Brookings 13U goes 2-2 at State Tournament

BROOKINGS – The Brookings Bombers 13U team closed out their season by going 2-2 at the State Tournament in Brookings over the weekend.

The Bombers beat Sioux Falls East and Harrisburg on Friday but then fell to Yankton on Saturday and lost to Watertown on Sunday. Brookings finished the season with a record of 24-13.

Friday

Brookings 7, SF East 6

Max Merkley walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Bombers the win in the first game of the weekend.

Brookings fell behind 3-0 in the first two innings. Branch Otteson then hit a two-run double in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 3-2.

The Bombers then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Gavin Horn hit an RBI double to tie the game at 3-3 and then an RBI single from Otteson made it 4-3 going into the final innings. SF East would then hit a bases-clearing double in the top of the sixth to make it 6-4.

Everett Jordan scored on a wild pitch and then Conner Hanna came home on a Ty Koch single to tie the game. That set up the bases-loaded walk from Merkley.

Brookings had 10 hits in the win. Otteson was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Koch was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Horn was 1-for-4 with an RBI and Griffin Lease was 2-for-3. Cayler Reicks was 1-for-1 and Jordan and Tallen Bartels were each 1-for-3. Merkley’s game-winning RBI was his only of the game and he did not have a hit.

Brookings 14, Harrisburg 3

The Bombers scored 13 runs in the first two innings and that led to a 10-run victory in four innings.

Koch scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0 and then Merkley hit an RBI single. Otteson scored on a Lease ground out and then Merkley scored on a wild pitch. Jordan scored on a ground out to make it 5-0 going into the second.

Otteson hit a two-run triple and then Lease hit an RBI single to make it 9-0. Reicks hit a two-run single and then scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-0. Hanna then scored on an error by the catcher to push the lead to 13-0.

Harrisburg scored two runs in the top of the third but then Merkley scored on a wild pitch to make it 14-2. The Tigers would score another run in the top of the fourth but that was not enough to keep the game going as they were unable to close the gap under 10.

The Bombers had 12 hits as a team. Otteson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Lease and Reicks were each 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Bartels was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Merkley was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Jordan was 2-for-2 and Koch was 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Louis Yoshida pitched all four innings and gave up three runs, one earned, on two hits with two strikeouts and one walk.

Saturday

Yankton 12, Brookings 2

The Reds were able to beat the Bombers in five innings because of the 10-run rule. 

Yankton scored five runs in the bottom of the second. The first came on a bases-loaded walk and then an RBI single made it 2-0. Another run came home on a fielder’s choice and then a two-run single made it 5-0.

Brookings got two runs back in the top of the third. Horn hit an RBI single and then Koch came home on an Otteson fielder’s choice to make it 5-2. However, Yankton then scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth.

The Reds scored two runs on two singles and then a sacrifice fly made it 8-2. Two runs from bases loaded walks and then a run on a wild pitch and a run on a single ended the game.

Brookings had six hits as a team. Horn was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Koch was 2-for-3. Reicks and Lease were each 1-for-2.

Watertown 6, Brookings 3

The Bombers outhit the Arrows 8-4 but mistakes in the field doomed Brookings in their final game of the season.

Watertown scored a run on a wild pitch in the first inning to make it 1-0. Brookings then scored three runs in the top of the second. Jordan hit an RBI single and then Horn hit a two-run single to give the Bombers a 3-1 lead.

Watertown tied the game in the bottom of the second. The Arrows scored a run on a triple and then a run from an error made it 3-3.

The Arrows then took the lead on two runs from balks by the pitcher in the bottom of the third. Then a run from a triple made it 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Neither team scored the rest of the way.

Horn was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Jordan was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Lease was 2-for-3 and Juke Anderson and Otteson were each 1-for-3.