“It’s just good to finally win a game at our last at-bat,” head coach Dave Schrage said. “We had men in scoring position this game and all season that we never batted around, so it’s nice to see it all come together for us.”

The game started out with an Anthony Williams double down the right field line for the Cougars. An RBI single drove him in and USF took a 1-0 lead. SDSU was able to put two men on base in response, but a double play closed out the first inning before the Jacks could move the base runners around. The second inning was scoreless, with both teams leaving one man on base. USF added two more runs to its total in the third inning off of an RBI single and an error before Jackrabbit pitcher Talon Jumper struck out USF’s Brenndan Ward to retire the side. SDSU could not answer the offensive effort of the USF in the bottom of the third, and the Cougars moved to a 3-0 advantage.

The score remained 3-0 in favor of the Cougars until the top of the fifth inning when a two-run Damian Kardas home run pushed the Cougar advantage to five. SDSU pitcher Marcus Heemstra was able to close out the inning with a pair of strikeouts, but the Jackrabbit offense could not respond in the bottom of the inning, and the score remained 5-0 for the next two and a half innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, three consecutive singles by Eric Cain, Aaron Machbitz and Andrew Melton gave the Jackrabbits new life. Then, Nick Andrews drove the ball to the gap in right center for an RBI triple, and SDSU was on the board. Daniel Marra followed with a double to score Andrews, moving the Jacks within one run, with no outs. An RBI single scored Marra, and the score was knotted up, five all.

Phil Paquette added an RBI single to score Andrew Phelan from second to give the Jackrabbits their first lead of the game. The score was 6-5 with one out before a hit batter and a ground out RBI scored Zach Rhodes and Phil Paquette to move the score to 8-5. USF had a final chance to regain the lead, but a J.D. Moore strikeout and two fly balls ended the game for the Cougars. SDSU pitcher Deon Entringer was awarded the win, while Cougar pitcher Derek Fischer received the loss. Moore was credited with the save for the Jackrabbits.

“This was huge for us,” Andrews said. “The loss of momentum in games has been hurting us, so it’s great to see that frustration turned around heading into the bulk of the conference schedule.”

The sun finally set on any ideas the SDSU softball team might have had on gaining a berth in the 2012 Summit League Tournament as the Jacks were swept by April 20-21, officially eliminating them from post-season play.

But the Jackrabbits didn’t just lose, they didn’t even score a run in the three-game debacle. The series drops SDSU to 10-25-1 (4-14), while the SUU improves to 28-19 (14-7).

“Southern Utah is a quality ball club,” said head coach Kim Aggabao. “And we just didn’t step up to the challenge. There were too many offensive struggles.”

SUU’s pitcher Heather Black slowed the Jacks, striking out 17 and walking one SDSU hitter over the weekend.

The home team wasted no time in building a two-run lead in the first inning. SUU quickly retired SDSU again and buried the Jackrabbits with seven runs and making it 9-0 after two innings. After one more run in the fourth inning, the Jacks could not start a rally, losing 10-0.

The nightcap began with a scoreless first inning thanks in part to the pitching of SDSU senior Pam Nicholson. Nicholson recorded three strikeouts, and although the Jacks were again blown out, 8-0, Aggabao felt the pitcher’s performance was not well represented by the game’s overall score.

“We had them where we wanted them in the second and third games, but [SUU] battled through it.”

The final game of the series was a much closer affair through the first four innings. Southern Utah opened up the scoring in the first, but were stymied after their initial run until later in the game. In the bottom of the fifth, SUU’s Kadi Henderson broke the offensive silence with a leadoff homerun. The Thunderbirds followed by adding five more runs that inning to bury the Jacks by seven. SDSU could not match any of those runs and the Jacks fell 7-0.

Despite being eliminated from post-season play, Coach Aggabao did not downplay the importance of finishing strong.

“We always focus on finishing everything,” Aggabao said. “We finish plays, at bats, games — this is no different. You have to finish everything if you ever want to get better.”

“It was one extreme to the other,” head coach Dave Schrage said. “We went from the Minnesota game, to this performance today.”

The Jacks soundly beat the University of Minnesota last Wednesday in what was among the top SDSU performances this season, but it looked like a different squad on Tuesday afternoon to the nearby Bison. The Jacks gave up three runs to open up the game, setting the stage for what would be a long afternoon for the SDSU faithful.

