Old Titan Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but inclement weather has so far rendered SDSU's field unplayable this season, forcing them to move their conference opener last week with Centenary to Creighton's on-campus facility in Omaha. Didn't seem to faze the Jackrabbits, though, as they swept the Gents in four games, leaving SDSU tied with ORU for first place in the league. A mid-week game scheduled in Brookings with Creighton also had to be canceled due to the field conditions. SDSU has yet to play a game at home this season. Their next scheduled home series is with Western Illinois, beginning April 26th. Hope they get all the problems with the field resolved before ORU has to play up there the first weekend in May... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Hope they get all the problems with the field resolved before ORU has to play up there the first weekend in May... No kidding - we've had players injured due to unsatisfactory field conditions playing in conference games - the last thing we need is Duff or Kelly pulling a hamsting slipping on wet grass . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 No kidding - we've had players injured due to unsatisfactory field conditions playing in conference games - the last thing we need is Duff or Kelly pulling a hamstring slipping on wet grass . . . Or, in this case, "what grass?". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but inclement weather has so far rendered SDSU's field unplayable this season, forcing them to move their conference opener last week with Centenary to Creighton's on-campus facility in Omaha. Actually I think they're trying to put in a new field up there, and progress has been sloooow. Dugouts haven't been completed, and until they are, they won't be able to use the field. Part of that may indeed be due to weather. Here's an interesting article about what global warming is doing to sports in Sioux Falls: Weather throws sports out of whack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 This quote from their message board left me curious: I agree - Hopefully with the alumni weekend on the horizon this thing gets done. As I said in the original post it's the players I feel sorry for. These guys have been on the road for four years. I know many of the programs had struggles with their schedules. But with that being said I would put the baseball's program up against for lack of home games and total travel done. Hopefully this weekend is positive is Omaha and the team gets off to a good start in conference play! If weather were not an issue, do they not have a playable field at SDSU? Do they not have a place to play UNTIL the new field is ready? Can someone from SDSU help us out on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Okay, I did a little more digging. Here's a pic of the yet-to-be-completed Erv Huether Field: And an explanation of what's going on: "Following six years of playing off-campus, Jackrabbit baseball returns to it this spring at the new Erv Huether Field. Located in the northeast corner of the South Dakota State athletic facilities, the new Erv Huether Field is the re-creation of what provided one of the best home-field advantages in all of Division II baseball for over 40 years. SDSU's previous on-campus facility, which eventually beared the name of Huether, was the home of Jackrabbit baseball through 2001. As part of the campus master plan, the field was razed following the 2001 season. Home games were played at Bob Shelden Field, a municipal facility that also hosts Brookings high school and American Legion games." The new facility looks pretty nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Okay, I'll quit "talking to myself" (as Blevins used to say) after this, but sometimes a pic is worth a thousand words. Here's a picture of nearby Augustana College's ball field after a storm last week. May explain a few things: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89rabbit Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Let me confirm what you have already figured out. This spring has been unusually wet (snow and rain) and it has slowed the progress of building the stadium (my guess is we will have temp. bleachers up for the ORU series) as well as making the field unplayable (read unplayable as sloppy wet). This week it dried enough for the team to practice on the field, however it is currently raining and it could change to snow. It is supposed to be 60 degrees and sunny by Monday but with all the moisture that we are getting (two or more days according to the weathermen) our scheduled home game this coming Tuesday is already in doubt. Some day it will dry up around here and I am sure we will still get some home games in, but who knows ORU could be our home opener (I hope not). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 That's a nice looking field, 89rabbit. Should be a nice place to play once completed. Wouldn't be good for you for ORU to be your home opener, but it would be kind of nice for us . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 gorgeous field...would be nice to open up there and get a 3 or 4 wins....but i hear SDSU is pretty good....welcome to the league! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89rabbit Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 gorgeous field...would be nice to open up there and get a 3 or 4 wins....but i hear SDSU is pretty good....welcome to the league! Thanks for the welcome, and yea we are pretty good (had we been in the Mid-Con last year we would have had the second highest RPI). We won the NCAA D-I Independent Tournament last year. I have seen ORU play a number of times over the years (in my previous job I would travel to Wichita a lot so I would go see WSU games every chance I had) and I don't think we are up to your level . . . yet. Of course I haven't had the chance to see our boy play this season either. I am looking forward to our series in May. It will be Baseball Alumni weekend so we should have some nice crowds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89rabbit Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Good news for my Rabbits, looks like it will be in the high 60s the rest of the week. We may get a home opener yet. http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... ID=1440435 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 No shutout in conference this year for the Eagles this season, 89rabbit, so we'll have to watch ourselves up there at SDSU ! Do you happen to know if that beautiful field will have lights when it's finished? My guess is that, at the time of year that SDSU will be playing ball there you probably don't want to be sitting at a ball field after dark! It gets chilly enough at night down here in Tulsa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89rabbit Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 No shutout in conference this year for the Eagles this season, 89rabbit, so we'll have to watch ourselves up there at SDSU ! Do you happen to know if that beautiful field will have lights when it's finished? My guess is that, at the time of year that SDSU will be playing ball there you probably don't want to be sitting at a ball field after dark! It gets chilly enough at night down here in Tulsa! No lights are planned. On the rare occasion that we want to play a night date (or we need a bigger cap.) we move 45 min. to the south to Sioux Falls Stadium (minor league park). See below: This in fact is happening next week when we play Minnesota (6:35 pm first pitch). On a positive note, the Jackrabbits played and won their first game of the season in South Dakota (even though it wasn't at our place) as we clubed a local NAIA school at a municipal stadium in Mitchell, SD. http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... ID=1441264 Looks like our home opener will be next Monday as we picked up a couple of non-D-I games (D-III and NAIA) to break the field in before WIU comes to town for a weekend series. http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... ID=1440435 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Do you happen to know if that beautiful field will have lights when it's finished? My guess is that, at the time of year that SDSU will be playing ball there you probably don't want to be sitting at a ball field after dark! It gets chilly enough at night down here in Tulsa! When you're that far north, you don't need lights - the sun stays up 'til about midnight. And, the northern lights are beautiful this time of year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89rabbit Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 The new field is open (not done yet, but open): http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... ID=1445511 It is great to have baseball back on campus, and great to play a "real" home game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89rabbit Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Here is a story about yesterday's game: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 002/sports No place like home Jackrabbits open new field with big crowd, easy win Terry Vandrovec • tvandrovec@argusleader.com • April 22, 2008 BROOKINGS - The wind was cold. The areas outside the diamond looked like a construction site, marked by tire tracks and saw horses. The opponent was an overmatched NCAA Division III club. Yet Monday was a pretty good day for baseball at South Dakota State. In their debut at the new Erv Huether Field, the Jackrabbits hammered Presentation College 22-3 in seven innings, making short work of a game that was added to the schedule on short notice in light of several cancellations. . . . (read more) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 It's been a long time coming - congrats on getting to play at home. Looks really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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