Cubs win first two games of the season

BROOKINGS – The Brookings Cubs won their first two games of the season with victories over Madison and Volga. The Cubs beat Madison 10-8 on May 12 and then topped Volga 12-2 on May 20. Both games were played at Bob Shelden Field.

Brookings has a busy week coming up as they’ll play five games in seven days. It begins with a game at Madison on Tuesday. The Cubs will then play Luverne (Minn.) and Worthington (Minn.) at home on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. Brookings will close the week out with road games in Tea and Elkton on Sunday and Monday.

May 12

Brookings 10, Madison 8

It was 7-7 through two innings and then the Cubs were able to outscore the Broncos 3-1 in the final four innings.

Madison put up three runs in the top of the first with an RBI single and a two-run double. Brookings would then hang seven in the bottom of the inning. 

The Cubs loaded the bases with no outs and then Mitch Olson was walked and Noah Buss was hit by a pitch. Jake Ammann was walked as well with the bases loaded to tie the game with two outs and Reid Barnard hit a two-run single the next at-bat to make it 5-3. Rhett Zelinsky and Parker Winghart later hit back-to-back RBI singles and that made it 7-3 going into the second.

Madison hit two RBI singles and two RBI doubles in the top of the second to tie the game. Neither team scored again until Brookings regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth.

Zelinsky hit a two-out double in the fifth and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. He would then come home on a single from Winghart to make it 8-7 going into the sixth.

Brookings extended its lead in the bottom of the seventh. Barnard walked with one out and then advanced to third on a single from Carson Jager. He would then score on a sacrifice fly from Zelinsky and that made it 9-7.

Madison got that run back with a run on an error in the top of the eighth. However, the Cubs would push the lead back to two in the bottom of the inning. Buss came to the plate with one out and Nathan Briggs was on second. He hit Briggs home with a single to make it 10-8.

Briggs then closed the door by getting the final three outs in the top of the ninth. That was one of four innings that he pitched and he gave up one unearned run on two hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Jake Pruchniak pitched two innings for the Cubs and gave up seven earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Barnard pitched the middle three innings and gave up no runs and two hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Zelinsky was 3-for-32 with two RBIs and Winghart and Buss were each 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Barnard was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Olson was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Jager was 1-for-4 and Ammann had an RBI without a hit.

May 20

Brookings 12, Volga 2 (7 inn.)

Brookings built a 11-2 lead in the first four innings and then ended the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh.

The Cubs scored one run in each of the first two innings. Winghart hit an RBI single in the first and Nolan Miles hit an RBI single in the second.

The Cubs then struck for four more runs in the bottom of the third. Briggs hit an RBI single and then Olson scored on wild pitch to make it 4-0. Briggs then came home on a ground out from Justin Cofell. Lincoln Vasgaard would then score on a passed ball to make it 6-0 heading into the fourth.

Volga’s two runs came in the fourth. Brookings answered with five runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Cofell hit an RBI single and Miles then hit a two-run single to make it 9-2. Zach Struck and Miles then scored on an error to push the lead to 11-2.

Winghart reached on an error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. He would then come home on a double from Olson and that ended the game due to the 10-run rule.

Miles was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Cofell was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Winghart was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Jager was 2-for-4. Briggs was 1-for-4 with an RBI. 

Barnard pitched the first four innings for the Cubs. He gave up two runs, one earned, on one hit with five strikeouts and five walks. Pruchniak pitched the final three innings and gave up no runs and two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.