The Bison added one more to their run total at the top of the second inning to firmly dig the Jacks into a hole. At that point in the game, SDSU was out hitting the Bison, but the Jacks left three of those men on the bag to close out the first two innings, while NDSU scored all runners that made a base. The Jacks managed to stop the bleeding, keeping the score locked at 3-0 through the bottom of the third. Then the lid blew off for the Jackrabbits.

The Bison started the fourth inning off with a Wes Satzinger double down the left field line. A ground out single advanced him over to third and placed him firmly in scoring position. Michael Leach then singled to right field to score Satzinger. A hit batter moved Leach into scoring position, with another man on first. A single by Max Casper drove in Leach, but a wild throw advanced John Skrbec to third, while Casper advanced to second. In the process, Skrbec ran home and a throw from Jackrabbit shortstop Eric Cain was off the mark, moving NDSU’s commanding lead to 6-0.

“When something like that happens, you just have to stay positive and refocus,” junior SDSU catcher Nick Andrews said.

SDSU was able to add a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth to avoid the shutout. The Jacks then tightened the loose ends, keeping NDSU scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Jackrabbits freshman starter Talon Jumper gave up six runs in four innings pitched, taking the loss and moving to 1-2 on the season.

Schrage felt that despite the many disappointing moments for the Jacks in the game, a few aspects of their performance were positive.

“We had good relief pitching today,” said Schrage. “It’s something we can take with us going forward.”

It was the series that got away.

After an impressive 6-2 opening victory against Oakland University, the SDSU softball team went on to drop the next two games of the series in a conference matchup April 11 and 12. The losses in the series bring SDSU to 10-22-1 on the season (4-11) while Oakland improved to 5-31 overall (3-15).

“It was a disappointing weekend,” head coach Kim Aggabao said. “We started out strong, but we definitely did not play up to our potential.”

The weekend started off down the right track when the Jacks took the lead of the opening game, 3-0. In the top of the fifth inning, SDSU took advantage of two Oakland errors to score twice, adding to the Jackrabbits’ total that began with a run in the top of the first. SDSU kept the fire going, doubling its run total in the top of the sixth off of a pair of RBIs and a second stolen base that allowed junior Marlee Petersen to score from third. Oakland would bounce back with two runs of their own to close out the inning, but the Golden Grizzlies could not overcome the deficit, losing 6-2.

The nightcap featured a similar storyline for the majority of the game, with SDSU and Oakland trading runs back and forth until the Jacks took the lead 5-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, where things got away from the Jackrabbits. The Golden Grizzlies came out swinging, posting four runs scored to close out the game and even up the series. Oakland recorded three RBIs, picking up the additional run off of a Jackrabbit error.

For the final game of the series, yet again, the Jacks secured the lead. Senior Morgan McCabe started things off for the Jacks in a big way, hitting a home run over the left field wall, scoring junior Devon Reick who had reached first base on a walk.

“Morgan’s home run got it going for us, and it gave us a lot of momentum,” Aggabao said. “But we just got complacent after that. There wasn’t any fire.”

The score remained unchanged at 2-0 until the bottom of the fourth when Oakland was able to secure one run on a sacrifice fly ball to right field. SDSU answered though, posting a home run to center field in the fifth, courtesy of junior Alex Landon. Oakland answered right back again, recording three runs off of three hits to bring the score to 4-3 in favor of Oakland. From that point forward, the Jacks stalled out on offense, while the Grizzlies added one more run to their total to win the game and the series, 5-3.

“It left a bitter taste in our mouth,” Aggabao said. “But we’re looking forward to getting back out there and putting it all together.”

The Jacks will have ample opportunity to prove themselves this weekend as they take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in a conference matchup April 20-21 in Cedar City, Utah.

The SDSU baseball team chose the latter of those two options as they a cruised to a 3-1 victory over Mount Marty College in the home opener at Erv Huether Field. The Jacks improve to 9-17-1 on the season, while the Lancers slide to 14-19.

“The freshman arms made the difference for us today,” head coach Dave Schrage said. “Our hitting wasn’t great, and they were able to pitch us out of some tough innings.”

