BROOKINGS – The Brookings Bobcats dropped both games of a doubleheader with the Sioux Falls Lincoln Patriots at Bob Shelden Field on Tuesday night. Brookings lost the first game 10-0 before losing the nightcap 18-6.

The Bobcats are now 8-8 on the year and will host Huron for a doubleheader at Bob Shelden Field on Thursday night.

Game One
Sioux Falls Lincoln 10, Brookings 0
Caden Watson started the doubleheader on a high note for the Patriots with a dominant performance on the mound. Watson tossed a complete game allowing just three hits and a pair of walks while striking out 14 batters, which allowed Lincoln’s lineup to go to work.

Spencer Tolk and Motl delivered back-to-back RBI doubles to put Lincoln on the board in the top of the first inning and Sawyer Mindt tacked on a grand slam in the top of the second inning to put the Patriots up 6-0.

Brayden Olson and Ryan Hirsch each added RBI singles to put Lincoln up 8-0 in the top of the fifth inning and Mindt hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning to give the Patriots a 9-0 lead.

Hirsch drove in another run in the top of the seventh inning and Watson was able to close it out forcing Nolan Miles to ground into a double play to end the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Austin Clark started the game for Brookings allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts over three innings. Tate Helmbolt allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk while Will Conrad pitched the seventh inning, allowing one earned run on three hits.

“The big thing for us tonight was our starting pitching,” Brookings head coach Carter Roach said. “Our starters didn’t really have it tonight so we had to go to the bullpen early. We just didn’t attack hitters like we did a week ago and in order for us to be successful, we have to get ahead and we just didn’t do that tonight.”

David Brink went 2-for-3 at the plate while Owen Schneider went 1-for-3 in the loss.

Game Two
Sioux Falls Lincoln 18, Brookings 6
The Patriots got on the board early again in the nightcap when Mindt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Tolk scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Lincoln added to its lead on an RBI single by Hirsch, a double by Mindt and a bases-loaded walk by Olson in the top of the second inning to go ahead 5-0 before Jack Merritt scored on an error to give the Bobcats their first run of the doubleheader in the bottom of the second.

Motl walked with the bases loaded to put the Patriots up 6-1 in the top of the fifth inning and Lincoln scored four times in the sixth inning with an RBI double by Brayden Olson, an RBI single by E Olson, and a two-run double by Tolk.

Lincoln’s bats kept rolling in the top of the seventh scoring eight times including seven runs with two outs to go ahead 18-1.

Despite the score, the Bobcats put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh that began with a walk by Ryan Lockrem.

Friedrich drove in Lockrem with an RBI double in the next at-bat and after Clark singled to put runners on the corners, Helmbolt walked with the bases loaded and Conrad drove in a run with a single to make it 18-5.

The final score of the game came on a bases-loaded walk by Addison Ronning and gave Brookings something to build on going forward.

“A lot of guys got some playing time in and they really played hard,” Roach said. “They got some hits here and there and we know that we just need to play better baseball. We have to carry that into our games on Thursday and into a big weekend ahead of us.”