BROOKINGS The Brookings Post 74 Bandits rebounded from a tough opening night, picking up a pair of wins in a doubleheader against Renner at Bob Shelden Field on Wednesday night.
The wins came as part of a fresh start from the high school season, which ended in a regional series against Sioux Falls Roosevelt earlier this month. But after taking a week off, head coach Carter Roach believes his team is recharged and ready to put a new foot forward this summer.
I think last night we really had some opening night jitters after a week off, Roach said of the Bandits first two games which ended in losses of 14-0 and 7-5 against Watertown on Tuesday night. They came out and really kind of took it to us, but we bounced back tonight.
Roach also said that he emphasized the importance of a new day prior to the doubleheader with the Sultans.
I just told them that it was just Game One and Game Two, Roach said. Lets just come and be better today and lets be better in all facets of the game.
Game 1: Brookings 11, Renner 1 (six innings)
The Bandits bats came alive in the later innings, pulling away from the Sultans for a win in the first game of the doubleheader.
Renner got on the board first with a run against Bandits starter Austin Clark, but the right-hander was solid, holding the Sultans to an unearned run on four hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
With Clark shutting Renners lineup down, the Bandits were able to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning. Jase Bauer led off with a single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch before scoring on Tate Helmbolts groundout.
Brookings took the lead with another run in the bottom of the second inning. Zach Struck reached on a one-out error to begin the rally and advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch. David Brink cashed in on another RBI groundout to give the Bandits a 2-1 lead before breaking the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Jack Merritt reached on a one-out single before advancing to second base on a passed ball. Helmbolt walked and Owen Schneider was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Breck Hirrschoff struck out for the second out of the inning.
Struck was able to cash in with a two-run single in the next at-bat and Addison Ronning followed up with a two-run single of his own to put the Bandits up 6-1.
Brookingss offense continued to click in the bottom of the fifth inning when Bauer led off with a walk and Tane Friedrich was hit with a pitch, leading to an RBI double by Merritt to make it a 7-1 game.
Schneider drove in a run on a sacrifice bunt later in the fifth inning and the Bandits scored three more runs on a pair of Renner errors. It was a solid rebound performance for the Bandits that Roach credited to a few adjustments at the plate.
We just had to start getting better pitches, Roach said. After taking a week off and not having live at-bats, it takes a couple of innings and some pitches to get going again. So credit to our guys for getting the bats going tonight.
Struck finished 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs scored and two RBI. Merritt went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Ronning went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and two RBI. Bauer went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Schneider drew a walk, stole a base, scored a run and drove in a run. David Brink scored a run and drove in a run. Friedrich scored twice. Helmbolt walked once, scored a run and drove in a run.
Game 2: Brookings 1, Renner 0
While the first game was highlighted by the offense, the second game was highlighted by the return of Bandits pitcher Zach Struck.
Struck graduated from Brookings High School last summer but is returning to play for the Bandits as part of their 19U team. While Roach had Struck on a pitch count, he was efficient, allowing just two walks and striking out eight batters over five hitless innings.
We had him throwing some bullpens and stuff to get ready but he was electric tonight, Roach said of Struck. It was fun to watch and for his first time back on the mound, he was really good.
The Bandits supported Struck in the bottom of the second inning when Sam Johnson reached on a one-out single. Merritt and Clark sandwiched Johnsons single with strikeouts but Johnson advanced to second base on a wild pitch before stealing third base. Helmbolt capitalized with an RBI single to score the lone run of the game and the final five innings became a pitchers duel.
Will Conrad relieved Struck over the final two innings but ran into some trouble by loading the bases in the seventh inning but got out of it to secure the win and the sweep for the Bandits.
Conrad finished allowing two hits and a walk over 1.2 innings to get the save.
Helmbolt went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Johnson went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored and Hirrschoff went 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Brink went 1-for-3. Ronning walked twice and Schneider walked once.
It was another win in what has been a busy but eventful weekend for the Bandits. With new uniforms and a 2-2 record, the Bandits will continue to look to take advantage of their fresh start as they host a doubleheader against Pierre at Bob Shelden Stadium on Friday night.
I think the guys are excited to be here, Roach said. Its been a fun week and we have a big one with Pierre on Friday.
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