2nd Edition January 2019 2019 Jackrabbit Baseball Game Schedule Individual hitting, pitching, and defensive sessions 2/15 FRI UT- Martin Martin, TN 5:00 PM 2/16 SAT UT- Martin Martin, TN 1:00 PM started back up on January 2/16 SAT UT- Martin Martin, TN 4:00 PM 7th. players are focused, 2/17 SUN UT- Martin Martin, TN 1:00 PM excited, and eager to get the ball rolling for our 2/22 FRI FIU Port Charlotte, FL 2:00PM first team practice on 2/23 SAT FIU Port Charlotte, FL 12:00PM 2/23 SAT Northeastern Port Charlotte, FL 3:30PM January 25th! 2/24 SUN Northeastern Port Charlotte, FL 10:00AM We hit the road for martin, Tennessee on Wednesday, 3/1 FRI UCA Conway, AR 3:00 PM 3/2 SAT Missouri Conway, AR 3:00 PM February 13th! 3/2 SAT UCA Conway, AR 6:30PM 3/3 SUN UCA Conway, AR 1:00 PM 3/5 TUE UAPB Pine Bluff, AR 2:00 PM 3/8 FRI UALR Little Rock, AR 3:00 PM 3/9 SAT UALR Little Rock, AR 1:00 PM Page 2 - winter camps and 3/9 SAT UALR Little Rock, AR, 4:00 PM holiday party! 3/10 SUN UALR Little Rock, AR 1:00 PM Page 3 - catching up with Full spring Schedule available at jackrabbit baseball alumni www.GoJacks.com Page 4 - Thoughts from Coach bishop @GoJacksBaseball Top Left: Attendees from our annual Winter Instructional Hit- ting League. These young men, ranging from ages 12-18, spent four Sundays’ training their bat speed and overall offensive abili- ties. We saw an increase of averaged a 3 miles per hour increase on bat speed as a group. Top Right: Attendees from our annual Winter Prospect Camp. These young men, ranged from freshman to seniors in high school. This full day camp provided them an opportunity to show- case their abilities in front of us and 13 other regional colleges. We had a total of 107 attendees this year, which was 40 more participants this year and 8 more college coaches in attendance! Far Left: A snapshot of one of our senior pitchers, Otis Roby. He took the win for best dressed at the holiday party! Left: Our team holiday party was held at Prairie View Lanes this year. This picture includes all of our players, strength staff, and our athletic trainer. We split everyone up into teams of 4 and competed for the best average score. After three games and a fierce competition, the four coaches came out on top. Great team event! Jackrabbits in the Pros Joel Erdmann (1982-1986) Our Jackrabbit Baseball Alumnus this month is Joel Erdman. Joel graduated in the class of 1986 and was a member of the 1984 DII National Championship team. Originally from Milbank (SD), Joel has had quite the journey leading him to his current position as the Athletics Director at the University of South Alabama. Over the Luke Ringhofer course of his career in intercollegiate athletics, Erdmann has been entrusted to serve on both NCAA Football and Baseball championship (2017 MLB Draft, 22nd round) selection committees. Most recently, he completed a four year term Short Season A on the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship Committee where he served as Chairman for the 2015-16 season. Erdmann earned his Bachelor’s degree in History Education in 1986, Aberdeen Ironbirds his Master’s degree in Physical Education from the University in South Alabama in 1992, and continued on to complete his Doctorate in Sports Management/Athletic Administration from Florida State University in 1995. Joel and his wife Tina currently reside in Mobile (AL) with their three dogs and one cat. Below are some questions we asked Joel about his time here at SDSU. Why did you choose South Dakota State? Several friends from Milbank went to State - I had an interest in the baseball program. How did your time as a student-athlete prepare you for the “real world?” The importance of relationships and working together. We had great leaders....Coach Ekeland and various teammates took the bull by the horn and set the tone. What are some game-day traditions you enjoyed and miss when you played for the Jackrabbits? I don't recall specific gameday traditions...but I do recall a consistent expectation to play hard, play unselfishly and play to win. We didn't have a bunch of ego's running around - there truly was a team-centered mentality driven by a great group of guys. Looking back on your time at SDSU, what is your favorite memory and what advice would you give to current and future Jacks? Adam Bray