March/April 2019 | Fourth edition

The official newsletter ofSouth Dakota State Baseball

For the full spring schedule, go to

@GoJacksBaseball

THE FIRST

INSIDE

PITCH

Page 2 New Hitting Facility

Page 3

Catch Up with Alumni

Page 4 Thoughts from Coach Bishop

APRIL 26 vs. Omaha Omaha, NE | 4 p.m. CDT

www.gojacks.com

Nic McCay Freshamn Pitcher

APRIL 21 vs. Western Illinois Brookings, SD | 1 p.m. CDT

APRIL 23 vs. Sioux Falls Brookings, SD | 3 p.m. CDT

APRIL 28 vs. Omaha Omaha, NE | noon CDT

APRIL 27 vs. Omaha Omaha, NE | 2 p.m. CDT

UPCOMING GAMESMay 3 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Brookings, SD | 3 p.m. CDT

May 4 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Brookings, SD | 1 p.m. CDT

May 5 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Brookings, SD | 1 p.m. CDT

SDSU Freshman Nic McCay was honored as a Summit League Pitcher of the Week after tossing a seven-hit shutout to finish off a weekend sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne. McCay is the second South Dakota State pitcher to be hon-ored as Summit League Pitcher of the Week in 2019, joining left-hander Brady Stover, who received the award on the season’s opening weekend.

NEW HITTING FACILITY!

As construction continues, we will continue to fundraise for equipment like pitching machines and other hitting/pitching technology that will help our student-athletes improve their skill sets.

THE FIRST PITCH

- Page 2 -The official newsletter of South Dakota State Baseball

Alumni GatheringMark your calendars!

May 10-12vs. Oral Roberts

BACK THE JACKS!How do I donate?

Donate to Jackrabbit Baseball at

backthejacks.com/sports/baseball

The Jackrabbit Baseball and Softball programs started a campaign last fall to fundraise for a new hitting facility in the northwest corner of the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex (SJAC). With the backing of baseball and softball alumni and supporters, we were able to begin the project—Turf has been laid and the poles for the hitting cages are up!

THE FIRST PITCH

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CATCHING UP with Jackrabbit

ALUMNILuke Ringhofer

2017 MLB Draft22nd round - Short Season A

Aberdeen Ironbirds

Adam Bray 2015 MLB Draft

33rd round - Class A AdvancedFort Myers Miracle

Layne Somsen 2013 MLB Draft

22nd round - Double-ATulsa Drillers

Blake Treinen 2011 MLB Draft Seventh round

Oakland Athletics

Caleb Thielbar 2009 MLB Draft

18th round - Double-AErie Seawolves

JACKRABBITS GONE P R OCHUCK ELHOFF (1966-1968)

This past January, the coaching staff had the privilege of meeting with Chuck Elhoff in Dallas, Texas at his office. It was full of baseball memorabilia and we had a blast taking a trip down Jackrabbit memory lane. Chuck is originally from Colman, South Dakota and currently resides in Southlake, Texas with his wife, Linda of 52 years. They have two daugh-ters and three grandchildren. Chuck currently owns a wealth management firm in Southlake. He earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering from SDSU and has since earned three additional certifications (CFP, CHFC, CLU). Why did you choose South Dakota State? It was close to home, but I was an alternate to the Air Force Academy and considered Nebraska and Pur-due. I received a Briggs Scholarship to State and that made it the easy choice.

A Note from Chuck...I thought of coaching out of high school, but my math/science teacher (who was also my coach) said “No! Get an engi-neering degree… you can make an accountant out of an engineer but not an engineer out of an accountant.” I am very grateful for his advice. After graduating with a BSME, I worked in aerospace for 6 years, then changed careers to the finan-cial services industry, wanting to stay in Texas. I got a few professional designa-tions… CFP, CHFC, and CLU. After 45 years I am a founder of a wealth management firm. My offices were in the Ballpark in Arlington for 24 years and now office out of Southlake.

