RAPID CITY, SD – The Rapid City Stevens Raiders exploded for nine runs in the third inning and held on for a 15-5 win over the Sturgis Scoopers in five innings on Wednesday night at McKeague Field.
Stevens scored three runs in the bottom of the first on singles by Ian Beer and Mason Brooks. Sturgis plated two runs on wild pitches by Stevens right hander Will Waddell in the top of the second inning and cut into the Raider lead. Stevens led 4-2 headed into the third.
The Raider bats came to life in the bottom of the third, when Stevens scored nine runs on eight hits, taking a 13-2 lead.
The Scoopers needed two runs in the top of the fifth to extend the game and they did one better, scoring three runs after two wild pitches by Raider relief pitcher Paxton Fisher and an RBI single by Aiden Wood. Stevens led 13-5 after 4 1/2 innings.
Brooks and Luke Hanzlik crossed home plate for the Raiders in the bottom of the fifth, giving Rapid City Stevens a 15-5 win in five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Waddell got the win for Stevens (9-3) with Fisher getting the save. The Raiders had 16 hits and were led by Brooks, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs.
Sturgis falls to 2-5 on the season and had only one hit for the game, Wood’s single in the fifth inning. Dylan Christianson took the pitching loss for the Scoopers.
Sturgis takes on Rapid City Central in a doubleheader at McKeague Field on Thursday evening.
