BROOKINGS The Brookings Bandits scored 10 times in the first inning, paving the way to a 13-1 victory over Watertown in an elimination game during the 2024 South Dakota Senior American Legion Class A State Tournament at Bob Shelden Field on Friday afternoon.
The win gives the Bandits a chance to win the state championship Saturday but they will have to beat undefeated Renner twice beginning with a game at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Bandits came out with some extra motivation to begin the game not only to advance to the final day but also to go up against one of their biggest rivals and a packed crowd at Bob Shelden Field.
Breck Hirrschoff started the first-inning rally with a one-out single and Owen Schneider drove him in with a double to plate the first run of the game.
Zach Struck followed up with a single in the next at-bat before Nolan Miles reached on an error, allowing Schneider to score for a 2-0 lead. Struck stole third base before Addison Ronning drove him in with a groundout to put Brookings up 3-0 and a walk by Jack Merritt was followed by another error that allowed another run to score and make it a 4-0 game.
A Sam Johnson single loaded the bases and Helmbolt drove in a run with another single that put Brookings ahead 5-0 and chased Watertown starter Will Engstrom. A pitching change to Markus Pitkin didnt do much to slow down the Brookings lineup as Hirrschoff drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk and Schneider doubled to drive in two more runs before a two-run error by Hayden Ries put Brookings ahead 10-0.
The Bandits lineup cooled off after the first inning, being held without a hit for the next three frames but Hirrschoff made sure it didnt matter on the mound. After allowing a walk-off grand slam in his last appearance against Watertown, Hirrschoff used his own motivation holding Watertown to an unearned run on three hits with five strikeouts over five innings.
You knew that was probably in the back of his mind, Brookings coach Alec Johnson said of Hirrschoffs last outing against Watertown. When I talked to him this morning, he wanted it. Kind of like a revenge game. He went out and he proved it.
Walks by Austin Clark and Helmbolt put Watertown on the ropes in the bottom of the fifth inning but with two outs, Schneider delivered the big blow, hitting a three-run homer just over the left-field fence to invoke the 10-run rule and send the Bandits to Championship Saturday.
Schneider finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, three runs scored and six runs driven in. Helmbolt went 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. Hirrschoff went 1-for-3 with a stolen base, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Struck went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored. Johnson went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Clark also had a walk and a stolen base.
The win put Brookings in a great situation on Saturday against a Renner team that the Bandits have already pushed in the tournament.
Brookings played Renner on Wednesday night and ran starter Jake Wheeler’s pitch count into the 40s over the first two innings before the game was suspended due to weather.
The Bandits got a strong combined outing from Clark when the game resumed on Thursday afternoon but a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning allowed the game-winning run to score in a 1-0 loss.
That loss means Brookings will have to beat Renner twice on Saturday to win the state championship but just playing for a state title in their home ballpark is a huge development. Brookings was 7-17 after its first 24 games to start the season and is now 16-4 in its last 20 games and two wins away from a state title.
It creates a big moment regardless of venue but means a little extra when the Bandits take the field on Saturday morning.
If you would have said we would make it to Championship Saturday, I would have second-guessed it, Johnson said. But to have a home crowd tomorrow needing to win two games. Thats awesome. And these guys deserve it. Theyve worked so hard to come back and theyve proved that they can compete with literally any team in the stateand now we get to do it tomorrow at home.
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