The set of freshman arms Schrage is referring to is a trio of underclassmen including Talon Jumper, Aaron Klatt, and J.D. Moore. Jumper pitched seven shutout innings, giving up five hits. Klatt followed with one inning of two hits, before Moore closed out the game for SDSU, giving up two hits and one run.

“Our pitchers were great,” freshman center fielder Eric Danforth said. “We need to be able to move runs better, and until that comes around for us, our pitchers will keep putting us into position to win games like this one.”

Danforth lead a trio of Jackrabbits that went 2-4 at the plate Tuesday, capped off with a RBI single in the eighth to drive in the third and final run of the afternoon. SDSU built up a 2-0 lead by the bottom of the fourth, after scoring one run in both the third and fourth innings.

Mount Marty’s lone run came in top of the ninth at the head of a potential rally. The Lancers scored once when Justin Kemp hit an RBI single. With two outs left and two runners in scoring position, Derrik Nelson grounded out to second to kill the MMC comeback and seal the win for the Jackrabbits. Freshman Talon Jumper was the winning pitcher for SDSU. Nelson received the loss for Mount Marty, while J.D. Moore was credited with the save for the Jacks.

The Jacks will look to continue their success at home on April 11th against the University of Minnesota. The Golden Gophers come into the match at 17-16 (3-3), off of a three game slide in a Big Ten conference series against Ohio State University. The Jackrabbits lost their previous meeting with Minnesota earlier this season in a 9-3 contest at the Metrodome. The Jacks will have to try to improve on offense in addition to continuing their performance from the mound if they are going to upset the Gophers.

“Our hitting will come around,” Schrage said. “We need to be able to drive in runs better than we are right now. We’re thinking too much.”

To say the least, it was a rough weekend for the SDSU women’s tennis team. The Jackrabbits competed in the annual Summit League cluster in Fort Wayne, Ind., March 29-31. SDSU claimed just one victory over a five match stretch that began Thursday morning and concluded Saturday afternoon. After the weekend’s competition, the Jacks are now 6-10 on the season, while pushing their league record to 1-4.

The troubles began for SDSU when they opened the cluster with a 4-1 loss to the University of South Dakota. Despite a quick start that included wins in both the number one and two doubles to capture the doubles point, USD went on to outlast the Jacks, posting the first four victories of singles matches, ending the overall match.

The Jackrabbits bounced back later that evening with a dominating performance over Oakland University. SDSU thumped the Golden Grizzlies 4-0, picking up their first league victory of the season. Once again, the Jacks jumped out early, winning the number two and three doubles. From that point on, SDSU dropped the hammer, winning all completed matches by three points or better, highlighted by freshman Anna Botzet’s two shut out wins at 6-0 apiece.

Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, things turned south heading into Friday’s match-up with University of Missouri-Kansas City. Unlike both of Thursday’s matches, SDSU came out and promptly dropped the doubles point, losing 8-1 and 8-0 in the number one and three doubles, respectively. The singles featured much of the same storyline, as the Kangaroos won the number four, five, and six matches, while the number two and three matches went unfinished.

Despite their best efforts, the Jacks could not bounce back on Saturday against Oral Roberts or IPFW, dropping both matches 4-0 to close out the cluster. SDSU did show improvement against ORU, keeping the doubles matches close. That shred of momentum could not carry the Jacks through the singles period though when ORU claimed victory in the top three singles matches, ending the meet by decision.

It was much of the same for the Jackrabbits in their final match-up of the meet against IPFW. The Mastodons took the doubles point early, posting wins in the number one and three doubles, before winning the number three, five, and six singles matches to end the meet and earn the victory.

The Jacks will be traveling to Kirksville, Mo. on April 4 to take on Truman State University. The Bulldogs are 3-6 on the season, and have been on a three match slide. 

Heartbreaking losses are not always a bad thing.The SDSU softball team experienced this phenomena first hand March 23–24 in a three-game non-conference series with the University of Northern Colorado. The Bears swept the Jacks in three tight matches, posting wins of 3-2, 8-7 and 2-1. The series wins move UNC to 15-14 on the season, while the Jackrabbits fall to 4-15.

“We played well enough to win,” head coach Kim Aggabao said. “We outhit them two of the three games, but we couldn’t quite pull it together to close out them out.”

