PIERRE — The Brookings Bandits improved to 3-1 after a pair of dominating wins in a doubleheader with Pierre on Thursday. Post 74 won each game by 10 as they had 13-3 and 14-4 victories.
Brookings hosts Fargo Post 400 today in a doubleheader at Bob Shelden Field. The first game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Game One
• Brookings 13, Pierre 3 (7 inn.)
The Bandits jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first game and then cruised to the victory with five runs in the fifth inning. They got on the board in the first inning as Owen Schneider scored on a wild pitch.
Brookings then scored four runs in the second inning. With the bases loaded Zach Struck grounded into a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0. Austin Clark scored when Struck stole second and Struck then scored on a passed ball. Breck Hirrschoff then scored on a Parker Winghart ground out to make it 5-0.
Pierre scored its first game on a single in the third. The Bandits then expanded the lead to 10-1 in the fifth. The first two runs of the inning came from bases loaded walks and Struck was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 8-1. Two runs then scored on a fielder’s choice before the inning was over.
Post 8 scored one run in the bottom of the inning but the Bandits got that run in the top of the sixth when Jack Merritt scored on a wild pitch. They added two more runs in the top of the seventh on two passed balls to make it 13-2. Pierre scored one run in the bottom of the inning to make the final 13-3.
Hirrschoff was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Sam Johnson was 1-for-3. Those were the only hits of the game for the Bandits but Struck had two RBIs and Schneider, Winghart and Clark all had one RBI.
Hirrschoff also pitched the first five and a third innings. He gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Struck pitched the final inning and two thirds and gave up one earned run on three hits and had no strikeouts and no walks.
Game Two
• Brookings 14, Pierre 4 (5 inn.)
The second game ended in five innings via the 10-run rule. Brookings led 6-4 going into the fifth and scored eight runs in the fifth to end the game.
Brookings jumped out to a 2-0 led with two runs in the top of the first. The first run came on a sacrifice fly from Hirrschoff and the next one came on a passed ball. The Bandits then scored one run in the second on another passed ball but Pierre scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2 going into the third.
The Bandits put the lead back at two in the third with one run on an error. Pierre then tied the game in the bottom of the inning with two runs on a double and single. Brookings regained the lead in the fourth with runs on an error and a passed ball, making it 6-4 going into the fifth.
Then came the big inning for Brookings. Hirrschoff led off the inning with a single and then scored on a Winghart double. Winghart would then score on Addison Ronning single and he scored on a bases loaded walk. Schneider then hit an RBI single and Struck followed with a three-turn triple to make it 13-4. The final run of the inning came on a sacrifice fly from Hirrschoff.
Pierre got two runners on in the bottom of the fifth but was unable to score any runs to extend the game.
Struck was 2-for04 with three RBIs and Hirrschoff was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Schneider was 1-for-1 with an RBI, Ronning was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Winghart was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Schneider pitched the first three and a third and gave up four earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and six walks. Austin Clark pitched the final inning and two thirds and gave up no runs on two hits with one walk and no strikeouts.