How did your time as a student-athlete pre-pare you for the real world?I’m not sure how much of one’s course-work is really utilized, but the degree opens up doors and opportunities. As an athlete, one learns that nothing is given to you. With some work, one can devel-op God given talents and become part of a team, giving and receiving support in victory and defeat. And, that is how it works best in the “real world”.

What are some game-day traditions you enjoyed and miss when you played for the Jackrabbits?I’m not sure they were traditions, and I’m not sure I miss them, but here goes! 1) Traveling to Arizona and New Mexico that included 2 days driving in 3 sta-tion wagons and pulling a U-Haul trailer over Easter Break. 2) Starting the winter season practicing in the dairy barn; 3) Pouring gas on ice spots in the infield to burn them off before games; 4) The hot beef bouillon between doubleheaders on cold game days.

Looking back on your time at SDSU, what is your favorite memory and what advice would you give to current and future Jacks?Many memories; 1) After playing fall football and then making the baseball traveling team. As a freshman. No more football!; 2) Coach Huether running around the gas station with his knees high to stretch and hopefully stay awake on our gas stops in the middle of the night; 3) Getting to catch the game we shut out Minnesota with a game-time of 1:31 for 9 innings; 4) Hitting a triple off of Paul Splitorf; 5) Catching while Reggie Jackson was playing for Arizona State; 6) Hitting a homerun in the “old” Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.

Any additional advice or comments?All I know is that as I get older, I have a greater appreciation of my time at SDSU. Work hard, have fun, enjoy! Baseball is a great sport… lots of thinking, played and practiced outside (for the most part), and not easy hitting a round ball with a round bat, yet simple… hit, catch, throw.

Time flies when you are having fun! It’s hard to believe that we are at the halfway point of the Summit League baseball sea-son. Our guys are a little road weary from the travel during the pre-season and first portion of the con-ference schedule, but we have a lot to be excited about. On the field our team continues to compete hard and the young guys have made an immediate contribu-tion in the lineup and on the mound. Our 7-5 Summit League record has us sitting in second place at the moment. As a coaching staff we always think of the games that we’d like to have back, but we have also had many great moments

leading to big wins in the early season. Off the field we con-tinue to make prog-ress on our indoor hitting facility thanks to a generous dona-tion from the Krog-man family. A piece of their donation is a $20,000 matching gift which makes your gift worth double up to that threshold. If you have questions about how to help please feel free to reach out to me or one of our other coaches. Many of you are loyal con-tributors of your time and money and we really do appreciate it! Our players and coaches are thankful for the opportunities that the program pro-vides for us. Our alumni weekend is quickly approach-ing and we hope that you will have the op-

portunity to get back on campus for the weekend in May. The last few weekends promise to be full of meaningful games that will impact our postseason opportu-nities.

We are also going to be looking at home dates for football for some baseball alumni tailgating opportu-nities. If you have any ideas or want to help us organize alumni gatherings we are open to anything that helps connect our program to past Jackrabbits. I hope this finds all well with you and your families.

GBGBGJ

- Rob Bishop

G E T TO K N OW O U R T E A M

Alex Marro Senior pitcher

Ian Cote Senior catcher

Alex MarroHometown: Janesville, WIMajor: Exercise Science Favorite Movie: AquamanFavorite Hobby: Workout Pregame Superstitions: Have an energy drink & wear ankle socksWho is your hero: My mom; she’s the strongest & most caring person I know. Why you chose SDSU: The environment feels like family, & I liked the facilities. Goals for 2019: Win the Summit League and go to a regional Previous Accolades: 2x Junior College All-Academics Post-Graduation Plans: Go to physician assistant/physical therapy school

COACH’SCORNER

Thoughts from Head Coach Rob Bishop

THE FIRST PITCH

- Page 4 -The official newsletter of South Dakota State Baseball

Ian Cote

Hometown: Minnetonka, MNMajor: Agricultural BusinessFavorite Movie: Jason BourneFavorite Hobby: Watching reality TVPregame Superstitions: Gotta have coffeeIf you could have one superpower, what would it be: Mind readingWho is your hero: My dad; he always seems to do the right thing.Why you chose SDSU: SDSU has the big- time facilities and that “college town” feelGoals for 2019: Win the Summit League and go to a regional