The series began with a one-point UNC lead for the first two innings of the opener, but that all changed when the Jacks got the bats going in the third with three hits that inning. An RBI each by junior Marlee Petersen and sophomore Kelly Kleppin gave the Jacks two runs and the lead. However, UNC battled back, scoring one run in the fourth inning followed by the leading run in the fifth to hold on to the win.

The second game featured an impressive offensive output by both teams, with the Jacks claiming 15 hits over the course of the game. SDSU began the game by quickly digging themselves into a 3-0 hole in the second inning, but then added four runs in the following inning to take the lead after a bases-loaded double by freshman Elyse Eitel scored sophomore Sammy Bingham and junior Devon Reick.

The Jackrabbits onslaught was quickly countered by UNC, with the Bears adding four more to their point total in the bottom of the third to take the lead at 7-4. Over the next three innings, SDSU added three runs to their total, highlighted by junior Krista Honken’s first homerun of the season in the seventh, evening the score at seven all. SDSU could not hold back the Bears though, as a lead-off walk followed by a one out RBI drove in the winning run for UNC in the bottom of the seventh.

Aggabao felt that there was a lot to take away from the first two games, despite the losses.

“I just told the team to focus on the positives. We had so much improvement from last week’s series [Western Illinois] to this one. We came out to play, and we know we can pull it all together,” she said.

The final game of the series remained scoreless until the top of the fourth when Devon Reick batted in Krista Honken to score the lone Jackrabbit run. The Bears countered with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth to even the score. UNC claimed the win once again in the bottom of the seventh with a two out RBI single to win 2-1.

The Jackrabbits will head to Lincoln, Neb. on March 28 to take on the University of Nebraska before returning to Brookings for the home opener against USD March 30-31.

In a simple way, it’s the established and the up-and-coming. The veteran who has seen it all and the nervous rookie, who is running a program for the very first time. Both have been asked to take their programs to new heights, and both have accepted. The excitement and enthusiasm, the uncertainty and anxiety, all combine to give two coaches a common experience that has done nothing but strengthen both.

Baseball head coach Dave Schrage came to the SDSU baseball program in August after a year away from collegiate coaching. Softball head coach Kim Aggabao took the helm for the Jackrabbit softball program in July, coming to Brookings from San Diego, Calif. Schrage just posted his 600th career win this past weekend, while the job at SDSU marks the first head coaching opportunity for coach Aggabao. Both will have to overcome the adversity that change can bring along with it.

Having coached at an institution with so much tradition such as the University of Notre Dame, Schrage’s perspective is strikingly down to earth regarding the changes from one institution to another.

“It doesn’t matter where you coach. Every student-athlete has that will to win. It’s what makes coaching enjoyable,” he said.

The will to win amongst student athletes is what makes it possible for two new coaches to come into two established programs and mold championship teams out of them. Without the competitive spirit, trust amongst new coaches and players would never get off the ground.

“The upperclassmen support has been huge,” Aggabao said. “The girls have helped so much. Their cooperation has allowed me to bring my own energy into the team, and it’s made the transition that much easier.”

Coming to a place like Brookings from towns such as South Bend or San Diego poses its own challenges for a new coach. Things like weather, culture, and student support vary widely from one campus to the next. That being said, a common thread amongst the so called “Mid-Majors” of college athletics exists. Having played and or coached years ago at universities such as Creighton (Schrage) and San Diego (Aggabao), an invaluable familiarity with the plight of smaller schools exists for both coaches.

“We know we are probably not going to be landing any of the top 100 players in the nation at schools such as SDSU,” said Schrage. “So we have to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to look at the next echelon of players, the kids that have talent, but also have room to be developed into the players we want for our program. And then it’s our job to mold them into the right type of student athlete for that institution.’”

It’s the players and the chemistry that they have with each other and their coaches that breeds success on and off the field. No matter if you’re a first year coach or if you’ve been at the helm for 24 years, the relationships that are built when you step into a new program can be the difference between a successful tenure and a short stop along the coaching carousel.
“Every year as a coach, you learn,” said Schrage. “Players need their self-esteem built up constantly. That’s our job; to always learn how to motivate players and translate that into winning. The day I stop learning is the day I should stop coaching.”

