STURGIS, S.D. — The Scoopers couldn’t overcome spotty pitching in game one and early mistakes in game two and lost a doubleheader to the Harrisburg Tigers at Strong Field on Wednesday evening, 14-12 and 6-0.
David Anderson took the mound for Sturgis in game one and was on point at times in the top of the first inning, striking out three Tigers but walking two. Anderson struck out Jack Teigen to start the top of the second but then walked three Harrisburg batters in a row to load the bases. Two batters later, Tyson Kogel blasted a triple down the first base line to score three runs. Kogel scored on a wild pitch to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead after two innings.
The Scoopers put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the third as Harrisburg pitcher Tate Kogel walked Anderson and Ridge Inhofer to put Sturgis in scoring position. Anderson came across the plate after a single by Kain Peters and Inhofer scored on a wild pitch by Kogel to cut the Harrisburg lead to 4-2 after three innings.
The Tigers could only manage two hits in the top of the sixth inning but they exploded for nine runs as Scooper pitchers walked eight batters and hit one by a pitch during the stanza. Harrisburg looked to have an insurmountable 14-2 lead headed into the bottom of the sixth, but the Scoopers wouldn’t roll over and concede the game.
Sturgis began the bottom of the sixth at the top of the batting order and Scooper third baseman R.J. Andrzejewski pounded a double to center field, followed by a single by shortstop Kaden Olson. After a strikeout by Owen Cass, Anderson blasted a triple to score Andrzejewski and Olson to cut into the Tiger lead. Inhofer perfectly executed a sacrifice fly to score Anderson from third to extend the game into the seventh inning as Harrisburg led 14-5.
Andrzjewski, the Sturgis Subs/KBHB Radio player of the week, took the mound and shut down the Harrisburg hitters in the top of the seventh with three strikeouts and the Scooper players adjusted their rally caps for a run in the bottom of the inning.
Sturgis scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the game interesting but the Scoopers ran out of gas as Harrisburg held on for a 14-12 win in game one.
“I was proud of the boys’ heart last night, especially in game one,” said Sturgis head coach Dominic Bradford. “It is really easy to go down by 12 runs and to roll over, but our guys clawed their way back and we only ended up losing by two.”
Game two shaped up to be a pitcher’s duel, with Scooper sophomore ace Kain Peters facing Harrisburg senior Will Simmons, who has committed to play for the Tarheels at the University of North Carolina.
The Tigers struck first in the top of the first inning as leadoff hitter Chase Lucas poked a single to left field to get on base. Peters walked Tyson Kogel to put runners on first and second. Tyman Long hit a dribbler to shortstop Owen Cass, who scooped up the ball and got the force out at second base but overthrew the first baseman, allowing Lucas to score. Peters struck out the next two batters and Harrisburg led 1-0 after one inning.
Simmons was dominant on the hill for the Tigers, striking out two Scoopers in the first, three in the second and one in the third inning. Harrisburg plated a run in the top of third and another in the top of the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0. Sturgis couldn’t get a bat on the ball as Simmons fanned seven Scooper batters in row from the fourth through the sixth innings. Harrisburg head coach Mark Abrahamson brought in Lincoln Carlson for the save in the bottom of the seventh, holding Sturgis scoreless. Simmons finished the night with 14 strikeouts on 73 pitches as the Tigers took game two of the doubleheader, 6-0.
“As a coach I want to win every game, obviously, but sometimes a loss is what the team needs in order to improve,” Bradford said. “Harrisburg is a great baseball team and their pitcher in game two (Simmons), has committed to playing at the University of North Carolina so for us to stay in the game and make it interesting shows that we are on the right track to being where we want to be at the end of the season.”
The Scoopers (2-2), host St. Thomas More on Monday evening at Strong Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5pm.
