BROOKINGS – The Brookings Bandits have worked their way back to .500 after a 10-3 win over Volga on Wednesday night.

Brookings is now 15-15 on the season and has won eight of its past nine games. The Bandits will have a week off and will return to Bob Shelden Field on July 10 with a doubleheader against Sioux Falls West. That doubleheader is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

Each team scored three runs in the first inning. Tate Steffensen led off the game for Volga with a single. Jace Christensen then walked with two outs and Steffensen scored on a single from Lane Loban. Christensen came home on an error and Loban scored on a double from Micah Otto to make it 3-0.

Both Owen Schneider and Breck Hirrischoff were hit by a pitch with one out in the bottom of the inning. Hirrschoff scored on a sacrifice fly from Zach Struck and Schneider scored on an error. Nolan Miles reached on the error and he scored on a single from Sam Johnson to make it 3-3.

Brookings then scored four runs in the bottom of the second. Winston Plummer led off the inning with a walk and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Will Conrad. Plummer then scored on a double from Tate Helmbolt and Hirrschoff followed with a walk. Both runners then scored on a single from Struck to make it 6-3 and Struck scored on an error to push the lead to 7-3 heading into the third.

The Bandits pushed the lead to 9-3 in the fourth. Helmbolt led off the inning with a double and Hirrschoff followed with a double of his own to make it 8-3. Hirrschoff then scored on an error and Brookings had a six-run lead going into the fifth.

Brookings scored its final run of the game in the sixth. Hirrschoff led off with a single and then scored on a Schneider double to left field. Evan Axtell drew a walk to begin the inning but a double play and a fly from Christopher Moberg ended the game.

Brookings had 11 hits in the game. Struck went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and Hirrschoff went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Helmbolt went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Johnson was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Plummer and Conrad were each 1-for-2 and Schneider was 1-for-3.

Austin Clark pitched the first six innings for the Bandits and gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Ryan Lockrem pitched the final inning and gave up no hits and had one walk.

Volga had six hits in the loss. Loban was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Otto was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Christensen and Axtell were each 1-for-2 and Steffensen was 1-for-4. Garrett Bothe pitched the first inning and a third and gave up six runs, four earned, on two hits with two walks. Moberg pitched four and two thirds and gave up four runs, three earned, on nine hits with one strikeout and one walk.