RAPID CITY, S.D. —. The Sturgis Sccoper baseball team blew out the Douglas Patriots in a doubleheader at McKeague Field, 21-0 by the mercy rule game one, and 10-3 in game two. It was the regular season finale for the Scoopers.
Aliljah Ballard was the starting pitcher for the Patriots in game one and gave up four runs to the Scoopers in the top of the first on singles by Ridge Inhofer, David Anderson and Owen Cass. Inhofer shut down the Patriots in the bottom half of the inning from the mound, with two strikeouts.
The offensive onslaught continued in the second inning as the Scoopers pounded out four hits and plated five more runs behind singles by R.J. Andrzejewski, Kaden Olson and a double by Inhofer. Inhofer walked two in the bottom of the second but held Douglas scoreless and the Scoopers led 9-0 after two innings.
The top of the third looked like it would be a quick inning for Sturgis, as the first two batters popped out to start the inning. Douglas hurler Ballard walked the next two batters and then gave up a single to Inhofer and a triple to Anderson and his evening was over. Brendan Thomas came in to relieve Ballard and walked his first two hitters. Hunter Janzen then poked a single up the middle to score two more runs. Before the top of the third was over, the Scoopers scored 12 total runs to extend their lead to 21-0. Inhofer struck out two Patriots in the bottom of the third to end the game by the mercy rule after three innings, 21-0. The Scoopers stole eight bases in the contest.
“This week we spent a lot of time on our approaches at the plate and being smarter on the base paths,” said Scooper head coach Dominic Bradford. “I was happy with the performance.”
Inhofer had a great night on the mound and at the plate for Sturgis, tossing a no-hitter with five strikouts and going 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring four runs and knocking in five. The Scoopers had 16 total hits and left three on base. Anderson was 3-for-3 at the plate with two triples and four runs batted in. Ballard took the loss for the Patriots.
Game two was much more competitive early on as both teams were scoreless after one inning. The Scooper bats came alive in the top of the second, as Evan Stroud, Andrzejewski and Kaden Olson hit singles and Sturgis plated three runs to lead 3-0 after two innings. Scooper pitcher David Anderson got off to a slow start but picked up steam, striking out two Patriots in the second inning. Douglas starting pitcher Payton Dewitt gave up three more runs in the third and was relieved by Dakota Burke after three innings of work.
Anderson’s dominance on the mound continued as the lefty struck out one in the third, three in the fourth, three in the fifth and three more in the sixth inning, holding Douglas scoreless. The Scoopers plated two more runs in the fourth and seventh innings to take a 10-0 lead into the bottom half of the seventh.
Senior right hander Thor Sundstrom relieved Anderson in the seventh in his first pitching appearance of the season. Sundstrom gave up two Patriot hits and three runs but limited the damage to earn the save.
“I wanted to let (Thor) throw some pitches to see what he could do if we need an arm in the playoffs,” said Bradford.
Anderson earned the win for Sturgis, striking out 12 on 91 pitches. The Scoopers tallied 10 hits and were led by Connor Cruickshank and Owen Cass, who both were 1-for 3 with two RBIs. Dewitt took the loss the Douglas.
Sturgis finishes the season with 10 wins and 10 losses and is now in preparation mode for the post season.
“Next week we will be watching the standings to see where we go,” Bradford said. “Our focus will be on making the easy plays and limiting the mistakes. Our pitchers are starting to hit spots which puts our defense in a good position to help them out.”
