games
• The Golden Eagles have forced a winner-take-all each of the six times they have come out of the loser's bracket but after winning the first two have now lost four straight, including in back-to-back years
• SDSU's tournament title is the program's second and first since the initial one in 2013
• SDSU is now 2-20 all-time against Oral Roberts in postseason play with both of those victories coming in this tournament
All-Tournament Team
Will Edmunson, Oral Roberts
Jackson Farrell, Oral Roberts
Luke Jones, South Dakota State
Nathan Love, Oral Roberts
Ty Madison, South Dakota State (MVP)
Matthew Mainord, Oral Roberts
Ethan Mooser, Northern Colorado
Kaden Rylance, South Dakota State
Owen Siegert, South Dakota State
Makani Tanaka, Oral Roberts
Jackson Trout, Omaha
Nate Wachter, South Dakota State
Reece Wagner, Northern Colorado
Nic Werk, South Dakota State
Up Next
The Jackrabbits will find out their NCAA Regional destination Monday on the Selection Show set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
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