I have too many to single one out....obviously going to the 1984 DII World Series....Beating the Yotes in Football in 1985 for Hobo day when they (2015 MLB Draft, 33rd Round) were ranked #1....Watching Mark Tetzlaff break the men's basketball scoring record....many many more. Any other advice or comments you would like to provide? Class A Advanced Get after it...compete every day Fort Myers Miracle Hometown: Knoxville, IA Layne Somsen Major: History Education Favorite Movie: Billy Madison (2013 MLB Draft, 22nd Round) Favorite Food: Pancheros Burrito Double-A Pregame Music: Country music with a little splash of classic rock, hip hop and pop Tulsa Drillers Favorite Hobby: Beating Kuhlmann in 1v1 basketball Who is your hero: My Dad and the show, fishing, and hanging out with the boys Why you chose SDSU: Really liked the campus, Pregame Superstitions: Pregame Mountain Dew and/ Brookings, and coaching staff. Also felt like their or beating my teammates in a friendly game of 2 ball was a “family/close knit” feel to the program. If you could have one superpower, what would it be: Summer Baseball travel over your career: Teleportation or time-travel Clarinda A’s (Clarinda, IA) Waterloo Bucks (Waterloo, IA) Blake Treinen (2011 MLB Draft, 7th Round) Oakland Athletics Why you chose SDSU: I chose SDSU for the tight Hometown: St. Louis Park, MN knt community and I believed it would provide a Major: M.S. Athletic Training great place for me to mature and pursue my dreams. Favorite Movie: Dodgeball Any memorable moments from your career: Favorite Food: Steak with Caramelized Mushrooms Beating NDSU in the last game of the season to Pregame Music: Kygo, or any Pop Music make it to the Summit League tournament Favorite Hobby: Hockey Off Field Accolades: Graduated last May and Pregame Superstitions: I always put my left sock on before my oldest guy in the Summit League Caleb Thielbar right, and my cleats the same way Summer Baseball travel over your career: If you could have one superpower, what would it be: To fly or Alexandria Blue Anchors (Alexandria, MN) (2009 MLB Draft, 18th Round) read minds Waterloo Bucks (Waterloo, IA) - 5 innings short of Double-A Who is your hero: My parents because the are both amazing 100 innings in the Northwoods League people who allow me to pursue my goals. Erie Seawolves Thoughts from Head Coach, Rob Bishop….. I hope this finds all of our alumni and friends with a happy and healthy beginning to 2019! We are excited to have all of our players back to school and preparing for the spring season. Our travel begins during the second week of February and as usual our first four weekends will offer a great challenge to our guys as well as an opportunity to prepare for what promises to be another competitive Summit League schedule. It is an exciting time in the Jackrabbit baseball program as we continue to attract high level student- athletes to the program and our returners have done an amazing job continuing to develop on the field and in the weight room. Our boosters and alumni have continued to support our program financially. Your support has allowed us to begin planning and construction of an indoor hitting facility that will allow our guys 24/7 access to develop offensively. To those that have given we want to extend our sincere thanks. If this project is something that you are interested in supporting there is still an oppor- tunity to help. We have received a $20,000 matching gift so your gift will double until that threshold is met. We will be releasing specifics regarding our spring alumni weekend once the details are finalized. Alumni weekend will take place on May 10-11 this year so we hope you can make it to one or more days of our series with Oral Roberts in Brookings. Let us know if we can be of service or if there is something you would like to see in the newsletter that you aren’t currently seeing. Go Jacks! Rob Bishop Mark Your Calendars! May 10-12 (v. Oral Roberts) How do I donate? www.sdstatefoundation.org/give-now 1. Select your gift amount. 2. Type in “Baseball” and Select “Baseball Excellence Fund” 3. Review Gift Destination and Amount 4. Select Gift Timing as “Give the whole amount now” or “Make this a recurring gift” 5. Review Total Donation 6. Enter Billing Address 7. Enter Credit Card Information 8. Submit Payment .