The Briar Cliff baseball fell in a matchup against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State on Tuesday afternoon at Bishop Mueller Complex.
 
"I thought we showed a lot of fight at the plate", said head coach Corby McGlauflin. "We really put together some nice at-bats off against some quality arms. We still need to find ways to stop the big inning."
 
The Chargers knocked three home runs in the contest.
 
Game 1 – L, 5-18
The Jackrabbits struck first on Tuesday. In the top of the first inning, SDSU tallied three runs on three hits. The Jackrabbits led off with a single and two-run home run with no outs. SDSU found one more big fly in the inning but Carter Schorg was able to card two strikeouts to escape further damage.
 
The Chargers responded with to runs of their own in the bottom of the first. After Quentin Evers walked, Walter Hunt laced a two-run homer to cut the BC deficit to 2-3. Hunt now has three home runs on the season.
 
Following a scoreless second inning, the Jackrabbits added to their lead in the third. After a leadoff walk, SDSU found their third home run of the contest. SDSU wasn't done just yet in the third as they recorded another single and RBI in the frame to push the score to 6-2 in favor of SDSU.
 
The Chargers couldn't gain momentum in the third inning as the Jackrabbits added three more runs in the fourth. With two outs, SDSU loaded up the bases on back-to-back singles and a drawn walk. The Jackrabbits found the timely hit as Luke Ira lined a bases-clearing double to extend their lead to 9-2.
 
Both teams were kept out of the run column in the fifth frame, but the Jackrabbits poured in three more runs in the top of the sixth. SDSU led off the inning with back-to-back singles and were driven in on a three-run shot from Brandon Vlcko. Heading to the bottom of the sixth, the Chargers found themselves in a 12-2 deficit.
 
Briar Cliff started to crawl back in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch hitter Cyler Melvin led off with a walk and was driven in by a pinch-hit two-run home run from Jared Sitzmann, his first homer of the season. At the end of seven, the Chargers trailed 4-12.
 
The eight inning was scoreless as well, but the Jackrabbits put together the biggest inning of the day in the ninth. The Jackrabbits strung together six hits, including three home runs, to score six runs in the final frame. SDSU pushed their lead to 18-6 with three outs remaining in the contest.
 
In a come-from-behind effort, pinch hitter Matthew Delgado laced a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. The Chargers were unable to find any more hits nor baserunner in the final inning. BC fell 18-5 to South Dakota State University, a member of the NCAA Division I.
 
As a team, the Chargers tallied nine hits. Hunt led the way with three hits, two RBIs and a home run. Sitzmann and Delgado also tallied home runs in the contest. Jake Allen carded two hits as two other Chargers recorded one hit apiece.
 
Eight different pitchers appeared on the mound for the Cliff. Nelson Cone paced the Chargers, pitching one inning and striking out the side. Schorg found two strikeouts as four other Chargers found one strikeout each.
 
The Chargers return to action when they travel to Hastings, Nebraska to face Hastings in a GPAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 15. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.