BROOKINGS, S.D. (Interstat) — Luke Luskey hit two home runs and drove in five runs, powering South Dakota State to a 13-5 victory over North Dakota State in the first game of a Summit League doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded in the evening, saw the Jackrabbits overcome an early deficit with a relentless offensive attack, collecting 15 hits to the Bison’s nine.

North Dakota State struck first with an unearned run in the opening inning. Corbin doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Law. Law extended the Bison lead to 5-2 in the third inning with a two-run, inside-the-park home run that also scored Becker.

South Dakota State began chipping away immediately, scoring once in the first on an RBI single by Nate Wachter. They added another run in the second on Nolan Grawe’s run-scoring single and tied the game in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a North Dakota State error. Luskey’s RBI double and another Wachter single plated two unearned runs to give the Jackrabbits a 6-5 lead, a margin they would not relinquish.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, where South Dakota State broke the game open with a four-run outburst to take a commanding 10-5 lead. The rally started with a hit-by-pitch to Jirschele, followed by a triple from Owen Siegert and another triple from Grawe. After a sacrifice fly, Luskey launched his first home run of the day, a solo shot to right-center field.

Luskey, who was hitless in Friday’s series-opening loss, put the final exclamation point on the victory in the seventh inning. With two runners on, he blasted a three-run homer to left-center, his second of the game, to provide the final 13-5 margin.

On the mound, Jackrabbits starter Sam Schlecht earned the win, allowing five runs, three earned, on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings. Reliever Tristan Augedahl was dominant in relief, throwing 3 2/3 perfect innings with four strikeouts to shut the door. North Dakota State’s Brayden Marks took the loss.

The victory improved South Dakota State’s season record to 6-17 overall, while North Dakota State fell to 4-18. The result flipped the script from both the previous afternoon, a 6-1 Bison win, and the pregame projections, which heavily favored North Dakota State.

The teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Saturday evening.