BROOKINGS – The Brookings Bombers Black 14U baseball team won five games over the weekend to claim the Cubby’s Bar & Grill Classic championship.

The Bombers went 3-0 in pool play before defeating the Coast to Coast Cubs 3-1 in Saturday’s semifinal and defeating the Northern Riptide 8-3 in the championship game on Sunday afternoon.

The Bombers improved to 16-4 on the season and face Spearfish on Friday in the first game of the Pete Lien Tournament in Rapid City.

Friday
Brookings 18, Huron 7 (4 Inn.)
Baker Hanson drove in five runs and six players recorded an RBI as the Bombers defeated Huron 18-7 on Friday night.

The Bombers wasted no time getting on the board with 11 runs in the top of the first inning. Jude Meendering reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game and Hanson drove in a pair of runs with a single to put the Bombers up 3-0.

Kooper Henderson drove in a run with a single and Jace Jaacks drove in a run with a groundout to make it 5-0 Bombers and Brookings recorded four straight run-producing hits including a single by Meendering, a single by Schulte, a double by Nolan Krogman and a double by Hanson to put the Bombers up 10-0.

Hanson scored on a wild pitch for the final run of the first inning but Huron answered on Colt Culver’s groundout in the bottom of the first inning. Brookings got a run back on an error in the top of the second inning before Huron scored again on Jackson Ford’s single in the bottom of the second inning.

Brookings extended its lead in the top of the third inning when Schulte scored on a wild pitch and Hanson drove in a run with a single. Hanson scored on a wild pitch later in the third inning to give the Bombers a 15-2 lead.

Huron scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning on a single by Jimmie Martin, a fielder’s choice by Sean Janes and a single by Ford that produced two runs on an error to make it 15-7. But Brookings put the finishing touches on the win in the top of the fourth inning when Krogman drove in a run with a single, Hanson drove in a run with a triple and Noah Lease drove in a run with a single for the final run of the game.

Hanson had four hits including a triple and a double, stole four bases and scored five times to go with his five RBI. Schulte went 3-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and three stolen bases. Krogman went 2-for-2 with two walks, a double and two stolen bases.

Meendering went 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, three runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases. Lease went 1-for-1 with two walks, two stolen bases, a run scored and two RBI. Dixon Dauer went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Eli Ellsworth went 1-for-1.

Henderson went 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Jaacks went 1-for-3 with a run scored, two stolen bases and an RBI. Wipf walked once, scored once and stole a base.

Schulte started for Brookings, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts. Andrew Hove allowed an unearned run on one hit in the final 1.2 innings.

Brookings 10, Dakota Tigers 2
The Bombers caught fire late, scoring nine of their 10 runs in the final three innings to score a win over the Dakota Tigers on Friday evening.

The Tigers scored the game’s first run on an error in the top of the first inning but the Bombers tied it up on Krogman’s triple in the bottom of the first. The game remained tied until the bottom of the third inning when Schulte drove in a run with a single to make it 2-1.

Lease extended the lead to 3-1 with a single later in the third inning before Schulte broke the game open with a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers scored on Karson Metzger’s single in the top of the fifth inning but Grant Horn drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and Schulte delivered a three-run double to end the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Schulte finished 4-for-4 with a triple, a home run, a stolen base, two runs scored and seven RBI. Krogman finished 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. Meendering went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored. Lease went 1-for-2 with a run scored, a walk and an RBI. Mason Diers went 1-for-2 with a walk. Horn went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Wipf drew a walk and scored twice. Dixon Dauer had a stolen base.

Meendering pitched a complete game for the Bombers, allowing two unearned runs on six hits and six strikeouts.

Saturday
Brookings 4, Alexandria 2
Lease broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning and the Bombers went on to win their third game of the tournament, beating Alexandria by a score of 4-2.

Both teams put up runs early as Alexandria scored on an error in Lucas Korman’s groundout in the top of the first inning, Brookings answered with a bases-loaded walk by Schulte and a sacrifice fly by Henderson in the bottom of the first inning.

Krogman led off the third inning with a single and stole second base before Hanson grounded into a fielder’s choice. With Hanson on first base, he advanced to second base on an error and stole third base before Schulte walked and stole second base. That set Lease up to break the tie and give the Bombers a 3-2 lead.

Brookings added another run on an error in the bottom of the fourth inning and Hanson finished the game on the mound, allowing two earned runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts over seven innings.

Wipf went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Krogman went 1-for-1 with two walks and a stolen base. Lease went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Hanson and Meendering each drew walks and stole a base while Dauer drew a walk.

Brookings 3, Coast 2 Coast Cubs 1
Krogman set the tone, allowing one earned run on two hits and seven walks with six strikeouts in five innings, to fuel the Bombers’ 3-1 win over the Coast 2 Coast Cubs on Saturday evening.

The Bombers scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning and gave themselves a 3-0 lead on Lease’s two-run double. The Cubs got a run back on Boston Den Boer’s bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the third inning but couldn’t muster anything else as Brookings advanced to Sunday’s championship game.

Lease went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk. Diers went 1-for-2 with a walk. Meendering went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and two stolen bases.

Krogman went 1-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and a run scored. Schulte went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks. Hanson walked once, stole a base and scored a run. Wipf drew a walk.

Lease pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two batters.

Sunday
Brookings 8, Northern Riptide 3
The Bombers captured the tournament title using a four-run seventh inning to put away the Riptide on Sunday afternoon.

The Bombers struck in the top of the second inning when Lease and Henderson led off with back-to-back walks and Dixon Dauer cashed in with a double. Horn walked to load the bases before Wipf popped out but Henderson scored on an error and Dauer scored on a wild pitch to triple the Bombers’ lead.

The Riptide scored twice in the bottom of the second when Kingsley Archambault scored on a wild pitch and Isaac Kiminski drove in a run with a single but the Bombers got the run back with an RBI single by Lease in the top of the third inning.

The Bombers held onto a 4-2 lead until the top of the seventh when Dauer and Diers drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. Wipf advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt and Meendering walked to load the bases before Krogman drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-2 game.

Hanson singled in the next at-bat to load the bases and Schulte brought everyone home with a triple to put the Bombers up 8-2.

Liam Brooks drove in a run with a single in the bottom of the seventh inning but Diers closed the game out to win the tournament title.

Lease started for the Bombers and allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Diers pitched two innings, allowing an earned run on two hits and a walk.

Hanson went 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored. Dauer went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Meendering walked twice, stole a base and scored a run. Diers walked once and scored a run. Horn drew a walk.