It’s safe to say that it takes a different kind of person to be a coach. Whether a veteran or a novice, no matter the personality, they come from the same cut of cloth. A love of the game and a sincere love for the lives of the people they teach work to construct an outlook on life that is unique amongst professionals. Dave Schrage and Kim Aggabao are no exceptions.

The SDSU softball team received a tough lesson in a series March 16-17, courtesy of Western Illinois University. The Leathernecks swept the series over the Jacks, claiming victories by scores of 7-2, 9-3 and 13-1. WIU improved to 13-13 on the season (5-1), while the Jackrabbits fell to 4-12 overall, remaining winless in league play (0-6).

“We’re trying to get some wins under our belt, and it won’t be easy,” first-year head coach Kim Aggabao said.

The trouble began for SDSU in the opener, with the Leathernecks earning a 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning. The Jacks showed signs of a comeback in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs. Momentum could not be kept however, as Western added three runs of their own in response to the SDSU rally.

“We’re trying to stress adjustments on the field,” Aggabao said. “We play hard, now we’re just looking for the chemistry we need.”

The second game of the series started out a grudge match, but quickly turned into a one-sided affair. Both teams were tied at one in the second inning before the Leathernecks added four runs to their total, claiming a 5-1 lead going into the third. That score held until the top of the sixth, when the Jackrabbits earned two runs. The Leathernecks had an answer for this effort though, posting four runs to close out the game with a 9-3 victory.

For the final game of the series, the Leathernecks were able to jump out to an explosive start, batting in 12 runs in the first two innings to firmly establish themselves for the remainder of the game. The Jacks lone run came in the fourth inning when junior Tina Winter hit an RBI single to score freshman Jessica Markanich. Western went on to close out the game by adding one final run in the bottom of the fourth to bring their point total to thirteen. The win went to WIU’s Hailey Bickford, while SDSU’s Mindy Lorimor claimed the loss for the Jackrabbits.

SDSU has been on a six-game slide, with their last win coming March 6 over Toledo. The Jackrabbits will look to right the ship against Northern Colorado, with a three-game series beginning Friday, March 23. Northern Colorado currently sits at 12-14 on the season, coming off a loss at Towson March 18.

The Jacks will be looking to use the next two weeks of out-of-conference play to prepare themselves for the bulk of Summit League competition, starting with the home opener on March 30 against the University of South Dakota. The Jackrabbits are already miles ahead of where they were in the preseason.

“We’ve had marked improvement since this fall,” Aggabao said. “We’re undoubtedly becoming the team that we want to be.”

It was a meet of mixed results in Summit League Indoor Track & Field Championships, as the SDSU men’s and women’s teams competed this past weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind. The meet was studded with record-setting performances, but the team scores showed otherwise.

For athletes such as senior Jared Vlastuin, the competition was an opportunity to shine. Vlastuin won the high jump and triple jump, in addition he claimed second in the long jump. His effort in the high jump broke his own previous school record by an half inch.

“Jared had a wonderful meet,” head coach Rod DeHaven said. “He hasn’t competed in the triple jump much this season, which made his performance all the more outstanding.”

The team scores on the men’s side did not reflect the stronger individual performances of the meet. The Jacks placed fifth out of eight teams in the meet, scoring 83 points. DeHaven said the team was disappointed with the outcome of the meet.

“I think we were expecting to do a little better in the team standings,” he said. “We couldn’t match all the great performances by some of the athletes across the board, so we didn’t finish quite where we thought we could.”

For the Jackrabbit women, results were similar placing fourth out of eight teams. The Jacks complied 76 points, but the meet was dominated by NDSU who scored 206 total team points.

Individually, the Jacks had top performers in the high jump, with sophomore Mary Wirth claiming first place honors. Fellow Jackrabbit jumpers, sophomore Kali Olson and senior Lora Shearer followed her. They took third and fourth, respectively. Shearer won the pentathlon on the women’s side, compiling 3,742 points to edge out Oral Robert’s Camila Pirelli (3,740). Shearer was named women’s Field MVP of the meet, an honor shared by Jared Vlastuin for the men.

Some SDSU athletes will continue their season in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Those athletes will then travel to the University of Arkansas and Notre Dame for the chance to compete in the championship meet.

“We’re a pretty young team,” DeHaven said. “If we can stay healthy and get better in the next season, we’ll be right where we should be.”