STURGIS, S.D. — Two pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout as the Sturgis Scoopers blanked the St. Thomas More Cavaliers, 14-0 in five innings.
Junior hurler Kelton Olson was dominant early for Sturgis, striking out the first two Cavalier batters and holding St. Thomas More scoreless after the top half of the first.
The Scooper offense got going quick in the bottom half of the inning with singles and stolen bases from Kaden Olson, Ridge Inhofer and David Anderson to give Sturgis a 3-0 lead after one. The Scoopers exploded for five runs in the second inning and five more in the third to lead 13-0. Sturgis stole bases at will on the Cavalier defense, with 11 total stolen bases in the ballgame.
“I liked the intensity the team brought from the beginning,” said Scooper head coach Dominic Bradford. “Kelton (Olson) threw well, he is going to be one of our key guys going forward.”
The Scooper defense came up big in the third inning when Cavalier leadoff hitter Chase Donnelly poked a hit out into the left-center field gap. Aydon Harris was on second base and decided to test the arm of Thor Sundstrom, who threw a dart to Scooper third baseman R.J. Andrzejewski, gunning Harris out at third to end the STM scoring threat.
“I liked what I saw from the defense, especially Thor (Sundstrom) in centerfield,” said Bradford. “He made a great play on that ball in the gap to throw (Harris) out at third.”
Inhofer came in to relieve Olson on the mound in the top of the fourth. Olson finished his evening with six strikeouts, one walk and gave up one hit on 56 pitches. Inhofer walked three and struck out five in two innings of work on 44 pitches. Olson got the win for Sturgis and Inhofer was credited with the save.
“(Ridge) Inhofer threw well in relief, he’s worked really hard this offseason to become a better pitcher,” Bradford said.
The Scoopers (3-2), finished with 11 hits, one error and six left on base. Kaden Olson was 3 for 3 at the plate, with a triple, two singles, three runs scored and one run batted in. Owen Cass, Anderson and Inhofer each had two hits for Sturgis. The Cavaliers had one hit, courtesy of Donnelly, six left on base and three errors. After two losses to Harrisburg last week, Bradford was happy with what he saw on the diamond against his alma mater, St. Thomas More.
“We are hoping to continue to improve every time we step on the field,” Bradford quipped. “We definitely improved from last Wednesday against Harrisburg to today.”
The Scoopers are in action again on Thursday at Strong Field as they host the Douglas Patriots in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 5pm.
