BROOKINGS, S.D. (Interstat) — Sam Novotny delivered a dominant start and the South Dakota State offense erupted late to overpower North Dakota State 11-1 in the first game of a Summit League doubleheader Saturday at Erv Huether Field.

The result avenged a series-opening loss for the Jackrabbits a day earlier and handed the Bison their 20th loss in 24 games this season.

The most important part of the game was Novotny’s command on the mound, which stifled the Bison for nearly eight full innings and allowed the Jackrabbits’ bats time to build an insurmountable lead. After North Dakota State scratched out a first-inning run on a double and a series of productive outs, Novotny settled in completely. The right-hander allowed just five hits and one earned run while striking out nine over 7 2/3 innings, walking only two. His performance was a stark turnaround from his previous outing, a loss at Oral Roberts on March 15 where he allowed four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.

North Dakota State’s early lead was short-lived. South Dakota State answered in the bottom of the first when Owen Siegert scored on Luke Luskey’s double. The Jackrabbits then took the lead for good in the second inning. Keagen Jirschele doubled, was sacrificed to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dawson Wroblewski.

The game remained tight until the bottom of the fourth, when the Jackrabbits broke it open against Bison reliever Jonah Walker. With two on, Nolan Grawe delivered a two-run double down the right-field line. Grawe later stole home as part of a double steal, pushing the lead to 5-1.

South Dakota State added two more in the fifth on a two-run single by Siegert, who finished a perfect 3 for 3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. The Jackrabbits then put the game out of reach with a four-run eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Dayton Franke and a two-run, ground-rule double from Jirschele.

North Dakota State’s lone bright spot was a solo home run by catcher Evan Gustafson in the seventh inning, one of only five hits the Bison mustered against Novotny and reliever Austin Henry, who recorded the final out in the eighth.

Grawe and Jirschele each had three hits and drove in two runs for South Dakota State, which finished with 12 hits and executed four sacrifice hits. The Jackrabbits’ bullpen was flawless, with Henry retiring the only batter he faced after Novotny left with two on in the eighth.

North Dakota State used five pitchers, with starter Braden Gluth taking the loss after allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Relievers Zak Szabo and Jonah Walker combined to allow seven runs over five innings of work.

The win improved South Dakota State to 7-17 overall, while North Dakota State fell to 4-19. The outcome defied pregame projections from Interstat, whose simulator had predicted a 2-1 Bison victory and gave North Dakota State a 56.6% probability of winning based on its ELO rating system.

The teams were set to conclude the three-game series with the second game of the doubleheader later Saturday.